Dr. Julian Bashir

Fresh out of medical school, Julian Bashir arrives on Deep Space Nine thrilled to have landed what he sees as a dangerous frontier posting. He's earnest, a little pompous, and eager to prove himself as chief medical officer, delivering speeches about adventure that make the station's veterans wince. He also, awkwardly, has a crush on Jadzia Dax.

Siddig plays the callowness completely straight, which is what makes it funny rather than grating — you believe this man really does think he's arrived somewhere glamorous. The writing then spends years quietly correcting him, letting competence and humility grow underneath the bluster without ever losing the warmth that made him likeable in the first place.