The Creation of a TV Legend - Andre Braugher
Last week it was reported that Andre Braugher had passed away from a short illness of lung cancer. As I scrolled through social media and saw the headline again and again I felt such a strange emotion of loss. Of course, Andre Braugher brought to life ‘Captain Raymond Holt’ from ‘Brooklyn Nine Nine’.
This series falls into my comfort watches. If I’m cleaning, making my lunch or just want some TV background noise, I know I can put on any episode or series and I will be content. After finishing Superstore for the tenth time and still tearing up at that season finale, I returned to the Nine Nine. The next day Captain Holt was dead. It was a very jarring feeling.
Not two weeks ago had I thought about the public outpouring of grief towards Matthew Perry. Friends wasn’t a show I grew up with, it’s something I only watched in later years so I am not a part of the fandom. Honestly I don’t think I belong to any show’s fandom to an extreme extent but the news of Braugher’s death made me realise how some ‘Friends’ fans felt when they found out their "Chandler” had died.
Separating the character from the actor
It is times like this that make you realise how difficult it is to separate the character you know and love from its real life actor. There have been many characters I have loved yet felt immediately let down by who portrays them when watching interviews. It’s nothing on the actor but more the parasocial relationship I have created between us.
A festive example of this is how people can’t let child actors grow up i.e. Macauley Culkin in Home Alone. People love to keep the image of ‘Kevin’ in their minds so are unable to accept Culkin has a real-life adult man.
Despite Braugher being an exceptional dramatic actor, I will always know and love ‘him’ for Captain Holt. His script was the best in the entire series, it was witty, absurd and nuanced plus his professional rivalry with Captain Wuntch was some of the best scenes in TV comedy history.
Disenfranchised grief
This feeling of loss towards a beloved fictional character can be attributed to the concept of ‘disenfranchised grief’ from the world of counselling theory. It suggests that loss is not accepted or understood by the larger population but for the individual is a genuine emotion.
This is because people create connections between themselves and characters onscreen. We follow their backstory, their careers and relationships. For them to die in the show, or their actors in real life, it is tragic in our minds. Interestingly the death of McDreamy in Grey’s Anatomy is often citied in these articles so he must have pulled a real punch on fans.
Utmost respect and appreciation
For us, the viewer, to create these connections it highlights the talent of the real life actor. We wouldn’t feel so indebted to these people without their charisma, emotion or humour. So, thank you Andre Braugher for giving the world Captain Holt. He is a TV legend and always will be. For your viewing pleasure, here is 10 minutes of comedy gold from the man himself.