Cpl. Jeffrey "Dirty Earl" Carisalez

Dirty Earl is one of the enlisted Marines rolling into Iraq with First Recon, manning his vehicle with the grim competence of a career noncom. He keeps his head down, does his job, and lets the louder personalities around him fill the air with noise while he handles the actual driving and fighting.

Generation Kill is crowded with talkers, and Carisalez works precisely because he isn't one — Martinez plays him as a steady, watchful presence amid the bravado, a reminder that the invasion is also full of quiet professionals just trying to do the job right and get everyone home.