Nicholas Braun

Nicholas Braun spent ten years playing the tall one at the back. Sky High in 2005, Princess Protection Program, Minutemen, Cameron in the television version of 10 Things I Hate About You, Prom, Ponytail Derek in The Perks of Being a Wallflower, the kid who signs up in The Watch. Pleasant, awkward, no threat, easy to look past.

Succession found the use for it. Greg Hirsch is the only person in that show with no leverage whatsoever, which means every scene he is in is really about him trying to acquire some, and Braun plays the scrabbling without ever making Greg clever enough to succeed or stupid enough to excuse. Three Emmy nominations came out of it, and the character ended up the most quotable in the series, which is unusual for someone who spends most of it being told to leave the room.

The interesting films are the ones that turn the same quality nasty. Derrek in Zola is an unthreatening man who is nonetheless a danger to the people around him. Robert in Cat Person does something similar with more discomfort and fewer jokes. Red State, back in 2011, was the first sign that the amiability could be inverted. Saturday Night is the party trick: he plays both Andy Kaufman and Jim Henson in the same film, which is either inspired casting or a wager.