TV Meme: Day 14

Day 14 - Favorite male character

My favorite male character is half of my favorite couple on TV.  Coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler) from Friday Night Lights and his wife Tammy are the best representation of a healthy, happy,  hard-working married couple on TV.  They live in Texas where football is what people do on a Friday night (I grew up where it's hockey on Friday nights, but I understand the devotion).  Eric Taylor has to bear the burnt of the good games and the bad games - the town will be on his back more so than the players if the team doesn't win.   And he takes it in stride.  He works hard to make the kids he coaches good people as well as good players.  They have to learn respect, team work, the rules of football, and to some degree how to be good men.  He's there for the kids when they get in trouble, need some help, or need a father figure (though somehow he stays separate from them while making sure they know he's available).  He's a realist and know boys will be boys so fighting against underage drinking would be a lost cause, but showing up for practice on time isn't a debate.  He motivates them for the first few seasons with "clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose" and it always gives me goosebumps.  Easily my favorite male character on TV.  Runner-ups are Kurt Hummel from Glee, Patrick Jane from The Mentalist, and Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory.  The difference between them and Coach Taylor is how consistently he's written.  His character never reaches a caricature of a coach, but always seems authentic.  How much of that is Kyle Chandler and how much is the writing, we'll never know.