15 TV Characters Who Were Secretly Based on Real People

TV writers do not always have to invent their strangest characters from scratch. Sometimes all they need is an unusual neighbor, an intimidating boss or somebody they met while researching another story entirely. Plenty of familiar fictional characters started with real people, although years of writing and an actor’s performance usually pushed them somewhere very different. In a few cases, the inspiration is obvious once you know the story. Others are so unexpected that it is difficult to imagine the real person watching their fictional counterpart for the first time. Some even supplied names, jobs and personality quirks that made it all the way to television. Here are 15 TV characters who were secretly based on real people.

Cosmo Kramer — Seinfeld

Larry David based Jerry’s eccentric neighbor on Kenny Kramer, the very real man who once lived across the hall from him in New York.

Olivia Pope — Scandal

Washington fixer Olivia Pope was inspired by Judy Smith, a real crisis manager who previously worked in the George H.W. Bush administration.

Ron Swanson — Parks and Recreation

The writers met a libertarian government employee who admitted she did not really believe in the mission of her own job, and Ron Swanson began taking shape.

Carrie Bradshaw — Sex and the City

Candace Bushnell created Carrie as an alter ego while writing about her own dating life in New York, partly so her parents would not realize every story was about her.

Ari Gold — Entourage

Jeremy Piven’s terrifying Hollywood agent was partly modeled on real super-agent Ari Emanuel, who has acknowledged that at least some of Ari Gold really does resemble him.

Don Draper — Mad Men

Don was partly inspired by advertising executive Draper Daniels, a creative director at Leo Burnett who worked on the famous Marlboro Man campaign.

Piper Chapman — Orange Is the New Black

Taylor Schilling’s character was the fictionalized version of Piper Kerman, whose memoir about spending time in federal prison provided the basis for the entire series.

Dr. Gregory House — House (2004–2012)

House was partly inspired by Sherlock Holmes, but creator David Shore also drew from a real doctor he knew whose blunt, skeptical approach helped shape the character’s personality.

Liz Lemon — 30 Rock

Tina Fey modeled Liz on a younger version of herself trying to manage intimidating personalities while working as a head writer at Saturday Night Live.

Lucious Lyon — Empire

Co-creator Danny Strong said Jay-Z’s rise from a troubled past to enormous success helped inspire elements of Lucious, alongside figures including Joe Kennedy.

Moe Szyslak — The Simpsons

Moe’s angry responses to Bart’s prank calls were inspired by bar owner Louis “Red” Deutsch, whose furious reactions to real prank callers had already become infamous.

Vincent Chase — Entourage

The series began with Mark Wahlberg’s experiences as a young star surrounded by childhood friends, although Vince eventually became a blend of several Hollywood leading men.

Johnny Bravo — Johnny Bravo

Creator Van Partible described Johnny as a 1950s-style character who looked like James Dean and talked like Elvis Presley, with the latter becoming especially obvious once he opens his mouth.

Norm Peterson — Cheers (1982–1993)

Norm was inspired by a real bar regular that Cheers co-creator Les Charles knew in college, right down to staying for “one more” beer and asking the staff to tell his wife he wasn’t there when she called.

Rebecca Bunch — Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2015–2019)

Rachel Bloom drew heavily from her own personality and experiences when creating Rebecca, describing the character as an exaggerated version of qualities and anxieties she recognized in herself.