Hunter Doohan Is Vital to Wednesday's Success as Tyler

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Much of the attention around Wednesday, Netflix's new series focused on eldest Addams Family child Wednesday Addams, has come to, well, Wednesday (Jenna Ortega). But Wednesday's signature deadpan stare and macabre humor are at their best when there's someone playing things far more normal on the receiving end. That's where actor Hunter Doohan, who plays a "normie" barista named Tyler, comes in.

The town of Jericho—the home of Wednesday's Nevermore Academy—finds its residents all in one of two camps: outcasts, who have some kind of special power or ability, and "normies," who just appear to be regular residents of the small town. When Wednesday first arrives in Jericho, she finds Tyler in the local coffee shop. The two quickly hit it off (as much as anyone can "hit it off" with Wednesday Addams, at least), and he makes her a "quad"—a latte with four shots of espresso.

While there's much to be explored from there as far as this relationship goes, that's the basic crux of it: Wednesday is our dead-eyed goth with some mysterious abilities, and Tyler is the nice boy who can't help but be enamored with her. And for as good as Ortega is as Wednesday, Doohan's performance as the more down-to-earth Tyler helps the show to develop its main character into who they really want her to be.

Which is not to say that Tyler isn't an interesting and fleshed out character in his own right. We see not only his burgeoning relationship with Wednesday, but also get hints of a troubled life at home with his father, Sheriff Galpin (Jamie McShane), and sprinkles of a troubled past with a temper that he can't quite control.

Doohan is one of the standouts of Wednesday Season 1, and here's a little to know about him while you're finishing—or waiting for Season 2.

Tyler is played by Hunter Doohan in Wednesday.

Doohan, 28, has been acting in short films and more for over a decade, but his first major credit was as a Confederado Scout in a 2018 Season 2 episode of Westworld. But before he was an actor, he grew up as a big fan of The Addams Family, particularly 1994's Addams Family Values. "Christina Ricci, Anjelica Huston, and Joan Cusack in that movie are so good!" he said in an interview with EW.

But in this Addams Family story, he's got a bit of an idea as to why his character, Tyler, is so enamored with Wednesday. "He finds moments when he’s charmed by her darkness and oddness as opposed to being turned off as everyone else is," he said in an interview with Pop-Culturalist.com.

You've seen him before in other shows and movies.

After that first role in Westworld, Doohan's career has been busy; he appeared in an episode of the Renée Zellweger Netflix series What/If and Apple TV+'s drama Truth Be Told, but his biggest role came in the 2020 thriller series Your Honor, where he played the son of a judge played by Bryan Cranston.

Doohan described Cranston as "the nicest guy in the world" in an interview with the New York Post, and has frequently mentioned just how big of a fan he was of Breaking Bad—so Your Honor was really the opportunity to this young actor to work alongside one of his heroes.

Stream Your Honor Here

He got married in 2022—and Cranston officiated the wedding.

Doohan married his husband, Fielder Jewett, in June 2022, and—surprise!—his Your Honor father, Bryan Cranston, officiated the wedding. "Trying to sum up your wedding day in an Instagram caption is hard… It was absolutely the best day of our lives!" he wrote in his Instagram caption, where observant fans noticed Cranston in one of the photos of his slideshow. "Thank you to everyone who made it so special! ❤️"

Jewett is also in the entertainment industry, having produced movies like Rosy (starring Johnny Knoxville and Tony Shalhoub) and The Vanishing of Sidney Hall (starring Logan Lerman, Elle Fanning, and Kyle Chandler).

He might be back for Wednesday Season 2.

While those who got to the end of Wednesday may question just how viable a role Tyler could have in Season 2 (we won't explicitly spoil, but, if you know you know), the ending does give a pretty clear hint that he could return again if the writers decide they want him to.

"I do think he escaped at the end. When I read that on the page, I was so excited. I was like: 'Come on, don't be dead, don't be dead'," he said in an interview with Digital Spy. "I think he was being controlled by Miss Thornhill, and then he had to go manipulate Wednesday to carry out their plan. And I think he did a pretty good job with it."

In an interview with Variety, Wednesday co-showrunner Alfred Gough was much more blatant when talking about Tyler at the end of the season: "Yeah. Absolutely. He’s out there. That’s what we wanted to convey," he said.

There you have it, folks! Start readying those Season 2 theories.

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