Lee Tergesen

Lee Tergesen plays Tobias Beecher in Oz, giving the prison drama one of its most unsettled centres. Beecher arrives badly equipped for his surroundings. Tergesen makes his fear uncomfortable to watch without reducing him to a helpless audience surrogate; there is pride, anger and awkwardness there too.

His other major HBO role is journalist Evan Wright in Generation Kill. The performances offer a useful contrast: an observer learning how to live alongside Marines rather than a prisoner trying to understand a dangerous new hierarchy. He also appears as Andrew Larrick in The Americans.

Tergesen's career includes comedy as well as crime drama. He played Terry in Wayne's World and Chett in the television version of Weird Science, alongside a long run of guest and recurring television work. Oz remains a particularly strong demonstration of how much he can communicate when a character has no comfortable response available.