6) Tom Cavanagh – Harrison Wells
Within just one season, The Flash became one of the most popular DC shows of all-time. Obviously, a lot of the plaudits should be given to the fun tone, the good scripts and Grant Gustin’s winning lead performance. However, it also helped that it had a bloody good villain.
Unusually, it was almost immediately clear to the audience that the Reverse-Flash was actually Harrison Wells, Barry’s mentor. This allowed Tom Cavanagh to give two very different, but equally compelling, performances – evil Eobard Thawne and Thawne playing the genial Wells. Thankfully, the production team knew the show couldn’t continue without him and brought Cavanagh back for the second season, playing an alternate version of Wells.
It’s a testament to Cavanagh that, despite playing so many variations of the character, he gives a consistently great performance. As such, we look forward to seeing what unexpected turn the character will take next in the upcoming season 3.