# Who is the best supporting actor in a sitcom?

> Second billing, first laugh. These performers turned side parts into the reason people tuned in.

*By YPB Team · Published August 7, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/who-is-the-best-supporting-actor-in-a-sitcom*

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## Current results (0 votes)

1. **Michael Richards**
   Played Kramer on Seinfeld and won three Emmys for supporting actor in a comedy.
2. **Matthew Perry**
   Played Chandler Bing on Friends and gave the show its sarcastic register.
3. **Jason Alexander**
   Played George Costanza on Seinfeld across seven supporting-actor nominations.
4. **David Hyde Pierce**
   Played Niles Crane on Frasier and won four supporting-actor Emmys.
5. **Rainn Wilson**
   Played Dwight Schrute on The Office, the show's most imitated character.
6. **Sean Hayes**
   Played Jack McFarland on Will & Grace and won the supporting-actor Emmy in 2000.
7. **Danny DeVito**
   Played dispatcher Louie De Palma on Taxi, a supporting part that dominated the show.
8. **Christopher Lloyd**
   Played Reverend Jim on Taxi before Doc Brown, winning two comedy Emmys.
9. **John Ratzenberger**
   Played Cliff Clavin on Cheers, a walk-on audition that became eleven seasons.
10. **Woody Harrelson**
   Played Woody Boyd on Cheers and won a supporting-actor Emmy in 1989.
11. **Nick Offerman**
   Played Ron Swanson on Parks and Recreation, the show's most quoted figure.
12. **Neil Patrick Harris**
   Played Barney Stinson on How I Met Your Mother across four Emmy nominations.
13. **Ty Burrell**
   Played Phil Dunphy on Modern Family and won two supporting-actor Emmys.
14. **Tracy Morgan**
   Played Tracy Jordan on 30 Rock, the show's engine of chaos.
15. **Jack McBrayer**
   Played the relentlessly cheerful page Kenneth Parcell on 30 Rock.
16. **Matt LeBlanc**
   Played Joey Tribbiani on Friends and carried the character into a spinoff.
17. **Andre Braugher**
   Played Captain Raymond Holt on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, deadpan against a loud squad.
18. **Danny Pudi**
   Played Abed Nadir on Community, the character who narrated the show's own tropes.
19. **Wayne Knight**
   Played Newman on Seinfeld, a recurring part that became the show's villain.
20. **Aubrey Plaza**
   Played April Ludgate on Parks and Recreation, deadpan opposite relentless optimism.

Tags: actors, tv shows, comedy, sitcoms