Toby Damon

Toby meets Kate at an overeaters support group and falls for her almost instantly, undeterred by her wariness. He's big, funny, unguarded, and relentlessly upfront about his feelings, cracking jokes to cover nerves and wearing his heart embarrassingly close to the surface. Where she holds back, he leans in.

Chris Sullivan makes a character who could be pure comic relief feel like a whole person, letting the jokes land as armor rather than shtick. Toby's enthusiasm is written broad, but Sullivan finds the anxious, generous man underneath the bluster, so his romantic pursuit reads as brave instead of pushy.