TV shows tend to involve their supporting characters more than movies do, as long-running series involving dozens of episodes rely on ensemble casts far more than two-hour standalone features do. Nevertheless, most TV series are still fronted by one or two central characters, whose heroic or anti-heroic arcs drive the main story arcs.
It’s fair to say that most ofTV’s best characters of all timeare the main stars of their shows from the beginning. However, it can often be the case that a particularly funny, charismatic, sympathetic, or evil supporting character can steal the thunder of a protagonist. In outstanding cases,supporting characters make their shows a whole lot better.
These figures go from auxiliary elements in the story of a show to regular scene-stealers and firm fan-favorites. Before long, it becomes impossible to imagine their series without them, and these supporting players are now more synonymous with their shows than its central characters.
10Nessa Jenkins (Gavin & Stacey)
Played By Ruth Jones
WhileGavin & Staceyis most widely known as theTV show that launched James Corden’s career, it’s Corden’s co-creator, fellow writer and co-star Ruth Jones, who’s the standout performer in this beloved British sitcom. Vanessa Shanessa Jenkins is one of modern television’s most singularly brilliant comic creations.
Fromher endlessly quotable Welsh idioms to her bizarre non-sequitor anecdotes and unlikely list of celebrity romances, Nessa is quite simply iconic. It’s telling that Jones and Corden’s show is calledGavin & Stacey, but Nessa was the driving force behind the storylines of its last season and final Christmas specials.
9Ben Linus (Lost)
Played By Michael Emerson
When he first appears inLost, Ben Linus is the last person you’d expect to become the sprawling survival thriller’s greatest villain. He goes about his business quietly and politely, with an unflappable manner. Yet, it turns outBen is a master manipulatorwho’s played so many ofLost’s main characters for fools.
As an unscrupulous Machiavellian who’s prepared to incorporate murder into his manipulative game, he’s the most captivating character in the series by the end of it. Ben Linus might not have deserved hisLostredemption arc in moral terms after killing John Locke, but fans of the show just couldn’t get enough of him.
8Poussey Washington (Orange Is The New Black)
Played By Samira Wiley
There’s a reason Poossey Washington’sdeath inOrange Is the New Blackis the show’s most devastating moment, and it isn’t just because of the racism, abuse of power, and criminal negligence committed by the prison guard who kills her. It’s because, across seven seasons,Poussey is the heart and soul of the series.
She’s the smartest person in the cell block, but she’s also altruistic, with a profound sense of right and wrong. What’s more, Poussey uses her intellect and moral compass to speak up and fight against injustice. Even her death comes about because she’s standing up for a fellow inmate.
7George Costanza (Seinfeld)
Played By Jason Alexander
George Costanza isn’t just the most quotable character inSeinfeld— his entire characterization steals the thunder of the show’s title star, from his disastrous history with women to his utterly insufferable attitude toward other human beings in general.
The original sitcom incarnation of Larry David,George is one of the funniest comedy characters ever created, precisely because he’s not even likable. He’s self-absorbed, cynical, rude, a bad friend, an even worse lover, and subject to the whims of his overbearing parents. Each one of his countless flaws is more hilarious than the last.
George is responsible for most ofSeinfeld’s funniest moments, from his stint as a marine biologist to his hairbrained scheme to return a rye bread loaf to his in-laws. Even David himself, in his semi-autobiographical sitcomCurb Your Enthusiasm, couldn’t compare with the best (and the worst) of George Costanza.
6Cho Hyun-ju (Squid Game)
Played By Park Sung-hoon
The second season ofSquid Gamearguably has the show’s best cast of characters, particularly in the case of Lee Byung-hun’s Front Man, Hwang In-ho. Yet, it’s Cho Hyun-ju who most regularly steals the show in season 2. As Player 120,she mixes emotional depth with fierce resilience to become the show’s most likable character.
Hyun-ju draws on enormous inner strength to adopt a selfless approach to the games, as well as moving us with her heart-rending backstory. She manages to make her dream of gender-affirming surgery just as relatable as her emotional expressions of the horrors she endures during her time on the show.
5Spike (Buffy The Vampire Slayer)
Played By James Marsters
Love him or loathe him,Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Spike is the supernatural teen drama’s most electrifying characterization. His irreverent sense of humor, knack for producing laugh-out-loud moments of slapstick, and magnetic screen presence arguably see him overshadow the show’s titular hero for much of its six seasons.
Then, of course, there’sSpike’s relationship with Buffy, as the two characters go from outright enemies to potential soulmates, if such a thing is possible between a vampire and a slayer. TheBuffyfanbase might be divided on Spike, but there’s no question that he owns almost every scene he’s in.
4Erica Sinclair (Stranger Things)
Played By Priah Ferguson
Erica Sinclair is one mean, slick-talking TV hero. What makes her unique, though, is thatshe’s the wittiest thing inStranger Thingsat just 10 years of age. Fast-thinking, fearless, and funnier than most professional comedians, Erica is the kid we all wished we could have been. As if that weren’t enough, she’s now a crack Dungeons & Dragons player, too.
Priah Ferguson’s outrageous performance as the character brings a whole different side to the series, massively broadening its appeal. IfStranger Thingsseason 5 is about to set up a spinoff show, here’s hoping it’s about Erica.
3Niles Crane (Frasier)
Played By David Hyde Pierce
According to actor David Hyde Pierce,Niles Crane is effectively his brother Frasier without Boston. This apt description also explains why it’s Niles who drives the different directionFrasiertakes from its parent sitcom,Cheers. The character’s quickfire zingers and preposterous sense of his own importance are what ultimately make the show.
Niles Crane is the unsung godfather to other intellectual heavyweights of modern TV comedy, such as Stewie Griffin and Barney Stinson. But he’s better and funnier than all his imitators, as well as his admittedly iconic older brother. Simply put, without Niles,Frasierwouldn’t have become the sitcom institution it is today.
2Steve Urkel (Family Matters)
Played By Jaleel White
Jaleel White probably can’t go anywhere today withoutSteve Urkel’s catchphrase fromFamily Mattersbeing shouted in his direction.Urkel began the groundbreaking show as a recurring character, but quickly became the fan-favoritein every episode.
By the end of the sitcom’s run, he was the main character, despite not actually being part of its titular family. No character has conducted so comprehensive a takeover of a long-running TV show from such humble beginnings.
1Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli (Happy Days)
Played By Henry Winkler
Still, even Urkel can’t compare with the undisputed show-stealer par excellence, Henry Winkler’s Fonzie fromHappy Days.The Fonz outgrew this seminal 1970s sitcom during its run, with his signature look, catchphrase, and affable demeanorbecoming more important than the storylines of the scenes he was in.
Changes in Fonzie’s character to reflect his status inHappy Daysapparently upset Winkler and his fellow cast members. But while there were ratings to chase, the show’s network, ABC, kept leaning into the character’s popularity. Winkler took decades of his career to move past attempts to typecast him as another version of the Fonz.
The actor paid the ultimate price for giving the most successful show-stealing performance in TV history. For better or for worse, Fonzie is undoubtedly the thingHappy Daysis remembered for today.
