Pilot Thunderbird 2 Virgil Tracy

Virgil Tracy pilots Thunderbird 2, the huge green transporter that carries International Rescue's pod of rescue equipment to wherever disaster strikes. Second son of Jeff Tracy, he is the steady, unflashy one of the team — methodical, dependable, quietly capable under pressure, with a painter's eye that suggests there is more to him than machinery.

He works because the show gives its most solid brother the least showy job and makes that feel right: Thunderbird 2's slow, weighty launch has its own drama, and Virgil's calm voice performance matches it exactly. Against Scott's urgency and Gordon's cheek, Virgil is the dependable centre — patient, unglamorous, quietly essential.