The List of Castle Cast Cameos in The Rookie Everyone Missed
Nathan Fillion is known for his close friendships with actors he has worked with on television projects.
For five years, The Rookie has been one of the best procedural dramas on television and one of the best series on ABC. The series is created by Alexi Hawley and stars Nathan Fillion — both of whom worked on Castle, the former as executive producer and co-showrunner and the latter in the title role of Richard Castle.
Fillion tends to maintain close relationships with actors he has previously worked with. For example, Sean Maher and Alan Tudyk, with whom Nathan first gained recognition on the sci-fi series Firefly, have appeared on The Rookie. Also appearing on the show were Flula Borg and Pete Davidson, whom the actor knew as part of The Suicide Squad, and Felicia Day, who appeared with Fillion on Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.
But of course, Fillion is also connected to his former Castle colleagues. Let's find out which of them had cameos in The Rookie.
7. Gregg Henry
Despite his modest fame, actor and musician Gregg Henry has been working in film and television for nearly 50 years, so it's not surprising that he had roles in both Firefly and Castle before appearing in The Rookie.
In the show, he appeared in a Season 1 episode Homefront. He had a small role as an unnamed judge who was involved in a lawsuit against Nolan for allegedly using excessive force. Fortunately, the character got off scot-free.
6. Seamus Dever
In Castle, Dever had one of the central roles as he played Detective Kevin Ryan. Ironically, while he was a former narcotics detective in Castle, he turned out to be a small-time lawyer who got caught buying drugs in The Rookie.
5. Annie Wersching
Dr. Kelly Nieman was one of Castle's most memorable villains. A plastic surgeon, she was obsessed with Kate Beckett (Stana Katic) and an accomplice in the crimes of serial killer Jerry Tyson (Michael Mosley).
In The Rookie, Nieman played the equally chilling role of serial killer Rosalind Dyer, who was obsessed with Nolan.
4. Toks Olagundoye
Played by Toks Olagundoye, Hayley Shipton appeared in Castle Season 8 and immediately made viewers fall in love with her. A former British police officer and MI6 agent, she is remembered as an adventurous private investigator.
In The Rookie, Olagundoye appeared in Season 3 as Fiona Ryan, a professor of ethics and criminal justice whose classes Nolan took to become a training officer.
3. Molly C. Quinn
An important milestone in Castle is the family dynamic between Richard and his daughter, Alexis. In The Rookie, the actress who plays Alexis, Molly C. Quinn, appeared in Season 3 as a young woman arrested for stealing the possessions of her boyfriend's parents.
Her character returned in Season 5. This time, after being released from prison, she and Fillion's character re-created Castle's family dynamic when the young woman sought Nolan's advice because her con father had offered to donate a kidney she needed in exchange for monthly payments to him.
2. Jon Huertas
Javier Esposito was one of Castle's favorite characters, incredibly sardonic yet always ready to come to the rescue of Castle and Beckett's team.
In The Rookie Season 1, the actor appeared as an undercover agent for the Department of Homeland Security. Huertas also directed an episode titled Double Trouble in Season 5.
1. Tamala Jones
On Castle, Tamala Jones played the central role of Dr. Lanie Parish, forensic analyst and Esposito's love interest, appearing in all seasons of the series. On The Rookie, Jones appeared in Season 4 as Yvonne, the manipulative mother of rookie police officer Aaron Thorsen (Tru Valentino).