In a cultural environment where outrage, drug-dependency, and drama are most likely to make the headlines, I think it’s important every once in a while to simply recognize good people. Nice guys shouldn’t come in last; they should be heralded and appreciated for providing great examples in a sea of crud. I don’t necessarily know who exactly are the five nicest guys in television, and I don’t even know if that can be quantified, but I am always struck by how nice, how generous, and how grounded the five men below are every time I see or hear them them in an interview, on a podcast, or out in the world.
5. Jon Hamm — If you’ve ever listened to a podcast with Jon Hamm (and I would suggest starting with this Pete Holmes podcast), it’s impossible to come away from them without being completely enamored with the guy. He’s Midwestern to the core, incredibly loyal, and is a huge proponent of manners and common decency. He’s the kind of guy who will be in your show, not for money or to boost his resume, but as a favor, and he does a lot of favors. He’s close friends with Amy Poehler (arguably the sweetest woman in television), and he’s exactly the kind of guy who’d throw a “Losers Party” after an Awards Ceremony where only winners had to pay to get in. He’s straight-up good people, and if everyone in Hollywood were like Jon Hamm, TMZ would basically be Upworthy.
4. Aaron Paul — Bryan Cranston really belongs here, too, because they are jointly two of the nicest people you could ever hope to meet, and their mutual respect and admiration for one another is inspiring. Over the years, they have been incredibly kind to Breaking Bad fans, especially Aaron Paul, who seems to want to do a good deed to every person who has ever watched the show. He will call his fans or even your wife a “Bitch,” (he’s also got an App for it). If you visit his house, he’ll even come down and say hi. He’s like a little kid who wakes up every morning completely in love with his life, and that kind of attitude is completely infectious.
3. Stephen Amell — It doesn’t matter if you watch, or even like his show, Arrow, but you should follow this guy on Facebook because his niceness might actually make you a better person. He is incredibly generous with his time, he uses his celebrity to support charities, and he’s a very big reason this fantastic Warrior Princess has raised more than $60,000 (so far) to battle her brain cancer. He picks people in need, and he rallies his fans around him. He’s also a huge supporter of F*ck Cancer! The man has only kind, generous things to say about the cast and crew of Arrow and other related shows. Even for a Canadian, he’s incredibly nice. Plus, you gotta love a man who tries to invent a new word (Sinceriously) in order to support great causes.
2. Norman Reedus — Back when I used to live in Boston, there was a local radio station that would have people call in periodically with their worst celebrity encounters, and invariably, Roger Clemens’ name would come up at least once every single time they ran the segment. Norman Reedus is the complete opposite. Everyone seems to have a “Norman Reedus is awesome” story, and if you spend more than five minutes on Reddit, you’ll see that he has taken yet another picture with a fan. He’s arguably the most fan-friendly celebrity around. Moreover, Daryl Dixon may be the lone-wolf henchman of The Walking Dead, but Norman Reedus is clearly the heart of that set, and a significant part of the reason that no one wants to get killed off. It’s not just a paycheck role; it’s a family, and Reedus is the glue that holds it together. Hell, only Reedus would admit to bawling like a baby when a fellow cast member was killed off. I don’t know that Daryl Dixon is absolutely essential to The Walking Dead anymore, but the presence of Norman Reedus almost certainly is.
1. Vince Gilligan — I’ve been listening to Vince Gilligan on interviews, and in podcasts for years now, and I’ve never known of anyone — in real-life or in the celebrity world — who is as genuinely nice as he is. There are a lot of TV showrunners who have reputations as jerks — Matthew Weiner, David Chase — but where someone like Aaron Sorkin or Weiner want to take as much credit as possible, Gilligan only wants to spread it around. I doubt he’s ever spent more than five minutes in an interview without thanking someone else, without attributing the success of an episode, or a scene, or even a prop to an actor, a writer, or a crew member. He makes a point of knowing everyone’s name, too, just so he has the opportunity to thank them.
Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul are so good, I think, because the cast and crew want to give their very best to Gilligan, not out of fear, but out of gratitude. The people with whom he works may respect him, and they may be incredibly impressed by him, but mostly, I think they love and admire him, and that’s the kind of person by whom you really want to do right, and the work that comes out of it clearly shows.
