Det. James Martinez

Detective James Martinez works the squad room of the 15th Precinct, eager to prove himself among older, harder-bitten partners. Young, sharp-dressed, and quick with a joke, he wants respect more than glory, and he pushes into interrogations and street work with a confidence that occasionally outruns his experience.

Turturro plays him with a live-wire energy that keeps the precinct's grimmer scenes from settling into monotony — Martinez needles, banters, gets under people's skin, and lets you see the insecurity underneath the swagger. He works because he's never just comic relief; the ambition is real, and so are the mistakes it costs him.