Some of the best TV characters are the crazy ones. Compiling a list of the craziest characters on TV was really tough since there are so many performances and characters to consider. Crazy comes in many forms, not merely just a killer or villian. It could be someone’s philosophy or view of things that makes them crazy. Some wear a friendly smile and don’t even realize they are insane at all. Below is a list of five crazy and captivating characters currently on television. Be warned – there could be spoilers.
WALTER WHITE ON BREAKING BAD
Walter White is a character on the show Breaking Bad who became crazy. Walt, played by the acting genius Bryan Cranston, did not become truly insane until season four. At first, we could easily relate to Walt. He was a dad and husband going through a tragic midlife crisis while dealing with some serious health issues. We watched as this chemistry-teacher-turned-meth-cook nearly lost his life and his sanity in his quest to make money in the world of illegal drugs. This past season we witnessed Walter White’s demise as his evil alter-ego “Heisenberg” finally took over. In one episode he explains to his worried wife that he is not in danger: he IS the danger. He says that he is the guy you don’t want to see when there’s a knock on your door. It is the first time Walt has come out and shared his alter ego to his wife. It’s a point of no return. Remember Walt’s laugh at the end of season four’s eleventh episode “Crawl Space“? The laugh was bone-chilling and something you would see from a crazed maniac in a horror movie. Truly terrifying!
DEXTER MORGAN ON DEXTER
Dexter Morgan is one of the most extreme characters on tv! Dexter, played by Michael C. Hall, is a blood spatter analyst for Miami police department’s homicide unit who doubles as a serial killer. He is an unusual serial killer because he lives by a code: he can only kill criminals. You like him and you hate him because he can brutally murder people and he leads an otherwise normal and respectable life. As a serial killer he conceals a monumental secret. Morgan has to keep his need to kill hidden from those he loves, including women in his life, his sister and his own son. He doesn’t show or feel some of the natural human emotions, so he finds himself pretending with all those around him. We are left wondering if he might sometimes truly feel those emotions after all. There is something really likeable about Dexter Morgan. Even as he is brutally murdering people, chopping them to pieces and dumping them in the ocean, we become attached to his character. There is no black and white, right or wrong in Dexter. Dexter Morgan may be one of the most intense and extreme characters on television but we love to watch him!
SHANE WALSH ON WALKING DEAD
Shane Walsh is a television character driven to insanity on AMC’s The Walking Dead. Shane, played by Jon Bernthal, is a former police officer who is a survivor in a zombie infested world. Living under such extreme circumstances has led Shane to act in crazy ways. After the zombies began to attack, believing that his best friend and police partner Rick Grimes was dead, he began an intimate relationship with the Grimes’ wife. Walsh fell in love and vowed to protect her and her son, only to find out that Grimes was actually still alive! This was when we began to witness his mental decline. Shane and a man named Otis were attacked by zombies. In a frantic effort to save his own life, Shane shot Otis in the leg, leaving him to be eaten while he escaped to safety. Later realizing what he had done, and discovering a missing clump of hair, Shane desperately shaved his own head. In this chilling and intense scene, we realize that a transformation has occurred. Shane Walsh is not the man he once was…
TRACY JORDAN ON 30 ROCK
Tracy Jordan is easily one of the craziest characters on television. Jordan, played by Tracy Morgan, is a television actor, the star of a sketch comedy show. His insanity is part of a comedy. Although we laugh at his antics, Tracy Jordan shows that he is disturbed and crazy. From attempting to stab Conan O’Brien to getting arrested at Chuck E Cheese to mooning the world on live TV, Tracy Jordan keeps us laughing.
SHEILA JACKSON ON SHAMELESS
Sheila Jackson is really crazy! Sheila, played by Joan Cusack, suffers from agoraphobia. It makes her afraid of the outside world. She stays in her home all day long. She keeps her home obsessively neat. She makes extravagant and exotic meals and lives in her own fantasy world. A fantasy world that she shares with disturbed people. One of those disturbed people is Karen Jackson, her promiscuous, sociopathic teenaged daughter. The other is an alcoholic deadbeat father, Frank Gallagher. We are never quite sure if Sheila knows how disturbed these two people are… Is she in denial? Is she oblivious? Will we ever know the answer? She even agreed to kill Frank’s dying mother with a pillow! She showed no remorse. Sheila seems so comfortable as she sits on the pillow, suffocating her victim. It’s shocking! As Jackson cuts herself off from the outside world we all know she is really crazy!
So what do you think? Do you agree? What are some of your favourite crazy TV characters?
You picked all the characters I like. Dexter is my favorite, although this past season left me upset. The script had him making mistakes that wasn’t in his character profile.
Good post.