Andy Bernard

Andy Bernard arrives at Dunder Mifflin's Stamford branch, then transfers to Scranton, an Ivy League-graduate salesman desperate to be liked and constantly performing enthusiasm. He name-drops Cornell, sings a cappella at any excuse, and manages a temper he can barely control, all in service of being seen as the office's most agreeable guy.

Ed Helms plays neediness as a live wire, so Andy's charm and his rage feel like the same current. The writing lets him be genuinely funny — the nicknames, the banjo, the a cappella — while never quite letting you forget how much approval he's chasing, which keeps him funny and faintly sad at once.