Nathan Fillion's The Rookie is one of the most popular network dramas on TV, and eight of Nathan's co-stars from his previous series have made cameos on the police procedural. Fillion was first introduced to audiences as Captain Malcolm Reynolds.
pilot of the spaceship Serenity and the leader of a band of smugglers in the 2002 series Firefly, which became a cult hit even though it was canceled by Fox after one season. Fillion went on to star as a famous mystery writer who helps the NYPD solve murder cases in the 2009 acclaimed series Castle, which aired for eight seasons on ABC.
Since 2018, Fillion has played the main protagonist, LAPD Officer Nolan Ryan in ABC's The Rookie. The series follows the life of Nolan, the oldest rookie officer in the department, and his fellow officers in the Mid-Wilshire Division. During the Rookie's five seasons, Fillion, who has formed close relationships with his co-workers throughout his TV career, has reunited with actors whom he worked with on Firefly and Castle. Here are the eight actors from those series who have made guest appearances on The Rookie.
9 Alan Tudyk (Firefly)
Alan Tudyk in The Rookie
Alan Tudyk played the beloved character Hoban "Wash" Washburn, the ace pilot with a dry sense of humor who flies the Serenity in Firefly. Alan, who is close friends with Nathan Fillion, has appeared in two episodes of The Rookie as crime scene cleaner Ellroy Basso. Ellroy meets Fillion's Officer Nolan in the season 2 episode, "Clean Cut" whereupon the two are shot by killers at a crime scene. Ellroy and new dispatcher girlfriend Nell Forrester join up with Nolan and his firefighter fiancé Bailey Nune when Nolan is assigned a case at the border.
8 Sean Maher (Firefly)
Sean Maher
Sean Maher's role on Firefly was the kind and gifted doctor Simon Tam who, along with his sister River, is running from the evil Alliance when they find refuge aboard the Serenity. In the season 1 episode of The Rookie, "Manhunt," Sean Maher played another character evading the law, escaped convict Caleb Jost. Jost is the complete opposite of Tam in that he is a conniving and dangerous criminal who holds his mother-in-law hostage with a deadly contraption.
7 Gregg Henry (Firefly)
Gregg Henry
Veteran actor Gregg Henry had a brief cameo in The Rookie's season 1 episode, "Homefront," as a judge presiding over a lawsuit filed against Nolan. In the Firefly episode, "The Train Job," Gregg Henry portrayed Sheriff Bourne of the mining town Paradiso on the planet Regina. Bourne is a benevolent lawman who allows Fillion's Reynolds and the Serenity crew to leave after they return stolen medicine to the town.
6 Jon Huertas (Castle)
John Huertas.jpg
Fillion's Richard Castle often assisted John Huertas' NYPD Detective Javier Esposito on Castle, and Esposito was known to get Castle out of a few scrapes during particularly dangerous cases. Huertas first appeared in the season 1 episode of The Rookie, "The Bet" as an undercover agent with the Department of Homeland Security. Huertas returned to the series for the season 5 episode, "Double Trouble," but this time he was behind the scenes as the episode's director.
5 Tamala Jones (Castle)
Tamala Jones (Castle) in The Rookie
Tamala Jones' Castle character Dr. Lanie Parish, the NYPD medical examiner, forensics analysts and girlfriend of Eposito, regularly provided key clues to help solve cases investigated by Castle and Detective Kate Beckett. In the season 4 episode of The Rookie, "Endgame," Tamala got an opportunity to play Yvonne Thorsen, the mother of rookie police officer Aaron Thorsen. As a manipulative parent who saw dollar signs and high reality TV ratings in her son's police career, Yvonne was the opposite of the caring and clever mystery solver Lanie.
4 Seamus Dever (Castle)
Seamus Dever and Nathan Fillion in The Rookie
On Castle, Seamus Dever played NYPD Detective Kevin Ryan, the best friend and police partner of Esposito. The chemistry between Ryan and Esposito provided a lot of humor in the series as they often bickered about each other's lives and occasionally competed with Castle and Beckett on who would first solve a murder case. Dever opted for a less noble role when he appeared in the same episode of The Rookie as Huertas' character as a lawyer who is busted by Nolan for buying drugs.
3 Molly C. Quinn (Castle)
Molly C. Quinn in The Rookie
One of the most poignant aspects of Castle was the close parent and child relationship between Richard Castle and his daughter Alexis who both had open and honest dialogue that was grounded in unconditional trust and love. That dynamic was revisited when Alexis actress, Molly C. Quinn, appeared in two episodes of The Rookie as Cindy, the illegitimate child of felon Oscar Hutchinson. In an episode from season 5, "Death Notice," Cindy and Nolan share a poignant scene where she seeks advice and comfort from the police officer due to Oscar being an absent father most of her life.
2 Toks Olagundoye (Castle)
Toks
Toks Olagundoye's Hayley Shipton, a fan-favorite character on Castle, was an adventurous private investigator and former police officer who helped Castle uncover secrets from his past. Hayley also assisted both Castle and Alexis with their own cases, often using unapproved methods. For The Rookie, Olagundoye appeared in six episodes of season 3 as Fiona Ryan, an ethics and criminal justice professor who teaches the night class that Nolan attends as part of the rookie process. Fiona Ryan was a terrific mentor for Nolan and also a friend she was able to rely on when she faced a dangerous situation.
1 Annie Wersching (Castle)
The-Rookie-Annie-Wersching-1.jpg
Annie Wersching delivered chilling, unforgettable roles on both Castle and The Rookie. In the mystery show, Wershing portrayed Dr. Kelly Nieman, a renowned cosmetic surgeon and girlfriend of a serial killer who obstructed Castle and Beckett's murder investigation. Wersching turned up the villainous dial on The Rookie as the recurring character, Rosalind Dyer, a maniacal serial killer obsessed with Nolan and the officers and detectives of Mid-Wilshire. The death of Rosalind in season 5 is ranked as one of the most upsetting deaths in The Rookie. Sadly, audiences will never have a chance to see new performances from the brilliant Wersching as she died in January 2023 from cancer.
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