10 Best Hawaii Five-0 Characters, Ranked

The show Hawaii Five-0 certainly had plenty of characters over the course of its ten-year run. The Five-0 task force had several members and familiar allies with it. Kamekona was certainly a good friend to Five-0, providing them with several meals and intel on the criminal world.

Danny Williams, though a good cop, father, and friend, could be excessively negative and had a tendency to complain constantly. Steve liked doing things his way without regard for the rules, but he was a loyal friend and a good leader. Chin’s patience and kindness are admirable, as was Kono’s go-getter attitude and sympathy for others. But which of these Five-0 characters are the best?

10 Danny Williams

Danny does have a good heart, and he is a good friend, when it comes down to it. Though he and Steve didn’t initially get along, the two form a brotherly bond and are there for one another throughout the series.

Danny, however, can be very negative, and he has a tendency to complain and yell, especially at Steve. He often bickers with Steve, and sometimes it can be a touch much between the two friends. Most everyone sees through Danny’s negative perspective and his constant complaining, but it does tend to get on people’s nerves once in a while.

9 Tani Rey

Steve and Danny set off to recruit Tani for Five-0–she initially declines, but changes her mind. She’s a good police officer, and a good sister to Koa, who greatly relies on her.

Tani can be very firm and forceful, and she doesn’t have much patience, as shown when she goes after a guy who hurt her brother. Plus, for a long time, Tani denied her obvious feelings for Junior, which did grow frustrating as time went on.

8 Lou Grover

Lou joined the Five-0 team later on, after being forced into an early retirement following the actions he took to save his kidnapped daughter from a dangerous criminal, Ian Wright (Nick Jonas). Initially, Lou wasn’t a fan of the task force and was certainly hostile towards Steve in the beginning. However, they later mend that relationship and become good coworkers and friends.

Lou is often sarcastic and witty, providing plenty of humor on the show. However, he can also sometimes take things too far, like when he desperately wanted to prove his friend Clay had murdered his own wife, and when he tried to rub in the fact that he caught a large fish in Steve’s face.

7 Junior Reigns

Junior is nothing if not tenacious when it comes to his determination to become a member on the Five-0 task force. He asks Steve for a job, but is turned down. Not to be deterred, Junior doesn’t give up, and it leads to Steve offering him a job down the line.

Junior is a hard worker and a good guy. Despite having difficulties with his family, he’ll still do whatever he can to help them, and his ability to forgive is a big deal, given he even forgave the inebriated driver that killed his sister. Junior is also there for Tani and even accompanies her to a wedding, showing that he returns her feelings and that they were meant to be.

6 Max Bergman

Max was the medical examiner on Hawaii Five-0, up until he left for Doctors Without Borders. He was intelligent, quirky, and could be quite awkward. He loved dressing up as Keanu Reeves characters every Halloween, and he had a memorable love story with Sabrina, given the day he wanted to ask her out was also the day the bank she worked for was robbed.

While an endearing character, Max could ramble and provide too much information, and he could be petty when it came to grudges, like when he was mad at Danny and Steve over not responding to an email invitation he’d sent out.

5 Kamekona Tupuola

Kamekona has come far since his days on the wrong side of the law. He’s now a confidential informant for Five-0, and he’s a successful entrepreneur between his shaved ice, shrimp truck, and helicopter tour businesses. He often feeds Five-0 and provides them with information on their cases, and works for them on a few occasions.

However, his services aren’t free; in the pilot episode, he forced Steve and Danny to buy oversized T-shirts and shaved ice in exchange for information, and he doesn’t offer anyone any discounts on his services, even if it’s family. He’s a good guy, but he does keep an eye on his profit margins. It must be said though, it is good business.

4 Jerry Ortega

Jerry turns out to be a former classmate of Chin’s, and a well-read connoisseur of anything and everything, from Hawaiian folklore to conspiracy theories. He repeatedly pesters Steve for a position at Five-0, and is eventually hired as a consultant for the team. He’s definitely persistent and he’s also a genuinely good guy.

He eventually earns a badge from Five-0 after he saves the team, and proves to be a valuable asset. He’s willing to do any task, even if it’s not the most glamorous, and he cares deeply about his friends. He may get carried away from time to time, but it’s not without good intentions.

3 Kono Kalakaua

Kono certainly had a go-getter attitude from moment one. A former professional surfer, Kono had to reinvent herself following an injury and became a police officer. She was smart, powerful, and kind. Kono immediately bonded with her coworkers, and more than proved her capabilities on day one.

Kono looks for the good in people, and she’s considerate. She helped a former surfing rival, and she even made a deal with Sang Min, a former criminal, to get him transferred back to prison in Hawaii so he could be closer to his family. She has a generous heart, though on occasion she jumps too quickly to conclusions. Ultimately, she is one of the greatest characters on the show.

2 Steve McGarrett

A former Navy SEAL, and the leader of the Five-0 task force, Steve is more than familiar with challenging careers, but his dedication to doing the job and ensuring justice for others is admirable. Steve can be quite brutal, like the time he hung a man off a rooftop, or the time he blew up a pawn shop.

Plus, he likes to do things his way, regardless of consequences from time to time. Yet, Steve is a loyal and caring friend; he is there for everyone through their ups and downs, and though he might not always follow the rules, it’s usually out of good intentions. Plus, when not in work mode, he can actually be very laidback and hilarious, especially in the company of his friends. All in all, he’s a great character.

1 Chin Ho Kelly

Chin will go to extreme lengths to help out those he cares about. He always looks out for Kono, his cousin, and he took the blame for money stolen from the HPD’s asset forfeiture locker on behalf of his uncle, who was the real perpetrator.

He has endless patience and understanding; he certainly didn’t jump to conclusions when it looked as though Kono had betrayed Five-0 and become a dirty cop. He’s usually the voice of reason, and though he was the one to arrest Steve in the first season finale, it was really to help him, as Chin had rejoined the HPD so he could help prove Steve’s innocence. He’s by far one of the most likable guys around.