Charlie Runkle

CHARACTER
Charlie Runkle
Gender	Male
Date of Birth	-
First Appearance	Pilot
Last Appearance	La Petite Mort
Occupation	Talent Agent (former) Car Salesman
Number of episodes	24
Relatives	Marcy Runkle (wife (separated))
Portrayed by	Evan Handler

Charlie (Chuck) Runkle is a former Hollywood talent agent, most notably of Hank Moody. He was fired when a tape of him masturbating at work was exposed to his boss by his former secretary Dani. He has no hair. Blessed with an entertaining balance of wide eyed loseristic faults and having-a-clean-conscience confidence, Charlie always seems to come out on top despite a target often being painted on his bald head...

A natural born seller from an early age, he sold BMW's in the Valley at the age of 21; a job he has to return to when he loses his job as an agent. Charlie also displays characteristics of a somewhat sycophantic man. The primary example of this is when he finds himself deferring to his more dominant wife Marcy. Charlie also tends to give in to others such as his best friend/client Hank Moody, and sex-crazed boss Sue Collini. Despite appearing rather meek around these people, Charlie knows how to assert himself when necessary. This assertiveness and ability to control a situation at the drop of a hat are traits that make Runkle a great agent. However, this does not mean Charlie Runkle is without his major flaws.

When Charlie is faced with a situation in which he is victorious, he will often become sexually aroused and make rather questionable decisions. One example would be his tendency to sleep with women other than his wife, Marcy. As Marcy is often not present during Charlie's successes, he has been known to give in to the blatant sexual harrassment of his boss Sue Collini ("Sue Collini always gets the weenie"), or the come-ons of his aspiring porn star client Daisy. Charlie and best friend Hank Moody will often indulge one another's deviant behavior while hanging out together, especially if there is alcohol involved, (there always is). A representation of this is that Hank and Charlie will go out for a few drinks at a bar, then find themselves at a strip club later in the evening; the situation usually tends to escalate from there (i.e stealing, sleeping with strippers, fights). A notable setback of this behavior (for both men) is that their wives/girlfriends/daughter usually catch them directly in the act or in another way. Despite all of that, Charlie still has another character flaw that is seemingly worse (yet funnier) than the aforementioned. In times of stress, Runkle will often find himself alone in his office. In thinking that he is completely alone, Runkle will then proceed to loudly and enthusiastically masturbate all over his office. He seems to do this quite often, as his former secretary, Dani, hid a camera in Runkle's office to tape this specific act. However, since being confronted by his former boss with these perverted and chronic actions on camera, he appears to have curbed this behavior for the time being. In his youth, it is implied that Runkle had an affinity for snorting cocaine, an addiction he may have shared with his estranged wife Marcy. Runkle will also often have mini-psychological breakdowns and cry in the presence of others when overly stressed.

Oddly enough, Charlie Runkle also appears to have no trouble at all attracting women of all shapes, sizes, colors, and ages. While nowhere near as proficient as Hank Moody at this, Charlie does well with women, despite his looks being considered no more than average. Charlie frequently faces crisis in each of the season usually with him losing his job (has three jobs as an agent and is rehired at his old agency in the second season) or losing his true love Marcy.

Charlie's latest pet project is pitching his ex-wife's television show (about the hectic lifestyle of being a waxer to the stars).