[Brad Walker]

I've been rehearsing and working on my Harold for a student community theater production for a little while now but I still personally feel I am having problems balancing his sweet side with his conman side. Sometimes I think I am making him too nice, but he also can't be too smarmy because then Marian doesn't really have anything to fall in love with.
My main mindset when approaching Harold is that he's never known of a life that didn't involve crime in some manner, and although he does enjoy conning to some extent, he does also desire a "legitimate" life. The thing is, behind the smooth, confident persona he puts on while conning, he actually has a very low image of himself and is quite lonely. He doesn't think he's worthy of anyone's love since he is just, as Winthrop says, a "dirty rotten crook". Of course, we all know that Marian helps fix that, but can anyone give me some tips perhaps on how to successfully make Harold lovable in the eyes of the audience while still being a slimy grifter? Maybe I'm just getting really anal about this role, but if Harold is not performed well/likable, then the show really does fail.