Joel Kinnaman (The Killing)
The ''new partner'' character is a well-worn procedural trope, but Joel Kinnaman's Stephen Holder is a true original. Both guileful and charming, Holder investigating the disappearance of Seattle teen Rosie Larsen was suspiciously talented at playing the hoodlum, as when he earned the trust of Larsen's classmates by offering them marijuana. ''It's a rare thing to get such a dubious and conflicted scene, which is a really great way to present a character,'' says Kinnaman, 32. Plus, he manages to stand out despite being drenched by near-constant precipitation on The Killing's Seattle set. Jokes the native Swede, ''That's one of the privileges of going to a Swedish acting school we do, like, two months of rain tower.'' Tim Stack