Hey, It's That Guy!: The Thick of It has a surprisingly high "It's that guy!" factor.
As Malcolm Tucker was a rather late Star-Making Role for Peter Capaldi there are many examples. Malcolm caused this for people who saw Peter Capaldi in Torchwood as the much more sympathetic civil servant John Frobisher, the still sweary but more tragic Mark Jenkins in Skins, or way earlier than that as the Angel Islington in Neverwhere, or still earlier as the Adorkable Danny Oldsen in Local Hero.
Cal "The Fucker" Richards is Cutler Goddamned Beckett, as if he needed to be even less likeable.