Charlie Saxton

In Guillermo del Toro's Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia (2016), Charlie Saxton's Toby Domzalski helps make the pauses between adventures worth keeping. He voices the loyal, humorous best friend, a familiar assignment in an animated fantasy, but the programme allows its human exchanges time to matter. We grew fond of Toby because those small moments let us enjoy his company without waiting for the next piece of plot.

The live-action work puts him among ensembles too: he played Bug in Bandslam (2009) and Damon Drecker, the lead character's son, in Hung (2009–2011). His film work has often offered supporting or minor parts; Hung gave him 30 episodes with one character. Trollhunters made sustained voice work a larger part of his career, with Toby continuing through the spin-offs and Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans (2021). That continuity suits an actor whose comedy benefits from familiarity.

Kelsey Grammer's Blinky is a particular pleasure in Trollhunters, and Lexi Medrano's Claire Nuñez is another reason its human relationships hold our attention. Saxton contributes comic timing and the consistency needed to keep a returning character welcome across seasons. We value that steadiness in an ensemble, especially when the creatures could otherwise take over the programme. The weakness is the storytelling, which is familiar and sometimes thin. The cast makes that easier to forgive, but cannot make it disappear.

Art of a Hit (2024) marks a move into co-writing and co-producing with Gaelan Draper, his co-star from Bandslam. It gives Saxton a way to help determine the material, after a screen career largely spent in supporting and ensemble parts. That is a development worth following, though it is not a reason to declare those earlier roles a preparation for something more important. Try Trollhunters with the family, and give its human conversations as much attention as its creatures.