AfterElton's Top 50 Favorite TV Characters
45. Lafayette Reynolds, True Blood (Nelsan Ellis)
In recent years we saw Lafayette’s vulnerable side through his love affair with good witch Jesus (Kevin Alejandro), which ended - as most True Blood romances do - in tragedy. We’ve also watched him slyly manipulate a gay bloodsucker for cash (Eddie, played by Stephen Root), deliver some tough love to his wayward cousin Tara (Rutina Wesley) and discover his own onsiderable powers as a witch. And he did it all without smudging his eyeshadow.
He’s already outlived his character in the books, and here’s to hoping that we haven’t seen the best, baddest, or ballsiest from Laffy yet.
34. Neal Caffrey, White Collar (Matt Bomer)
Initially possessed of a devil-may-care attitude even behind prison bars, Neal's outlook began to change when an old enemy first kidnapped and then murdered his lady love, Kate. Always fiercely loyal to his friend Mozzie, Neal has come to trust and value the friendship of his FBI handler Peter and Peter's wife Elizabeth.
And he paints and sculpts half-naked. Repeatedly.
Matt Bomer brings his own considerable charm and style to bear in full force in playing Neal, winning over male and female, gay and straight fans alike. With Bomer's recent publicized acknowledgment of his entire family, including partner Simon Halls, Neal Caffrey may just be what lays to rest silly notions about whether gay actors can play straight leading roles.
24. Eric Northman, True Blood (Alexander Skarsgård)
As the years went by, we learned more about your family (slaughtered!), your summer home (Pam memorably called it a “windy sh*thole”), and your romantic side. But just when we thought we had you pegged, a storefront witch stole your memory and you were reborn as a babe lost in the woods.
Eric, consider this an open invite to enter our house any day - windy sh*thole or no.
23. Justin Taylor, Queer as Folk (US) (Randy Harrison)
Justin, also known as “Sunshine” by good-hearted waitress Debbie Novatny (Sharon Gless), heralded the era of the new gay teen, onscreen and off. Out and proud, he marched to his own drummer and sometimes even wrote his own tune altogether. Like Glee’s Kurt Hummel, he was the victim of a bully (and almost died after a savage beating in the season 1 finale). But ultimately he became a stronger, more confident character as a result — a survivor. Just like many real-life teens then and today.
22. Veronica Mars, Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell)
20. Scotty Wandell, Brothers & Sisters (Luke Macfarlane)
17. Barney Stinson, How I Met Your Mother (Neil Patrick Harris)
16. Kevin Walker, Brothers & Sisters (Matthew Rhys)
He had a few memorable relationships, including a closeted soap actor and a smoldering preacher, but his relationship with Scotty remains the most complete and satisfying gay relationship in TV drama history, and will probably never be matched.
15. Sheldon Cooper, Big Bang Theory (Jim Parsons)
14. Spike, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (James Marsters)
Whether he was ruthlessly taunting the Buffster and her friends with his lady-love Drusilla, playing house with newbie vamp Harmony, or dealing with the anti-aggression chip planted in his brain by the Initiative, Spike was always criminally fun to watch. But it was when he fell in love with Buffy that his character really came into its own, leading to a heroic sacrifice in the final reels that left us all gasping for more.
Spike, we’d pick you over a Chaos demon any day.
12. Ianto Jones, Torchwood (Gareth David-Lloyd)
Ianto had a sweet and mild-mannered exterior, but he was also capable of holding dark secrets and keeping Captian Jack's voracious sexual appetite satiated. Sadly, just as he started becoming a more confident and active member of Torchwood, he was killed when joining Captain Jack to confront an alien menace, a death that drew the ire of fans and drove pages and pages of articles, blog posts and heated discussion threads. Years later, any mention of his death can still get people talking.
Ianto lives on in novels, radio plays and comics that explore his history between TV episodes. As long as there are Torchwood fans, it seems likely that they'll be debating the impact his death had on the series.
11. Willow Rosenberg, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Alyson Hannigan)
For years, Buffy Summers' first Sunnydale friend got the short end of the stick (though, luckily, not the pointy one - except in an alternate universe), but trudged on as one of the more valuable but under-appreciated members of the Scooby Gang. But all her studies and patience paid off, because over time Will stepped out of the corduroy overalls to become one of the most powerful characters in the Buffyverse. Sure, she almost used that power to destroy the world a few times, but let’s chalk that up to unchecked enthusiasm.
Willow of course also went down in television history as one of the first teen characters on a mainstream show to explore her sexuality and come out as a lesbian, thanks in good part to her first girlfriend, Tara (Amber Benson). We love Potential-jumping Alpha Witch Willow, softer-side-of-Sears Willow, werewolf-dating bookworm Willow, darksided and “kinda gay” vampire Willow, and everything in between.
9. Captain Jack Harkness, Torchwood (John Barrowman)
The omnisexual time traveler has left an impact that goes beyond the iconic Doctor Who franchise. He's been parodied and referenced on a variety of shows and comic writer Peter David named Captain Jack as an influence in how he wrote a bisexual superhero. While it's not clear when we'll see Captain Jack again, his influence will be felt for a long time.
6. Buffy Summers, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Sarah Michelle Gellar)
For seven seasons on two fledgling networks, reluctant hero Buffy Anne Summers grew, stumbled, loved, groused, and of course kicked a lot of vampire butt as she developed from a petulant SoCal princess to a strong, independent, wonderfully layered woman. She also died a few times along the way, but hey - nobody's perfect!
Buffy won us over because even though she wasn't perfect, she tried her best. She didn't ask to be the savior of the human race, but when push came to shove (and kick, and roundhouse, and pile driver), she was willing to sacrifice life as a normal teenage girl in order to save us all. Her father/daughter relationship with her doting watcher, Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) was the emotional core of the show, but it was her close bond with her mother, Joyce (Kristine Sutherland) that delivered some of the series’ most stunning moments.
And come on - at one point she dated a guy who later came out as gay (Scott). How could we not love this woman?
In the years since there have been legions of imitators, but no one will ever match the wit, strength, and just-stepped-out-of-the-salon hair that Buffy brought to the business end of Mr. Pointy.
3. Brian Kinney, Queer as Folk (US) (Gale Harold)
People just never can forget Brian. He's the king of all gay scoundrels, the patron saint of unapologetic homo hookups. For a brief period he made puka shell bracelets cool. (No mean feat). And, well, he's played by Gale Harold and so he's just ineffably hot.
Once on the show he was described as "the love child of James Dean and Ayn Rand." That fits, though thankfully he takes after Dean in the looks department.
2. Kurt Hummel, Glee (Chris Colfer)
A groundbreaking TV character on a one-of-a-kind series, Kurt has been slowly evolving out of the victim role (being thrown in a dumpster in the pilot, multiple Slushies to the face) into a more mature, stronger mentor. Witness his recent forgiveness and friendship with former bully, Dave Karofsky (Max Adler) for proof.
While many of Kurt’s storylines in the first two seasons of Glee revolved around his sexual orientation (and they sometimes still do) his character has become more well-rounded and is currently looking hopefully toward the future — life after high school. Kurt is a hopeful sign of the future for many of today’s gay teens: It may be a long, rough journey, but it will get better.
