What makes a character interesting? A good character has many different traits and features. Tommy Gavin, of Rescue Me, is a man of many different faces who struggles with domestic problems, as well, as work related problems. On one hand, he is a raging alcoholic who deals with seeing visions of dead people, but on the other hand he can be a great guy that you would love to be around. Just a few words that describe Tommy are compassionate, addicted, dishonest, and courageous. Even though he has many bad qualities he is able to redeem himself with his courageous actions that involve his job as a veteran New York City Firefighter.

Tommy’s alcoholism has taken many different turns for him in his life. When he’s not working, most likely you could find him with a bottle of Irish whiskey by his side or with one of the many women that he is cheating on his wife with. Both of these addictions have created problems in his life. At one point in his life he was dating his deceased cousin’s widow. The firefighters that he works with disapproved very much of this and decided to rough him up to remind him that this sort of behavior is not acceptable. From time to time Tommy contemplates having a drink, which causes him to have visions about what would happen if he did. Before he gave up drinking he would drink to help himself cope with the visions that he has. From time to time he sees visions of people who have died that he was close to, most frequently his cousin Jimmy. Some people around him say that this is a result of survivor’s guilt. His addictions nearly destroyed his life until he got control of them and got his life back on track.

Firefighter Tommy Gavin has saved numerous people throughout his career. When he brings someone out of a fire he sprints straight back in to look for more victims. Many of the other characters say to him that they would not be alive if it weren’t for him whenever he is contemplating retirement. When he feels like bragging he just shows off the scars on his arm and thigh to prove that he has done some incredible things for people. His compassionate side comes out during fires when he has to go save lives. One such time was when a young girl had been pronounced, dead but he was able to revive her by using CPR. Tommy’s compassion for other people doesn’t really extend to anyone but people involved with work. When a new recruit joins their fire house Tommy is usually the one who shows them the ropes. His reputation of being a selfless firefighter has earned him a great deal of respect throughout the department.

Our friend Tommy is a perpetual liar. Whenever he is confronted about anything uncomfortable to him he whips up a lie and problem solved. Almost everyone knows that he is dishonest when it comes to his personal life. He lies to everyone about everything imaginable. He doesn’t care about how big of a lie it is or to whom he is lying to. Two of his repeat lies are about his womanizing and his drinking problem. Even when he got back together with his wife he continued to cheat on her. For some reason Tommy just can’t seem to kick this habit.

Tommy Gavin has had many different struggles in his personal and professional life. His job as a firefighter is what separates him from your average bum on the street and a hard working man with a purpose. His addictions at times nearly lost him his marriage and his friends at the fire house. He was doing some things that the other firefighters just didn’t agree with. Tommy’s redeeming qualities are enough to earn him the respect of the people that he works with along with his friends and family even though he has done some crappy things in his day.