The foreman is a practical man who wants to keep things moving and keep order. Early on, when tempers start to flare because of Juror 10's bigoted remarks, someone says they should stick to the facts. The foreman says, "I think that's a good point. We've got a job to do. Let's do it." He later tries to calm Juror 10 down when Juror 8 taunts him about believing "one of them."
When Juror 5 gets offended at people's comments about the type of neighborhood the accused lived in, the foreman tries to ease tensions again. He says, "Now let's be reasonable. There's nothing personal."
When Juror 8 shows a knife identical to the ostensible murder weapon, which he purchased from a shop, the foreman tries to get everyone to be quiet. When Juror 10 objects to Juror 8 pacing out the old man's steps, the foreman says, "We can't stop him." When Juror 3 calls for an open ballot vote, the foreman says, "That sounds fair. Anyone object?"
Jurors 7 and 11 get into a tiff over 7's insult toward immigrants, and once again the foreman chimes in to settle things down. He says, "All right. Let's stop the arguing. Who's got something constructive to say?"
From these examples, it's clear that the foreman is a level-headed man who takes his role seriously. He functions as a moderator, keeping order and making sure personal disputes don't derail the task at hand. He also seems willing to be out of the limelight and let others lead the discussion while he focuses on basic procedures like taking votes and requesting exhibits. Thus, we can infer that he is a somewhat humble or unassuming person as well. He is not one of the most interesting characters in the play, but he serves a useful function.
"All right. Now, you gentlemen can handle this any way you want to. I mean, I'm not going to make any rules. If we want to discuss it first and then vote, that’s one way. Or we can vote right now and see how we stand."
The foreman doesn't have much of interest to say in Twelve Angry Men. His main role is to facilitate the deliberation, to guide the direction of the discussion. As the play progresses, however, he's forced to become something of a peace-maker, regularly getting involved to prevent the other jurors from tearing each other's throats out.
The above quotation, made just prior to the jury's deliberations, show us the foreman's attitude to the job at hand. These simple remarks also reveal a lot about his character. He has a responsible, business-like attitude to proceedings, and he treats the other jurors as mature adults capable of making their own decisions without in any way trying to influence their verdicts. He certainly has authority, but it's a quiet authority, not based on the imposition of will, but rather emanating from his obvious intelligence and the respectful way he conducts himself towards others.
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