Det. Martin Hart

A Louisiana homicide detective in 1995, Martin Hart presents himself as the steady, reasonable one—family man, easy charm, pragmatic cop. He's partnered with the stranger, more obsessive Rust Cohle, and spends much of his energy managing that relationship while projecting an ordinary decency he doesn't always practice at home.

Harrelson plays Hart's self-regard so naturally that you almost miss how the show is quietly interrogating it. He's the folksy counterweight to Cohle's philosophizing, but the writing keeps letting small cracks show through the charm, and Harrelson never signals them—he just lets Hart believe his own account of himself.