Sgt. Eddie Gibson

Sgt. Eddie Gibson holds down a post at the 15th Precinct, one of the steady uniformed presences who keep the paperwork and the front desk running while the detectives chase the cases that make the headlines. He's procedure-minded, unflashy, and part of the furniture of the squad room rather than its center.

NYPD Blue built its power on texture as much as plot, and figures like Gibson are the texture: the recognizable face behind the desk who makes the precinct feel like an actual workplace. O'Donohue plays him with the unforced ease of someone who's been doing this job a long time, which is exactly the point.