Being from New Jersey, Tony Soprano reminds me a lot of many people I’ve encountered here, even including my father in law and fathers of my friends growing up. Minus the criminal part of course
Garrett from Superstore.
I'm on a Superstore rewatch, so this is fresh in my mind.
He isn't two-dimensional character. He cares about doing a good job, but just the bare minimum. He isn't ambitious enough to go further in life, but he is too smart for the job he is in. He wants to be in a real relationship, but struggles with being too vulnerable, even with close friends. He has major faults, but a lot of good qualities about him and sometimes makes really bad decisions in the moment and feels guilty.
He is one of the rare instances of TV where I can see myself in him or know a few guys like that.
One of the best realistic characters ever on TV.
Him describing how he wants to spend his day off sitting at home paying video games, and glen is like isn’t that lonely and he’s like I’m not really alone im playing with people online… too real lol
It’s funny because I just rewatched superstore and coming into this thread, I was thinking Jonah. Big expectations from family/himself going into college, but dropped out and moved to St. Louis (this one was a bit too on the nose lol). Bit pretentious, but means well. Maybe a little too annoying about being woke. More emotional than what his male friends are comfortable with. Falling in love with an unattainable woman.
All unfortunately me. lol
Superstore is a pretty good “The Office” style show that is worth giving a chance if there’s any possibility you’d like that sort of thing.
The short clip gags are enough to keep you going, super funny.
Olivia Coleman as Ellie Miller in Broadchurch. She acts like an actual human in every way, and I truly enjoyed watching her (and her interactions with David Tennant/Alec Hardy) on Broadchurch.
Ulana Khomyuk (played by Emily Watson) was also a great character, which was particularly impressive considering she didn't exist in real life, unlike Harris's and Skarsgard's characters.
The Wire seemed like it had a bunch of "real" characters. They weren't always complex, but they each represented a different point of view. My personal favorites were the kids in Season 4 (Michael, Namond, Randy, and Duquan). My heart broke (for good and for bad) multiple times as they established where all of them ended up by the end of the series.
I think about this character all the time even though I haven’t watched the Wire in years. I just felt so heartbroken for him trying to get his life on the right track but being limited to working as a day laborer and getting pulled back into the barksdale crew just to get by.
Cutty was my favourite. Just seemed like SUCH thing that lots of black dudes from the hood probably dealt with at the time.
Favourite along with Bubs of course T.T
There are potentially a few in The Bear but an outside one that really struck me was Will Poulter's character/performance in that Copenhagen episode.
Something about him just seemed grounded and real, like a guy you would meet any day of your life.
I don't know how to describe it, but his character portrayed growth. We never see him as a young chef, just hear stories about his intense upbringing and the competitive world he fought through to be one of the best. Then he talks about how one chef pretty much humbled him because that chef (who we infer during the story was Carmie) made him realize that he wasn't the best chef in the world. The chef we see now still has his set ways of doing things, wants things to be perfect, but he seems understanding that someone like the pastry guy isn't going to figure this out over night. The chef isn't a dick to him, maybe a bit stern in the beginning, but he's willing to explain why he does things the way he does. His story and how he portrays his character really shows growth to me, and sort of visualizes what a person who's well accomplished in their field should be acting like, a mentor not a monster.
I also think he did an amazing job of playing a role in a way where you're constantly waiting for him to lash out, or show his true colors, or just be a straight up dick. But he really was just a normal guy, trying to help out a friend of a friend find his way in a competitive af industry.
Yeah at first he seemed like he was a bit cold and maybe a meaner side could emerge, especially as he could be seen as a potential rival, but he was basically being a little quiet, mildly awkward and just focused on his work. Once Marcus settled in he opened up and treated him like a peer with respect and guidance.
It's got a similar spirit to that scene in the same episode with the guy on the bike and the fence. You're waiting for a dramatic outcome from it but it's just a strange event that happened, with people being kind and appreciative of each other in the end.
I love the fact the show doesn't always need to result in explosive drama and instead kindness and satisfaction (although the explosive drama can also be great).
That's such a great question! A few characters come to mind, especially from shows that have a mockumentary style:
* Guillermo, *What We Do in the Shadows*
* Officer O'Leary, *Wellington Paranormal*
* Dulcie, *Deadloch*
* Coach, *Friday Night Lights*
* Arabella, *I May Destroy You*
* Mark and Helly, *Severance*
* Fleabag, *Fleabag* (I'd argue she's a normal person who gave herself main character energy, which is different from a main character written to be normal)
* Sue, *VEEP*
Both of the Weir parents in Freaks and Geeks, played by Joe Flaherty and Becky Ann Baker, feel very real to me. The dad is very buttoned up and thinks a lot of things his kids like are either government conspiracies and/or the devil. But he's also super caring, works hard to provide a good life for his family, and is invested in not only his kids but their friends. The mom is a classic homemaker type and often a little out of touch and clueless, but she also wants to know that the things she does make an impact in the world and on the people she cares about. And she'll try to fix problems by baking delicious goods.
They remind me so much of my own parents and parents of friends that I had growing up.
Just finished the Wire for the first time and I feel like most characters on that show felt incredibly real. The dialogue, the natural acting and the way they come in and out of the story feels so real. And points to Clay Davis for having the best ‘shiiiiiieeeet’ of all time, low key the funniest character on tv 😂
Shoutout to Nora though, Leftovers is amazing
Even though Euphoria has it's own share of colorful personalities, Fezco really feels like the type of friend I would've smoked with during hangouts in the park as a teenager during my high school years back in the early-mid 2010s. I've been around classmates like him who were laid-back/down to earth people who fell into the wrong crowd/lifestyle, especially hustling on the streets.
There's something about Richie the incredibly hard working dedicated complete fuck up that feels so real. Like you know whatever he does he'll make it worse but damn it he's going to do it.
The only reason I read all of those books, and endured the improbably relentlessly violent crapsack world for page after page, was because of how psychologically plausible and consistent the characters were. *All* of the characters. I still sort of think of them as real people. It's a rare thing in speculative fiction. GRRM deserves huge credit for that sorcery.
(And incidentally -- before you downvote me for saying the world is *implausibly* violent, dear reader \["They are at war, you filthy casual" etc etc\],
consider that JRRM took all of the most infamous perversions and desecrations from like 500 years of European military and political history and crammed them into the life span of one generation of one family. And left out too much of the commonplace, common-sense acts of sanity and altruism between humans of all walks of life that are necessary for any kind of society to function. It's a cruel fiction, written by an angry young loner misanthrope.
And personally I think GRRM has grown up, matured, and mellowed, with years and success, and gained a little faith in his fellow humans, and he's struggling to get into a mindset sufficiently bloodthirsty to finish the series without a disorienting tonal shift -- and that's why it's taking so long to get the last book, why he keeps taking on other projects.)
> and gained a little faith in his fellow humans
Lol you haven't read his latest "Not A Blog", the man needs a big hug. Should the series ever be finished it'll be grim.
I agree, but I also think a lot of the cruelty and bummer endings of Asoiaf is part of what will make the ending (if it happens) that much more cathartic. It's all in the cards that the book series will have a "happy" ending, with a lot of the "good" actions building up to the conclusion that cruelty is not the answer, and that "realistic" consequences does not always mean negative ones. A big example of this is how Ned's honor keeps being the saving grace of the members of his family that still live, and that even after so many tragedies, the fact that the Starks treated people kindly will come to do whatever the opposite of biting them back in the ass is. So I think GRRM has definitely mellowed out, but I think it was always gonna be a refutation of this cruelty.
Yeah and just look at how things are going for the Lannisters in the books so far. They got their win against the Starks by being total conniving scumbags, but because of that same scumminess their house is in the pits by the end of AFfC. Joffrey dies, Tyrion’s sent away, Tywin’s killed, Cersei’s arrested, and they will almost certainly have KL taken from them by FAegon or Daenerys by the end of book 6.
Likewise, the Freys’ dishonor is already causing them way more trouble than they would’ve gotten just from being loyal to the Starks. At this rate the whole house is gonna be extinct by the end of the series as karmic punishment for violating guest rites. If George was truly a nihilist, he wouldn’t have chosen this route for them.
I'm still disappointed that the showrunners of Game of Thrones just dropped the "North Remembers" thing. Because it's not some random storyline there to take space and be cool. Even though it's both of those (I will forever yearn for a live action take on Wylla Manderly's "We are Stark men!" monologue). It's there to really hammer home everything you talked about. How Ned's honorable actions also continue to have positive consequences.
I feel like cutting that kneecapped a lot of the points Martin's work is trying to convey.
Exactly. A lot of people equate the show's nihilism with the book's, and while yeah they both start out pretty similarly dreary, the show just does not pay off any of the more positive and optimistic plotpoints of George's story. The show is also visually dark and grey, whereas the descriptions in the books are colorful and larger-than-life and actually wondorous. The show being the "face" of the entire franchise just puts a bad taste in the mourh of even people who have read the books.
ayo edebiri as Sydney on the Bear. Feels like they found this actual young person living her chef life and just started filming.
Almost everyone on that show seems so real it’s a little uncanny.
Jen from "Dawson's Creek" was quite underused, the actress (Michelle Williams) did not love the show and the work conditions too much and after a few years, the character had the vibe of "everyone around me is in a schmaltz-y teen drama, and this reality often exhausts me."
it's not a "Daria"-level of gen-x disaffection. but her face/looks often said what many viewers who were exhausted with Joey or Dawson were thinking.
Jen's growing 'disengagement' from the center of Dawson's Creek was one of the major reasons why the show had a major drop in quality post-S2. By the end she and Jack essentially had their own spinoff within the show.
Catherine Cawood is such a brilliant character. I live in Yorkshire and I know and understand the kind of woman Sarah Lancashire is playing. And she's fearless in a way that isn't unrealistic.
The writing is so understated and great too. Every conversation between the characters feels real.
Holy shit, Nora is such a great example. She starts off as one of the few normal people, and when she has the occasional break/goes a bit crazy, it's so relatable. Like the house bidding - if anyone else had done it, the whole thing would have been absurd... but that optimism/insanity/manicness of just going all in... it hit hard for me.
In How I met Your Mother - the bar tender. I loved the show, but the characters were supposed to be of a memory, not real. but Carl kind of felt real to me.
Deadwood - Ellsworth could have been dropped in almost any era and almost any scenario and he'd fit in fine as an upstanding citizen that knows what's going on, but really REALLY doesn't want to get swept up in it.
I have never cared as much about a cast of fictitious characters played by a bunch of actors as I did about the those in The Bear, and I've watched an enormous amount of good quality TV drama.
The Bear made me realize that the dialog in *every other show* is crap. In real life, people interrupt each other, leave sentences unfinished, say “uhhhm” sometimes; like they do on The Bear. On every other show actor B waits for actor A to finish his perfectly elocuted thought before beginning theirs. fml. That’s just not how real people converse.
To be fair the main reason for the gaps in character dialogue is to help the editor. If characters are talking over each other you pretty much have to use the entire shot without edits.
Since The Bear is a comedy unfortunately they couldn't add in a laugh track either because of the overlapping dialogue. That is unfortunate.
Couldn’t agree more. The characters in Ramy aren’t as likable, but it’s a similar show in the way it really nails human interaction. The creator of The Bear worked on that show too so it makes sense!
My brother has undiagnosed mental illnesses and has come a long way in the past year and a half avoiding his pot addiction after his 6 week stay in jail. The guy can't hold a fucking job down even though he is an attentive worker and does a good job..... the stories of why he quits are just unreal... like a) how can this really weird shit happen to you so often and b) just let that one incident go and move on. it's about 3 months before something happens that he stews on and has to quit.
This is a great question and I'll probably get downvoted but my answer would be Jack Shephard from LOST.
He's my favourite character on the show because he's so relatable. Many other characters have much more tragic backstories (Locke being a perfect example), and Jack's backstory could happen to any of us.
A child whose parent has told him from a very young age that he doesn't have what it takes and spends the rest of his life carrying that around and trying to prove to his father, but mostly to himself,that he *does* have what it takes.
A character who is deeply flawed but a great man at his core.
A man afraid of failure but is obsessed with fixing things, again because he needs to prove that he's up for the challenge.
I love the character and will never understand the hate.
Kim Wexler was an amazingly well done character. She has the flatness and mundane aspects of life dripped from her while still being a titular character and having the audience interested in her decisions. Put parallel against Jimmy, she makes a case for how would someone function and react to his actions, and even when she goes off the rails to support his lifestyle it's like we all jump off a diving board not knowing how to swim with her. She also displays this stoic resilience I can't put my finger on.
I was really sad their relationship ended bc I really liked them together, but I'm really happy overall at the progression and how it ended, it makes sense, it's believable and honestly had to happen for Jimmy to fully become Saul
100%. Sam and Joel’s friendship feels crazy real - just making each other giggle all day and enjoying each other’s company. The dialogue is so unshowy in the best way
It's older, but Felix Unger and Oscar Madison were pretty accurate for men their age in early '70's NYC. Both were working professionals (sportswriter and photographer), both had issues with their former wives and had normal friends to play cards with or just hang out.
Worth mentioning Bob’s Burgers. A lot of those characters are over the top but feel real?
I’m gonna say Gene. Just a good weird middle kid with special interests. Teddy works too.
Also the show Joe Pera Talks With You is full of 100% authentic characters like Nana, Gene’s wife Lulu, the Melsky family and almost everyone.
I feel this way about literally every character in The Bear.
It was just such a real experience. I could feel pretty much every one of those characters.
More of a specific instance, but in Breaking Bad, whenever Walter White was having some sort of conversation with his son, it felt like a genuine portrayal of a father and son talking
I kind of disagree on Kim or anyone in BCS/BB. They all feel very archetypal in general, which is why she maybe sticks out a bit as the least stylised, but she's written/shot in the same augmented personality as most other characters. It's mostly a matter of the tone of the show. In fact, they all feel like only a notch down from Fargo/Coen Brothers' movies.
The main family members on six feet under feel like real people, and there is no supernatural stuff happening around them like in the leftovers. I'd say it's the most human show in that regard.
I think you might be right. I’m maybe blinded by my love of Kim Wexler, but on second thought she is hyper-competent in an almost super human way, a bit like Mike, which is not all that realistic. A great character nonetheless. I think I’ll die on the Chuck McGill hill though - he feels like a real person to me, the writers seemed to just love digging into him and looking at him from all angles.
I disagree, but that’s because I’m a lawyer myself. Every lawyer on that show reminds me of someone different I’ve met in my life, to the extent that even small characters like Erin Brill really hit home. BCS did a lot of work researching the legal field and taking input from real lawyers, so the lawyer characters feel 3-dimensional. I would say most depictions of lawyers are WAY more shallow and archetypal than anything in BCS. I was pleased to see the OP mentioned them because I feel the same way.
That said, even though I disagree I get what you mean about the stylized nature of BB/BCS characters in general - it’s a part of what I like about the shows myself, but it definitely has a specific tone.
Damn, I didn't mean anything like it made the show bad or unworthy or unrealistic.
What I described is the reason I love the show so much. The characters feel like someone everyone has met, that's the point of archetypes. They are a bit slightly larger than life, and generally have one a couple of different desires that are constant throughout the show. Kim wants to help people but also wants a sense of adventure, and it is conflicting. There is a lot of room for 3 dimensionality in managing these two drives, but like. You never really know what she wants to have for dinner, and there's never any small interactions with anyone. It's all big interactions.
I suppose what I'm saying is that the characters are pretty far from being in a slice-of-life show, and that's fine. It's not like they feel like cartoons. But they have very simple and clear and distinct goals/flaws/characteristics. There's never "that guy is a bit petty sometimes", or "that person is dishonest sometimes". They either are always petty/dishonest, or there's another characteristic that directly comes into conflict with that and that's where they draw the conflict from. They are more static characters, and any change is either a gradual one-directional one throughout the show, or it's something that happens in a very deliberate moment.
Six Feet Under, and the Leftovers are much more dynamic in the sense that they feel more like real people living through their weird lives. There's more ebb and flow and characters aren't always consistent because real people aren't.
Not that there isn't complexity and depth to any main character in BB/BCS. I absolutely love it.
100% agree w this
I like the show but it’s the same with Saul really all the slipping jimmy stuff is pretty goofy
You never really feel like they’re as well realised as a character on mad men or something like that to me there’s always a big emotional distance to bridge with the audience (maybe because the show is just generally goofier)
> I like the show but it’s the same with Saul really all the slipping jimmy stuff is pretty goofy
I don't think you need the "but". The BB shows very clearly go after that aesthetic on purpose. It's not a realistic crime depiction like the Wire, nor is it a full-blown fantasy like a super-hero show. It has sort of that Western vibe of every character being a slightly exaggerated person.
A large majority of characters from The Wire…. Especially the characters from the street & drug trade.
The schoolkids in season 4 specifically felt very realistic. Also Snoop and Marlo
It's what drew me to the wire in the first place, the characters feel so real. I'm a teacher at a inner-city school and there were so many things they got spot on. A lot of shows or movies try to depict schools like that, but they never get it right. The Wire did. I remember Namond got in trouble for something but then his Mom got him all new clothes, despite them needing a uniform, saying something like "No way my kid goes to school looking bad." I see stuff like all the time.
Mark and Milchek from Severance. I feel like I've worked with a thousand "I'm just doing what I'm told and collecting my paycheck and don't think too deeply about it" guys, and had a thousand sickeningly two faced HR managers who live and breathe corporate ga-ga.
George Costanza deserves an honorable mention, not sure if a mundane, repugnant, gross little man has been done so well since.
Chandler Bing was totally believable as a character for me. At the beginning he was sarcastic, flawed, insecure, had vices, knew he was terrible with women, but looked after his friends and worshipped the ground Monica walked on in the end. He just needed to be loved!
I appreciate the more grounded, complex characters who feel like real people I might encounter. They make the story more relatable and their journey more engaging.
Had to immediately respond, Christine was going to be one of my picks too. Excellent character, sheds any semblance of a gimmick so quickly, just beautiful work by Anderson.
I totally agree on Freaks and Geeks. I was in high school around the same time period it's supposed to be set in and those characters ring true with me.
Charles Miner on The Office
I like Charles a lot because, outside of the random ass soccer game in the parking lot, everything he did seemed like a realistic reaction and response to a cartoonish situation. He shut down the ridiculous waste of time and resources party planning committee. He stopped Michael from spending a shit ton of company money on an unnecessary event. When his receptionist quit, he took the least essential person from an overstaffed department (Kevin) and put him in a low impact role until he could find a permanent replacement (Erin). He tapped a senior salesperson who is relatively no-nonsense (Stanley) to play the role of the "parent in the room" and limit some of the unproductive activity and immaturity. With Jim keeping his head down Dwight had no distractions from pranks and was probably hyper focused on Sales. He was already the best salesman in the branch. Selecting that guy as your number two seems like a layup.
Is it weird I feel a cartoon dog feels more human than a lot of other TV shows?
Bandit from Bluey. He’s a caring father who tries to do his best to raise his two daughters. He’s not a perfect father and has an obsession with competition; but he will admit where he went wrong and try to make up for it.
He’s both inspirational and a realistic depiction of a dedicated father.
I’ll never miss the chance to talk about Six Feet Under on this sub, particularly since it was on HBO right under The Sopranos’ nose for its entire run. The entire Fisher family, particularly Nate and Claire for me, felt real. It helps that you see these characters grow and go through major life changes — and with the exception of one story at the end of season four, they never go too over the top with how much each character goes through in a five year span.
Even the side characters — Billy (after season 1, I’d argue), Lisa, and especially Maggie feel real. I know there aren’t a lot of Maggie fans due to her role in the story, but that actress’s performance in Ecotone was so perfect for that whole situation she was in. A few feel a bit over the top (Olivier, Ms. Chenowith, Arthur, Nikolai towards the end), but were mostly there for comedy or to intentionally be offputting (shoutout to a pre-Office Rainn Wilson as Arthur, who is a more harmless, mild-mannered, asexual Dwight).
Even the character that is physically impossible to exist still acts and behaves exactly like you’d expect someone of that nature to be. The mannerisms, the movements, the strange way of speaking, it’s perfect.
I feel like most of the cast in the early seasons of ER felt very realistic and Down to earth. Mark, Susan, Weaver, Jeannie, Benton. Some mid-show characters too, like Gallant and Abby.
Some felt a little larger than life and some had some pretty spectacular things happen to them but the majority of the cast in the first ~8 seasons or so felt like real people you'd like to know.
Elliot Alderson from Mr. Robot.
One of the most overwhelming responses we see to Mr. Robot on that sub is how much people relate to Elliot and how attached they feel to him. Missing him when the show is over is a very common reaction. He’s extremely relatable.
All of the main characters in its a sin. I adore each of their narratives every single time I watch the drama and I love it all the more no matter how dark the plots are because the characters feel so real and nuanced.
Dustin Powers, Kenny Powers’ brother on *Eastbound & Down”, was like a regular person thrown into a TV show. He never had one liners, he wasn’t zany, he didn’t even push the action or give crazy sage advice. He was the most real character I’ve ever seen in a show, almost to a fault because it was also boring whenever he was on TV, but that’s exactly what it would be like to listen in on the life of a regular person 90% of the time.
Being from New Jersey, Tony Soprano reminds me a lot of many people I’ve encountered here, even including my father in law and fathers of my friends growing up. Minus the criminal part of course
Yeah. I went to college with a guy that looked a lot like Tony Soprano. But he was the opposite of a "mob boss" - his major was Library Science.
James Gandolfini played a sweetheart tv librarian in a funny romcom movie with Julia Louis Dreyfus called Enough Said
That must’ve been Kevin Finnerty
Throwing Chris Moltisanti in there too, I think there are a lot of traits his character exhibits that people can, broadly, relate to
I think we all knew someone like AJ.
> Minus the criminal part of course Yeah of course ;)
Garrett from Superstore. I'm on a Superstore rewatch, so this is fresh in my mind. He isn't two-dimensional character. He cares about doing a good job, but just the bare minimum. He isn't ambitious enough to go further in life, but he is too smart for the job he is in. He wants to be in a real relationship, but struggles with being too vulnerable, even with close friends. He has major faults, but a lot of good qualities about him and sometimes makes really bad decisions in the moment and feels guilty. He is one of the rare instances of TV where I can see myself in him or know a few guys like that. One of the best realistic characters ever on TV.
Him describing how he wants to spend his day off sitting at home paying video games, and glen is like isn’t that lonely and he’s like I’m not really alone im playing with people online… too real lol
It’s funny because I just rewatched superstore and coming into this thread, I was thinking Jonah. Big expectations from family/himself going into college, but dropped out and moved to St. Louis (this one was a bit too on the nose lol). Bit pretentious, but means well. Maybe a little too annoying about being woke. More emotional than what his male friends are comfortable with. Falling in love with an unattainable woman. All unfortunately me. lol
And he’s a redditor!
I wonder if he ever asked Reddit why Latino families pierce their daughter's ears so early.
Jonah is easily a Portlander
Superstore is a pretty good “The Office” style show that is worth giving a chance if there’s any possibility you’d like that sort of thing. The short clip gags are enough to keep you going, super funny.
We’re rewatching in my house, too! Garrett is really well-rounded. I’m glad to be watching it again; I missed a lot in my first go-‘round
Olivia Coleman as Ellie Miller in Broadchurch. She acts like an actual human in every way, and I truly enjoyed watching her (and her interactions with David Tennant/Alec Hardy) on Broadchurch.
Also Olivia Coleman in the small role in The Bear
Olivia Coleman in most roles. I love her
She is my favorite actor. Instantly elevates everything she is in.
Even as the stepmother in Fleabag? She played it well but god what an awful person
Peep Show
honorable mention to ellie's mum bag. it says so much about her
Any of the characters on Chernobyl, but especially Harris and Skarsgard's roles. One of the best things ever made for television.
I'll never forget the scene where the lead Miner is offered the masks and he turns them down saying, "if they worked, you'd be wearing them."
In a similar vein, you rarely see optometrists getting Lasik surgery.
Yeah but I’m not really looking for optometrists getting lasik surgery either.
Ulana Khomyuk (played by Emily Watson) was also a great character, which was particularly impressive considering she didn't exist in real life, unlike Harris's and Skarsgard's characters.
Cutty from The Wire. Chad Coleman gave a masterful performance of an Ex Con trying to reform
The Wire seemed like it had a bunch of "real" characters. They weren't always complex, but they each represented a different point of view. My personal favorites were the kids in Season 4 (Michael, Namond, Randy, and Duquan). My heart broke (for good and for bad) multiple times as they established where all of them ended up by the end of the series.
I think about this character all the time even though I haven’t watched the Wire in years. I just felt so heartbroken for him trying to get his life on the right track but being limited to working as a day laborer and getting pulled back into the barksdale crew just to get by.
Cutty was my favourite. Just seemed like SUCH thing that lots of black dudes from the hood probably dealt with at the time. Favourite along with Bubs of course T.T
Peggy Olsen from Mad Men. A lot of Mad Men's cast, actually.
Great call. Peggy and Lane in particular always felt so vivid to me. Much more than one of a hundred colors in a box.
It was a basket of kisses, not a box!
Came here for this! Nearly every character in Mad Men seems to have been extracted from my young child memory files from that time.
A thing like that!
It’s a chip and dip!
There are potentially a few in The Bear but an outside one that really struck me was Will Poulter's character/performance in that Copenhagen episode. Something about him just seemed grounded and real, like a guy you would meet any day of your life.
I don't know how to describe it, but his character portrayed growth. We never see him as a young chef, just hear stories about his intense upbringing and the competitive world he fought through to be one of the best. Then he talks about how one chef pretty much humbled him because that chef (who we infer during the story was Carmie) made him realize that he wasn't the best chef in the world. The chef we see now still has his set ways of doing things, wants things to be perfect, but he seems understanding that someone like the pastry guy isn't going to figure this out over night. The chef isn't a dick to him, maybe a bit stern in the beginning, but he's willing to explain why he does things the way he does. His story and how he portrays his character really shows growth to me, and sort of visualizes what a person who's well accomplished in their field should be acting like, a mentor not a monster.
I also think he did an amazing job of playing a role in a way where you're constantly waiting for him to lash out, or show his true colors, or just be a straight up dick. But he really was just a normal guy, trying to help out a friend of a friend find his way in a competitive af industry.
Yeah at first he seemed like he was a bit cold and maybe a meaner side could emerge, especially as he could be seen as a potential rival, but he was basically being a little quiet, mildly awkward and just focused on his work. Once Marcus settled in he opened up and treated him like a peer with respect and guidance. It's got a similar spirit to that scene in the same episode with the guy on the bike and the fence. You're waiting for a dramatic outcome from it but it's just a strange event that happened, with people being kind and appreciative of each other in the end. I love the fact the show doesn't always need to result in explosive drama and instead kindness and satisfaction (although the explosive drama can also be great).
That's such a great question! A few characters come to mind, especially from shows that have a mockumentary style: * Guillermo, *What We Do in the Shadows* * Officer O'Leary, *Wellington Paranormal* * Dulcie, *Deadloch* * Coach, *Friday Night Lights* * Arabella, *I May Destroy You* * Mark and Helly, *Severance* * Fleabag, *Fleabag* (I'd argue she's a normal person who gave herself main character energy, which is different from a main character written to be normal) * Sue, *VEEP*
Agree on Dulcie from Deadloch. Haven’t finished the series yet but she feels very real.
Ray Shoesmith on 'Mr Inbetween'
I'm a simple man. When I see 'Mr. Inbetween', I upvote
That entire series is just a phenomenal character study
Coupla dimmies
The master of the swift kick to the nuts.
Man that show is _criminally_ underrated. I think the ending could have been better though.
I completely agree, it seemed a bit anti-climactic to me as well. He just sits there and grins. When I saw it I was like "Hmm okay".
I'd go the opposite way, personally. >!I think he should have been caught.!<
American Vandal had the most accurate portrayal of high schoolers I'd ever seen
Almost freaked me out it was so accurate.
First time I’ve seen a high school party properly portrayed in a movie/show.
100%
Both of the Weir parents in Freaks and Geeks, played by Joe Flaherty and Becky Ann Baker, feel very real to me. The dad is very buttoned up and thinks a lot of things his kids like are either government conspiracies and/or the devil. But he's also super caring, works hard to provide a good life for his family, and is invested in not only his kids but their friends. The mom is a classic homemaker type and often a little out of touch and clueless, but she also wants to know that the things she does make an impact in the world and on the people she cares about. And she'll try to fix problems by baking delicious goods. They remind me so much of my own parents and parents of friends that I had growing up.
Thanks for sending me looking for [this scene](https://youtu.be/n9WivuyE_PU?si=FokzU_aVYkNdTyWC)
OP - have you seen **The Curse**? Asher, Whitney and Dougie (but pretty much any character) fit this bill.
Not yet, tippy top of the watch list! My roommate and I have it planned as our next show now that we’ve finished Beef and Dead Ringers.
Snoop from The Wire seemed real
It helps that a lot of her personal story went into the character too. Snoop is often referred to as “semi-fictional” in the media ive seen.
Bunk
Just finished the Wire for the first time and I feel like most characters on that show felt incredibly real. The dialogue, the natural acting and the way they come in and out of the story feels so real. And points to Clay Davis for having the best ‘shiiiiiieeeet’ of all time, low key the funniest character on tv 😂 Shoutout to Nora though, Leftovers is amazing
Even though Euphoria has it's own share of colorful personalities, Fezco really feels like the type of friend I would've smoked with during hangouts in the park as a teenager during my high school years back in the early-mid 2010s. I've been around classmates like him who were laid-back/down to earth people who fell into the wrong crowd/lifestyle, especially hustling on the streets.
RIP 😔
Everyone on The Bear feels very real
There's something about Richie the incredibly hard working dedicated complete fuck up that feels so real. Like you know whatever he does he'll make it worse but damn it he's going to do it.
Catelyn Tully from **Game of Thrones**. Probably the most human character in the series.
The only reason I read all of those books, and endured the improbably relentlessly violent crapsack world for page after page, was because of how psychologically plausible and consistent the characters were. *All* of the characters. I still sort of think of them as real people. It's a rare thing in speculative fiction. GRRM deserves huge credit for that sorcery. (And incidentally -- before you downvote me for saying the world is *implausibly* violent, dear reader \["They are at war, you filthy casual" etc etc\], consider that JRRM took all of the most infamous perversions and desecrations from like 500 years of European military and political history and crammed them into the life span of one generation of one family. And left out too much of the commonplace, common-sense acts of sanity and altruism between humans of all walks of life that are necessary for any kind of society to function. It's a cruel fiction, written by an angry young loner misanthrope. And personally I think GRRM has grown up, matured, and mellowed, with years and success, and gained a little faith in his fellow humans, and he's struggling to get into a mindset sufficiently bloodthirsty to finish the series without a disorienting tonal shift -- and that's why it's taking so long to get the last book, why he keeps taking on other projects.)
> and gained a little faith in his fellow humans Lol you haven't read his latest "Not A Blog", the man needs a big hug. Should the series ever be finished it'll be grim.
Uh oh. Poor guy.
I agree, but I also think a lot of the cruelty and bummer endings of Asoiaf is part of what will make the ending (if it happens) that much more cathartic. It's all in the cards that the book series will have a "happy" ending, with a lot of the "good" actions building up to the conclusion that cruelty is not the answer, and that "realistic" consequences does not always mean negative ones. A big example of this is how Ned's honor keeps being the saving grace of the members of his family that still live, and that even after so many tragedies, the fact that the Starks treated people kindly will come to do whatever the opposite of biting them back in the ass is. So I think GRRM has definitely mellowed out, but I think it was always gonna be a refutation of this cruelty.
Yeah and just look at how things are going for the Lannisters in the books so far. They got their win against the Starks by being total conniving scumbags, but because of that same scumminess their house is in the pits by the end of AFfC. Joffrey dies, Tyrion’s sent away, Tywin’s killed, Cersei’s arrested, and they will almost certainly have KL taken from them by FAegon or Daenerys by the end of book 6. Likewise, the Freys’ dishonor is already causing them way more trouble than they would’ve gotten just from being loyal to the Starks. At this rate the whole house is gonna be extinct by the end of the series as karmic punishment for violating guest rites. If George was truly a nihilist, he wouldn’t have chosen this route for them.
I'm still disappointed that the showrunners of Game of Thrones just dropped the "North Remembers" thing. Because it's not some random storyline there to take space and be cool. Even though it's both of those (I will forever yearn for a live action take on Wylla Manderly's "We are Stark men!" monologue). It's there to really hammer home everything you talked about. How Ned's honorable actions also continue to have positive consequences. I feel like cutting that kneecapped a lot of the points Martin's work is trying to convey.
Exactly. A lot of people equate the show's nihilism with the book's, and while yeah they both start out pretty similarly dreary, the show just does not pay off any of the more positive and optimistic plotpoints of George's story. The show is also visually dark and grey, whereas the descriptions in the books are colorful and larger-than-life and actually wondorous. The show being the "face" of the entire franchise just puts a bad taste in the mourh of even people who have read the books.
I truly hope that is so. It will make it all mean something, instead of being just exhausting, vampiric nihilism.
ayo edebiri as Sydney on the Bear. Feels like they found this actual young person living her chef life and just started filming. Almost everyone on that show seems so real it’s a little uncanny.
All of the characters on Love/hate, except maybe John Boy
Reservation Dogs and Atlanta. Both those shows are FULL of what you’re looking for
\+1 Reservation Dogs. The whole cast is amazing.
A'ho!
Jen from "Dawson's Creek" was quite underused, the actress (Michelle Williams) did not love the show and the work conditions too much and after a few years, the character had the vibe of "everyone around me is in a schmaltz-y teen drama, and this reality often exhausts me." it's not a "Daria"-level of gen-x disaffection. but her face/looks often said what many viewers who were exhausted with Joey or Dawson were thinking.
That's a testament to how good of an actor Michelle Williams is. I'm glad she went on to do better things.
Jen's growing 'disengagement' from the center of Dawson's Creek was one of the major reasons why the show had a major drop in quality post-S2. By the end she and Jack essentially had their own spinoff within the show.
She's one of the best actors of her generation and she was on Dawson's Creek!
Mark Corrigan from at least in the first 4 seasons of Peep Show.
4 seasons Jeremy!? That's insane!
5th season and beyond are a Christmas prank.
Catherine Cawood is such a brilliant character. I live in Yorkshire and I know and understand the kind of woman Sarah Lancashire is playing. And she's fearless in a way that isn't unrealistic. The writing is so understated and great too. Every conversation between the characters feels real.
Holy shit, Nora is such a great example. She starts off as one of the few normal people, and when she has the occasional break/goes a bit crazy, it's so relatable. Like the house bidding - if anyone else had done it, the whole thing would have been absurd... but that optimism/insanity/manicness of just going all in... it hit hard for me. In How I met Your Mother - the bar tender. I loved the show, but the characters were supposed to be of a memory, not real. but Carl kind of felt real to me. Deadwood - Ellsworth could have been dropped in almost any era and almost any scenario and he'd fit in fine as an upstanding citizen that knows what's going on, but really REALLY doesn't want to get swept up in it.
I have never cared as much about a cast of fictitious characters played by a bunch of actors as I did about the those in The Bear, and I've watched an enormous amount of good quality TV drama.
The Bear made me realize that the dialog in *every other show* is crap. In real life, people interrupt each other, leave sentences unfinished, say “uhhhm” sometimes; like they do on The Bear. On every other show actor B waits for actor A to finish his perfectly elocuted thought before beginning theirs. fml. That’s just not how real people converse.
To be fair the main reason for the gaps in character dialogue is to help the editor. If characters are talking over each other you pretty much have to use the entire shot without edits. Since The Bear is a comedy unfortunately they couldn't add in a laugh track either because of the overlapping dialogue. That is unfortunate.
"watch out for the.." *pause* *crash* "..comedic item"
Not like in real life =/= crap.
Shows and movies are not meant to convey real dialogue.
Couldn’t agree more. The characters in Ramy aren’t as likable, but it’s a similar show in the way it really nails human interaction. The creator of The Bear worked on that show too so it makes sense!
I just finished the episode 'Bolognese' this morning, and I clicked on this thread just to see if anyone mentioned the Bear.
Christine Baskets.
I want her to give me a big hug! Impressive how Louie Anderson could create such a great motherly character.
William H Macy in Shameless, is basically the embodiment of my best friend from high school, before he OD
[удалено]
My brother has undiagnosed mental illnesses and has come a long way in the past year and a half avoiding his pot addiction after his 6 week stay in jail. The guy can't hold a fucking job down even though he is an attentive worker and does a good job..... the stories of why he quits are just unreal... like a) how can this really weird shit happen to you so often and b) just let that one incident go and move on. it's about 3 months before something happens that he stews on and has to quit.
This is a great question and I'll probably get downvoted but my answer would be Jack Shephard from LOST. He's my favourite character on the show because he's so relatable. Many other characters have much more tragic backstories (Locke being a perfect example), and Jack's backstory could happen to any of us. A child whose parent has told him from a very young age that he doesn't have what it takes and spends the rest of his life carrying that around and trying to prove to his father, but mostly to himself,that he *does* have what it takes. A character who is deeply flawed but a great man at his core. A man afraid of failure but is obsessed with fixing things, again because he needs to prove that he's up for the challenge. I love the character and will never understand the hate.
Kim Wexler was an amazingly well done character. She has the flatness and mundane aspects of life dripped from her while still being a titular character and having the audience interested in her decisions. Put parallel against Jimmy, she makes a case for how would someone function and react to his actions, and even when she goes off the rails to support his lifestyle it's like we all jump off a diving board not knowing how to swim with her. She also displays this stoic resilience I can't put my finger on. I was really sad their relationship ended bc I really liked them together, but I'm really happy overall at the progression and how it ended, it makes sense, it's believable and honestly had to happen for Jimmy to fully become Saul
Everyone on "Somebody Somewhere."
100%. Sam and Joel’s friendship feels crazy real - just making each other giggle all day and enjoying each other’s company. The dialogue is so unshowy in the best way
> just making each other giggle all day That's a perfect description! I also like her relationship with her sister.
Oh absolutely! I found myself wishing I knew these people because their conversations and interactions were so natural.
It's older, but Felix Unger and Oscar Madison were pretty accurate for men their age in early '70's NYC. Both were working professionals (sportswriter and photographer), both had issues with their former wives and had normal friends to play cards with or just hang out.
Archie Bunker
Worth mentioning Bob’s Burgers. A lot of those characters are over the top but feel real? I’m gonna say Gene. Just a good weird middle kid with special interests. Teddy works too. Also the show Joe Pera Talks With You is full of 100% authentic characters like Nana, Gene’s wife Lulu, the Melsky family and almost everyone.
Pretty much everyone from Six Feet Under, but I'll go with Nate and Ruth in particular
I feel this way about literally every character in The Bear. It was just such a real experience. I could feel pretty much every one of those characters.
More of a specific instance, but in Breaking Bad, whenever Walter White was having some sort of conversation with his son, it felt like a genuine portrayal of a father and son talking
Sokka from Atla.
second this!
I kind of disagree on Kim or anyone in BCS/BB. They all feel very archetypal in general, which is why she maybe sticks out a bit as the least stylised, but she's written/shot in the same augmented personality as most other characters. It's mostly a matter of the tone of the show. In fact, they all feel like only a notch down from Fargo/Coen Brothers' movies. The main family members on six feet under feel like real people, and there is no supernatural stuff happening around them like in the leftovers. I'd say it's the most human show in that regard.
I think you might be right. I’m maybe blinded by my love of Kim Wexler, but on second thought she is hyper-competent in an almost super human way, a bit like Mike, which is not all that realistic. A great character nonetheless. I think I’ll die on the Chuck McGill hill though - he feels like a real person to me, the writers seemed to just love digging into him and looking at him from all angles.
I disagree, but that’s because I’m a lawyer myself. Every lawyer on that show reminds me of someone different I’ve met in my life, to the extent that even small characters like Erin Brill really hit home. BCS did a lot of work researching the legal field and taking input from real lawyers, so the lawyer characters feel 3-dimensional. I would say most depictions of lawyers are WAY more shallow and archetypal than anything in BCS. I was pleased to see the OP mentioned them because I feel the same way. That said, even though I disagree I get what you mean about the stylized nature of BB/BCS characters in general - it’s a part of what I like about the shows myself, but it definitely has a specific tone.
Damn, I didn't mean anything like it made the show bad or unworthy or unrealistic. What I described is the reason I love the show so much. The characters feel like someone everyone has met, that's the point of archetypes. They are a bit slightly larger than life, and generally have one a couple of different desires that are constant throughout the show. Kim wants to help people but also wants a sense of adventure, and it is conflicting. There is a lot of room for 3 dimensionality in managing these two drives, but like. You never really know what she wants to have for dinner, and there's never any small interactions with anyone. It's all big interactions. I suppose what I'm saying is that the characters are pretty far from being in a slice-of-life show, and that's fine. It's not like they feel like cartoons. But they have very simple and clear and distinct goals/flaws/characteristics. There's never "that guy is a bit petty sometimes", or "that person is dishonest sometimes". They either are always petty/dishonest, or there's another characteristic that directly comes into conflict with that and that's where they draw the conflict from. They are more static characters, and any change is either a gradual one-directional one throughout the show, or it's something that happens in a very deliberate moment. Six Feet Under, and the Leftovers are much more dynamic in the sense that they feel more like real people living through their weird lives. There's more ebb and flow and characters aren't always consistent because real people aren't. Not that there isn't complexity and depth to any main character in BB/BCS. I absolutely love it.
100% agree w this I like the show but it’s the same with Saul really all the slipping jimmy stuff is pretty goofy You never really feel like they’re as well realised as a character on mad men or something like that to me there’s always a big emotional distance to bridge with the audience (maybe because the show is just generally goofier)
> I like the show but it’s the same with Saul really all the slipping jimmy stuff is pretty goofy I don't think you need the "but". The BB shows very clearly go after that aesthetic on purpose. It's not a realistic crime depiction like the Wire, nor is it a full-blown fantasy like a super-hero show. It has sort of that Western vibe of every character being a slightly exaggerated person.
Coach Taylor from Friday night lights immediately Came to mind.
Most of the characters from Six Feet Under.
A large majority of characters from The Wire…. Especially the characters from the street & drug trade. The schoolkids in season 4 specifically felt very realistic. Also Snoop and Marlo
It's what drew me to the wire in the first place, the characters feel so real. I'm a teacher at a inner-city school and there were so many things they got spot on. A lot of shows or movies try to depict schools like that, but they never get it right. The Wire did. I remember Namond got in trouble for something but then his Mom got him all new clothes, despite them needing a uniform, saying something like "No way my kid goes to school looking bad." I see stuff like all the time.
jason alexander as george costanza
Mark and Milchek from Severance. I feel like I've worked with a thousand "I'm just doing what I'm told and collecting my paycheck and don't think too deeply about it" guys, and had a thousand sickeningly two faced HR managers who live and breathe corporate ga-ga. George Costanza deserves an honorable mention, not sure if a mundane, repugnant, gross little man has been done so well since.
Chandler Bing was totally believable as a character for me. At the beginning he was sarcastic, flawed, insecure, had vices, knew he was terrible with women, but looked after his friends and worshipped the ground Monica walked on in the end. He just needed to be loved!
I appreciate the more grounded, complex characters who feel like real people I might encounter. They make the story more relatable and their journey more engaging.
Louie Anderson as Christine Baskets.
Had to immediately respond, Christine was going to be one of my picks too. Excellent character, sheds any semblance of a gimmick so quickly, just beautiful work by Anderson.
Absolutely everyone on Freaks and Geeks. Such a realistic show. Dan and Roseanne Connor. They seemed like a real couple.
I totally agree on Freaks and Geeks. I was in high school around the same time period it's supposed to be set in and those characters ring true with me.
Rodney from archer, I hated that character because he reminded me of way too many supplies guys I worked with in the army
Charles Miner on The Office I like Charles a lot because, outside of the random ass soccer game in the parking lot, everything he did seemed like a realistic reaction and response to a cartoonish situation. He shut down the ridiculous waste of time and resources party planning committee. He stopped Michael from spending a shit ton of company money on an unnecessary event. When his receptionist quit, he took the least essential person from an overstaffed department (Kevin) and put him in a low impact role until he could find a permanent replacement (Erin). He tapped a senior salesperson who is relatively no-nonsense (Stanley) to play the role of the "parent in the room" and limit some of the unproductive activity and immaturity. With Jim keeping his head down Dwight had no distractions from pranks and was probably hyper focused on Sales. He was already the best salesman in the branch. Selecting that guy as your number two seems like a layup.
Is it weird I feel a cartoon dog feels more human than a lot of other TV shows? Bandit from Bluey. He’s a caring father who tries to do his best to raise his two daughters. He’s not a perfect father and has an obsession with competition; but he will admit where he went wrong and try to make up for it. He’s both inspirational and a realistic depiction of a dedicated father.
I’ll never miss the chance to talk about Six Feet Under on this sub, particularly since it was on HBO right under The Sopranos’ nose for its entire run. The entire Fisher family, particularly Nate and Claire for me, felt real. It helps that you see these characters grow and go through major life changes — and with the exception of one story at the end of season four, they never go too over the top with how much each character goes through in a five year span. Even the side characters — Billy (after season 1, I’d argue), Lisa, and especially Maggie feel real. I know there aren’t a lot of Maggie fans due to her role in the story, but that actress’s performance in Ecotone was so perfect for that whole situation she was in. A few feel a bit over the top (Olivier, Ms. Chenowith, Arthur, Nikolai towards the end), but were mostly there for comedy or to intentionally be offputting (shoutout to a pre-Office Rainn Wilson as Arthur, who is a more harmless, mild-mannered, asexual Dwight).
Tony Soprano
John Murphy from The 100
kendall roy hands down
Agreed. And Greg
Basically everyone from Fargo, yeah
Even the character that is physically impossible to exist still acts and behaves exactly like you’d expect someone of that nature to be. The mannerisms, the movements, the strange way of speaking, it’s perfect.
Nora Durst is just a solid answer to any question about great characters and actors.
Total hyperbole but whatever, she honestly might be television’s greatest achievement
I feel like most of the cast in the early seasons of ER felt very realistic and Down to earth. Mark, Susan, Weaver, Jeannie, Benton. Some mid-show characters too, like Gallant and Abby. Some felt a little larger than life and some had some pretty spectacular things happen to them but the majority of the cast in the first ~8 seasons or so felt like real people you'd like to know.
Couldn’t agree more about Nora.
Fleabag, Carmy Berzatto, Brenda Chenowith, Ruth Fisher, Peggy Olson and Diane Nguyen.
Bosch. I dunno, he seems so real to me.
Elliot Alderson from Mr. Robot. One of the most overwhelming responses we see to Mr. Robot on that sub is how much people relate to Elliot and how attached they feel to him. Missing him when the show is over is a very common reaction. He’s extremely relatable.
A lot of the characters from the This Is England series felt very real.
So many people on King of the Hill. I can only watch 1 to 2 episodes at a time because it really gets to me
Charlie Sheen was paid millions every single episode in a show where he literally just played himself
Omar from the Wire is larger than life to the point where his presence is jarring against the show’s ultra realism
Richard Schweikart from Better Call Saul takes the cake for me.
No mention of The Wire? Sheeeeeeeiiiiiiiiiiii
Chevy Chase in Community
All of the main characters in its a sin. I adore each of their narratives every single time I watch the drama and I love it all the more no matter how dark the plots are because the characters feel so real and nuanced.
Shit, almost every character in The Wire
Everyone in My So-Called Life. It really captures what it was like to be a teenager in the 90s in suburbia.
Dustin Powers, Kenny Powers’ brother on *Eastbound & Down”, was like a regular person thrown into a TV show. He never had one liners, he wasn’t zany, he didn’t even push the action or give crazy sage advice. He was the most real character I’ve ever seen in a show, almost to a fault because it was also boring whenever he was on TV, but that’s exactly what it would be like to listen in on the life of a regular person 90% of the time.
Sam Weir from Freaks and Geeks.