Sitcom actorsoften don’t get the appreciation they deserve, particularly when it comes to balancing comedy with compelling characterization. Whereas TV drama performers regularly receive lavish praise for their authentic and emotive portrayals on the small screen, comedy performers arguably have it harder playing sitcom characters, but don’t get nearly as much credit.
Thebest sitcom performancestypically involve a wide range of jokes counterposed by moments of drama and emotional depth. What’s more, the greatest sitcom actors are capable of serving multiple comic characters in contrasting settings with different types of humor and characterization during the course of their careers.
While these actors tend to have starred in some of thebest sitcoms of all time, they don’t always play the characters who receive the biggest laughs. Theiracting legacies are founded on consistently superlative performancesand an array of multi-faceted comic talents. Overall, the landscape of small-screen narrative comedy would look pretty empty without them there to shape it.
25Ellie Kemper
Known For: The Office, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Ellie Kemper hasmade her name playing television’s two most incurable optimists,The Office’s Erin Hannon and the title character inUnbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Despite their sunny dispositions, bothsitcom characters have some of the most traumatic backstories in sitcomhistory. Kemper’s dexterity as an actor allows her to combine these contrasting elements in portrayals as moving as they are funny.
24Tony Hale
Known For: Arrested Development, Veep
After his breakout role in one of the biggest cult comedies of the century so far, Tony Hale joined one of thebest sitcom casts of the 2010s. NeitherArrested DevelopmentnorVeepcould have done without his performances.Incorrigible man-child Buster Bluth is nothing short of iconic, while Selina Meyer’s chief sycophant, Gary Walsh, is every bit as brilliant.
23Terry Crews
Known For: Everybody Hates Chris, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
To the casual viewer,Terry Crews might be better known for his movies than his TV shows. But as Chris Rock’s tough-talking father, Julius, inEverybody Hates Chris, andBrooklyn Nine-Nine’s nice guy, Terry Jeffords,Crews proves himself to be a comic actor with as much heart and emotional range as he has muscle.
22Ed O’Neill
Known For: Married… With Children, Modern Family
Ed O’Neill is one of TV comedy’s most beloved family patriarchs, although his roles as Al Bundy inMarried… with Childrenand asolder husband and stepfather Jay Pritchett inModern Familybelong to very different generations and settings. Still,O’Neill makes his distinctive comic persona as a gruff everyman workfor the modern world like few other actors could.
21Tyler James Williams
Known For: Everybody Hates Chris, Abbott Elementary
Since playingChris Rock as a boy inEverybody Hates Chris,Tyler James Williams has gone from precociously accomplished child star to show-stealing, generational acting talentin the acclaimed high school mockumentary seriesAbbott Elementary. In a few years’ time, he could be much higher on this list.
20Olivia Colman
Known For: Peep Show, Green Wing, Rev., Twenty Twelve, Fleabag
AsOlivia Colman’s best movie and TV rolesillustrate, she’s arguably one of the greatest actors of her generation, period. It’s as a comedic performer that she first made her name, as Mark Corrigan’s love interest inPeep Showand nurse Harriet Schulenburg inGreen Wing. Yet, it’s her hilarious turn as Fleabag’s wicked godmother that cements her place here.
Olivia Colman’s first sitcom role was a guest appearance in an episode ofThe Office (UK), playing reporter Helena, who interviews Ricky Gervais' David Brent.
19John Amos
Known For: The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Maude, Good Times, All About the Andersons
It was only followingJohn Amos’ death in 2024that the full extent of his work as a comedy actor began to be appreciated. He was regularly one of the funniest elements inThe Mary Tyler Moore Show, whilehis pioneering lead role in the working-class Black sitcomGood Timesdeserves to be a lot more iconic in pop culture than it is.
18Jim Parsons
Known For: The Big Bang Theory
Jim Parsons is one of the only actors who make this list on the basis of playing just one character, ashis most famous role almost single-handedly made an entire show, if not an entire sitcom subgenre. Most ofThe Big Bang Theory’s best episodes revolve around Sheldon Cooper, the awkward genius who made nerds cool.
Jim Parsons’ role as Sheldon Cooper inThe Big Bang Theorymade him the world’s highest-paid TV actor for four years running.
17Rashida Jones
Known For: The Office, Parks and Recreation, Angie Tribeca
A rare example of an exceptional comic talent making their name in sitcoms by playing it relatively straight, Rashida Jones is best known as a voice of reason in bothThe OfficeandParks and Recreation. Herknack for portraying smart, self-assured women who deserve betterwas turned upside-down forAngie Tribeca, though, where she’s an absurdly goofy TV cop.
16Will Arnett
Known For: Arrested Development, 30 Rock, Up All Night, BoJack Horseman
If ever a sitcom is in need of an arrogant, emotionally insecure male character, Will Arnett is the best actorfor the job. From moronic magician Gob Bluth inArrested Developmentto Devon Banks in30 Rock, and even a standout guest role asChris inParks and Recreation, Arnett’s sitcom appearances are legendary.
Voicing the title role inBoJack Horsemancemented his status as one of TV comedy’s best ever. It’s hard to imagine anyone else contrasting a brash exterior with boyish vulnerability quite as well as Arnett does.
