{"id":41762,"date":"2023-12-13T13:43:12","date_gmt":"2023-12-13T12:43:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1943926"},"modified":"2023-12-13T15:12:23","modified_gmt":"2023-12-13T14:12:23","slug":"in-brooklyn-nine-nine-andre-braughers-captain-holt-was-the-ultimate-role-model","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/in-brooklyn-nine-nine-andre-braughers-captain-holt-was-the-ultimate-role-model\/","title":{"rendered":"In Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Andre Braugher\u2019s Captain Holt was the ultimate role model"},"content":{"rendered":"

The stony-faced superior was the real beating heart of this offbeat comedy. <\/p>

By George White\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 13 December 2023 at 12:43 PM<\/p>

\n\n

Very few celebrity deaths have hit this writer as hard as Andre Braugher\u2019s. Sure, I\u2019ve never met the man, although <\/span>plenty of heartfelt tributes<\/span><\/a> from his colleagues suggest he was a charming, friendly guy away from the camera, but in Captain Raymond Holt, the deadpan police chief in zany<\/span> sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine<\/a>, the 61-year-old portrayed a character that played a big role in my life.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When I first stumbled across Nine-Nine, as a naive college student who was still figuring out who he was, it was very much Andy Samberg<\/a>\u2019s mistake-prone, constantly-resorting-to-humour-as-a-defence-mechanism detective Jake Peralta that I felt the strongest connection to.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The serial mistake-maker projected an unbothered exterior, but internally, secretly, wanted to be the best around. In short, 17-year-old me could relate.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet over the years, as I grew up along with the show across its eight seasons, it was Braugher\u2019s Captain Holt that I ultimately<\/span> came to admire most. An authority figure and leader who was both stern but sympathetic, who knew when to take a joke but also knew when to, for want of a better phrase, lay down the law, he was a fully fleshed-out person that transcended the sitcom he was in.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Jake\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Brooklyn Nine-Nine.<\/span><\/figcaption> John P Fleenor\/Universal Television<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Without a doubt, Braugher\u2019s comedic chops will likely be what most people remember from his time on the show. Shouts of \u201chot damn!\u201d and \u201cbone?!\u201d have created phenomenal GIFs that will stand the test of time. Terms like \u201cbingpot\u201d have become part of many people\u2019s vocabulary, including my own. And his petty<\/span> head-to-head with career-long rival Madeline Wuntch will never not be funny.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But it was the actor\u2019s dramatic capabilities that really made his character stand out. While Braugher shone in Nine-Nine \u2013 a comedy \u2013 the man was a stage actor at heart,<\/span> a theatre fanatic who received his training at one of the most prestigious schools in the industry, and viewers would regularly witness his true talent in heartfelt moments that spoke not just to the characters on screen, but to those at home.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The dynamic between Peralta and Holt is perhaps the most touching mentor-mentee relationship in sitcom history as, across eight years, the accomplished and self-assured Holt moulds Peralta into an accomplished and self-assured man, increasingly growing in respect for the detective<\/span> as time goes on.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When we first meet Holt in episode 1, it appears he has little time for the childish figure, but even in early scenes we get the sense that he knows there is a talented detective hidden under his seemingly carefree act. So he sets about teaching Peralta the importance of teamwork and discipline, challenging him to push himself, and bringing him back down to earth when his head gets too big.<\/span><\/p>\n

As Peralta faces challenging tests in his personal and professional life, Holt is always there to lend a listening ear or a word of advice, never leaving this ultimately scared young man to fight battles on his own. <\/span><\/p>\n

Early on, when Peralta is freaking out about Amy potentially leaving the force for a different department,<\/span> it\u2019s Holt who encourages him to be there for his friend. And later on, when he\u2019s worried about making a relationship work with Amy, it\u2019s Holt who keeps him calm and measured.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n