Andre Braugher reminded us that anyone can be silly
Comedy is about surprise, after all
The late Andre Braugher had a long and distinguished career, but many will remember him primarily as Captain Raymond Holt from workplace sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Braugher's brilliant performance meant that he was always the standout character in the show, but as the series went on, he also became the show's most loveable character - more than a straight man, and in his own way, just as bizarre and wacky as everyone else in the precinct.
Introduced as a serious, stolid foil to Andy Samberg's irresponsible and outwardly chaotic Detective Jake Peralta, Holt began mostly in a fairly traditional straight man role, funny only because he was serious in contrast to the chaos of the precinct. But as the series went on, and more and more of Holt's personality came out, he became, for lack of a better word, sillier.
He had a dog named Cheddar, he made a funny noise when he ate marshmallows, and he became more and more committed to the shenannigans during each year's Halloween heist. Though at heart Captain Holt remained a serious man with his resolute personality and love for the finer things in life, he began to embrace absurdity, along with his seriousness, as well.
Not to pull life lessons out of workplace sitcoms (though why not?), but there's something kind of wonderful about the show highlighting and celebrating this gradual change in Captain Holt. Not everyone is going to be pulling pranks and cracking jokes 24/7, but we all can have a little more fun in our lives, if we let it in.
