Buck Strickland

Buck Strickland owns Strickland Propane, and never lets anyone forget it. He's the blustering, whiskey-soaked boss who built his empire on gas hookups and questionable decisions, more interested in golf, women, and dodging paperwork than actually running his business. Hank does the real work; Buck takes the credit and the liquor cabinet.

Stephen Root plays him as pure Texas id — vain, horny, gloriously irresponsible, and somehow likable anyway. The show uses Buck as the chaos Hank's decency has to compensate for, and Root's gravelly bravado never lets you forget that underneath the swagger is a man barely holding his company together with luck and charm.