History JerkWithAHeartOfGold / LiveActionTV

** Tom Paris. In fact, the going-away speech given by Neelix in "Investigations" sums up this trope admirably.
-->"Good morning, ''Voyager''. I want to tell you about a friend of mine. I first met this man almost a year ago and, to tell you the truth, I didn't like him much. He seemed a little too cocky, a little too sure of himself. A lot of people had questions about him. He'd proven he'd pretty much sell himself out to the highest bidder, go wherever the wind blew him so people wondered, could you trust this person when things got tough? Would he stand side by side with you or would he let you down when you needed him most? But the fact of the matter is he proved himself right from the beginning. I wouldn't be alive right now if it weren't for him and the same goes for many of you. It took me a while to realize it. Like a lot of people, I was too caught up in first impressions to see the truth that was right in front of me. I overlooked his bravery because I was focusing on his brashness. I ignored his courage because I saw it as arrogance and I resented his friendliness because I mistook it for licentiousness. So while this man was giving us his best every minute of every day I was busy judging him. And now he's leaving. I'm proud to say that in spite of my narrow-mindedness Thomas Eugene Paris became my friend. I'm going to miss him. No more laughs over a game of pool. No more sitting up into the wee hours swapping stories. No more complaints about my cooking. (chuckling) Goodbye, Tom. I think I speak for more of us than you might imagine when I say you're going to leave an empty space when you go. I hope you find what you're looking for."

* ''Series/TheWalkingDead'': Has Daryl Dixon, who has no problem saying someone is stupid, but who also shares his stash of medicine and comforts a mother with a missing child. In the Season 2 opener, he saves T-Dog's life. His brother Merle, on the other hand, is undiluted jerk.

** Jonathan Kent can be stubborn, judgmental (especially toward Lex), and [[HotBlooded hot-tempered]], [[OverprotectiveDad is extremely overprotective of his super-powered son Clark]], and sometimes takes out his frustrations on other people (even Clark), but is generally a loving and kind father who's largely responsible for Clark being such a NiceGuy and becoming TheParagon.

* ''Series/{{Highlander}}'': Methos has stayed alive for centuries by not giving a shit about other people and only looking out for himself. But every few hundred years he slips up and forms attachments to people whom he will begrudgingly risk his life to protect. Afterward he laments his inability to mind his own business.

* ''Series/CallTheMidwife'': Sister Evangelina.

* ''Series/StargateAtlantis'': Of course this trope just screams for Dr. Rodney [=McKay=], who's an egoistical, self-centered, selfish and cowardly {{Jerkass}}, but brave, selfless and understanding when he feels like it. In particular, there's one moment that pretty much sums him up in a nutshell. [[spoiler:Upon finding out that, in an alternate universe, he spent his last moments unflinchingly trying to save others,]] he ''brags'' about it. There's also Richard Woolsey, who starts out as your typical ObstructiveBureaucrat. He ends up as a series regular and warms up to the rest of the cast, even showing himself to be sort-of like a team dad.

* ''Series/OnceUponATime'': Emma. She's cynical and snarky, but there's no doubt that she's a good guy.

* ''Series/OnceUponATime'': Regina develops from the BigBad into one as the series goes on and her CharacterDevelopment kicks in.

* ''Series/OnceUponATime'': Robin is a former AlphaBitch and DeadpanSnarker with an arrogant streak as well as her father's thief skills. She can be a bit of a {{Jerkass}}, but she comes through as a good person in the end.

** Kirin starts off as an obnoxious and angry Jerk Jock though can acknowledge the others’ strengths at times. Additionally, he is instantly protective of Josh when he learns about his sexual assault.

** ''[[Series/PowerRangersDinoThunder Dino Thunder's]]'' Conner starts out as a JerkJock before becoming one of these, which makes it particularly jarring when he becomes the Red Ranger. While this made for some funky team dynamics during the time it took for the group to begin to actually trust each other (since his teammates were a [[HollywoodNerd male geek]] and a [[RebelliousSpirit female loner musician]]), he evolves from a selfish braggart who's focused on soccer stardom into a selfless leader who discovers a passion for helping others.

* ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'': Sherlock definitely, like his [[Literature/SherlockHolmes original counterpart.]] The only way to get him ''pissed'' at you is to either hurt [[TeamMom Mrs. Hudson]] or threaten [[BadassNormal John's]] life in front of him. [[WhatAnIdiot Bad idea.]]

** Dot's got a rough side but is shown to have a good heart and has pep talked Shelby in times of crisis, letting her know that she’s not The Friend Nobody Likes.

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** The ultimate in-series example is probably Eric, ''Series/PowerRangersTimeForce'''s SixthRanger. Having grown up poor, he's [[TheResenter bitterly jealous]] of [[ShelteredAristocrat Wes's privileged upbringing]], and much of his motivation after becoming the Quantum Ranger is to finally have as much (if not more) power than [[TheHero Wes]] does, which he gets by becoming the leader of the Silver Guardians, a private security force created by Wes's father. (This is all [[FoeYay amplified]] by how much of a [[NiceGuy genuinely good guy]] Wes is.) Yet one of his best friends is a young girl who's a neighbor of his at the trailer park he lives in, and he also [[MoralityPet keeps birds as pets]]. As the series goes on, he begins to warm up to the Time Force team, even thwarting one of Wes's father's {{plan}}s that would have inadvertently helped the BigBad. In the finale, he [[spoiler:jumps in front of a mook -- unmorphed -- and takes a shot meant for Wes and his father. He survives and co-leads the Silver Guardians with Wes at the end.]]

** As much as [[ThoseTwoBadGuys Bulk and Skull]] from ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' are jerks and bullies, they do have soft spots, showcasing genuine care for a disgusting pig, trying to save a runaway stroller, and when stuck in a dreamscape, they dream of being heroes. They also ''saved the Rangers' lives'' during one episode where the MonsterOfTheWeek gave them LaserGuidedAmnesia. Maybe not full gold, but some lower value precious metal, made shinier as the show went on.

* ''Series/HappyDays'': Fonzie, particularly before his BadassDecay.

* Hyacinth Bucket ([[Main/ItIsPronouncedTroPAY It's]] ''[[Main/ItIsPronouncedTroPAY Bouquet,]]'' [[Main/ItIsPronouncedTroPAY dear!]]) of ''Series/KeepingUpAppearances'', may be an obnoxious social-climbing snob who's aggressive and constant attempts at convincing others she is a high-standing and wealthy upper-class celebrity has the entire neighborhood fearing and despising her, but she'll run to the aid of a friend or family member in need without a moments hesitation. It helps that she's largely InnocentlyInsensitive, and that she fails to actually realize how shabbily she tends to treat others due to her own vanity.

* Mr. Sweeney, the science teacher in ''Series/NedsDeclassifiedSchoolSurvivalGuide'' was cranky and harsh which resulted in his students seeing him as a SadistTeacher, but over the course of the series it's shown that he [[CoolOldGuy genuinely cared for his students]] and [[ToughLove was hard on them because he wanted to see them succeed]]. On one occasion he catches Ned stealing baby powder from his lab to treat his "embarrassing itch" and diagnoses him on the spot, giving him tips to cure it.