Often, when we are watching the myriad shows we follow, you end up spotting the same faces over and over again. Most of the time this goes in cycles and a few faces will crop up in everything for a time, then they’ll be replaced by a new crop of faces. So it goes in the Hollywood system.
These people are the guest stars who have the goods.
Sometimes these actors are established stars not currently in a series, or ‘character actors’, and invariably, they will end up either as series regulars on new shows, or become recurring characters on that show, having made a large impact. Notable examples of the latter would be: Emma Caulfield as Anya (Buffy), Wayne Knight as Newman (Seinfeld), or Misha Collins as Castiel (Supernatural).
Quite often, you will notice them appearing in quick succession in all the shows shot in Canada, e.g. Flashpoint, Haven, Alphas, Warehouse 13, Alphas, Eureka, Fringe. Sometimes, they will just be the casting agents favourite for a while!
So who has been appearing a lot over the past few years and where?
Well, here’s a smattering of some of the actors that have been seen multiple times:
Kathleen Munroe (Haven, Alphas, Nikita, Stargate: Universe, Supernatural)
John Pyper-Ferguson (Alphas, Caprica, Grimm, Fringe, Longmire)
Summer Glau (Alphas, Chuck, Grey’s Anatomy)
Tahmoh Penikett (Haven, Continuum, Castle, Arrow)
Mark Sheppard (Chuck, Warehouse 13, Dr Who, Supernatural, Leverage)
Keenan Connor Tracy (Once Upon a Time, V, Eureka
Callum Keith Rennie (Alphas, Rookie Blue, Californication, Flash Forward)
Rebecca Mader (Fringe, White Collar, Alphas)
Julie McNiven (Fringe, Supernatural, House, Stargate: Universe)
Who else can you think of?
Keep your eyes peeled!
January 10th, 2013 at 3:37 PM
Hmm, clearly being a recurring character in the Galactica reboot is good for your odds as a guest star in other shows – both Callum Keith Rennie and Tahmoh Penikett were in that, Panikett as a second-string character!
January 16th, 2013 at 9:30 PM
Kathleen Munroe is one of the best! That girl can act any part they put her in, plus she’s beautiful!! I would like to see more of her. I hated it when they had her killed in Alphas and Stargate Universe 😦
January 17th, 2013 at 5:57 AM
You got that right about Kathleen Munroe…she was off the chart beautiful in Alphas…VERY intense blue eyes. She did a great job in “Haven” too. I’d like to see her in some more recurring roles, great actress!
May 13th, 2013 at 9:21 PM
[…] little while ago, I wrote a quick piece about the ‘Guest Stars of the […]