Zachariah (Supernatural)

An angel, he first appears in the fourth season and helps manipulate the series protagonist Sam Winchester into releasing Lucifer onto the Earth.

Kurt Fuller later reprised the role in the show's 300th episode "Lebanon" in season 14, playing the Zachariah from an alternate timeline created by the disappearance of John Winchester in 2003.

Zachariah debuts in the fourth season episode "It's a Terrible Life", in which he motivates series protagonist Dean Winchester to resume his attempts at preventing demons from releasing Lucifer from his imprisonment in Hell.

[1] When the prophet Chuck Shurley (really God in disguise) receives an ominous vision of Dean and his brother Sam in "The Monster at the End of the Book", however, Zachariah warns him against alerting the Winchesters.

[2] His true motives are revealed in the season finale "Lucifer Rising", in which he explains that the angels have been running Heaven in God's absence for many years.

However, Dean is too late in stopping Sam from killing the demon Lilith, an act they were unaware would break the final seal imprisoning Lucifer.

[3] In the fifth season premiere "Sympathy for the Devil", Zachariah reveals to the Winchester that Dean is destined to serve as the human vessel for the archangel Michael in the coming battle against Lucifer.

[6] Zachariah makes yet another attempt in "Dark Side of the Moon", taking joy in both physically and psychologically torturing the brothers in Heaven after they are killed by fellow hunters for their involvement in freeing Lucifer.

This Zachariah attempts to aid the alternate Michael in manipulating the Nephilim Jack into opening a portal from the Apocalypse World to the main reality.

Detecting the time alterations, Zachariah travels to Lebanon, Kansas to investigate along with Castiel, still a loyal and unquestioning soldier of Heaven.

"[9] Zachariah's willingness to let millions of humans die for his goal was likened by both Fuller and the character himself to breaking a few eggs to make an omelet.

Of these characteristics, the actor especially enjoyed Zachariah's sense of humor,[12] and also admired his ability to manipulate people, saying, "It takes a lot more creativity...

[14] Ultimately, however, Fuller found Zachariah to be the "hero of the story", attempting to "save all of eternity and maintain the proper balance between Heaven and Hell".

[10] In regards to his character's initial friendliness to Dean, he explained, "You don't get what you want by being a complete jerk, so you use a little threat, enticement, and appeal to their best natures or the part of them that wants to do good.

[20] As a result, although Zachariah had been described to him as "a Morgan Freeman-type with a lot of equanimity"—a concept which Fuller still tried to incorporate into his performance—Fuller felt the character ended up resembling Donald Trump.

Maureen Ryan of Chicago Tribune felt Fuller was "absolutely spot-on as the overly chipper and slightly sinister" character, and loved the actor's ability to "[wring] the humor out of almost every one of his lines while still remaining scary under Zach's bluff exterior".