The Gilmore Girls panel at the ATX Festival saw the reunion of the cast, crew, and band that fans have been dreaming about, but there’s no way that all of the star power that appeared on the show through the years could be realistically gathered or confined to one stage. Nevermind cameos by The Bangles and former Congressman Doug Ose, I’m talking about some of the biggest stars in TV and film, and they cut their teeth in Stars Hollow. So, in honor of the reunion and the show itself, here are a few of those notable Gilmore Girls guest stars and supporting players.
Melissa McCarthy
This is cheating because you know that future Ghostbuster and current Spy star, Melissa McCarthy, played Lorelei’s friend Sookie before she sh*t her way into our hearts in Bridesmaids, but we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the queen of comedy since she’s the show’s most reliable alum in terms of box office.
Jared Padalecki
Before he was Sam Winchester on Supernatural, Padalecki played 1/3 of a love triangle between Rory, his character Dean (he’s no Dean), and Jess for 63 episodes.
Danny Strong
Strong’s most notable on-screen role may be as Jonathan the vampire slayer on Buffy or as a horrific ad-man on Mad Men, but he was just perfect as Doyle, a mildly annoying college newspaper editor who eventually enters into a relationship with the more-than-mildly-annoying Paris. Lately, he’s been busy co-creating Empire and writing movies like The Butler and Part 1 and Part 2 of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay.
Danny Pudi
Pudi had a small role as Raj, a writer on the Yale paper, for four episodes before he transitioned to his star-making turn on Cougar Town. He also played Abed on Community for #SixSeasonsAndaA… a… WE DON’T KNOW YET!
Jon Hamm
Before he was Don Draper, Jon Hamm played a series of random handsome men on television, including the role of Peyton on Gilmore Girls. Look at him and his handsomeness. When I saw his one Gilmore Girls appearance back in 2002, I remember thinking, “Gosh, I’d emotionally graft to a character played by that guy even if he committed a series of deplorable and wrongheaded moves. I’d even excuse his adultery and cruelty to other characters that I have come to enjoy and I’d sure root for him to find a happy ending despite all of those things because of the way he looks in a suit and the way he is in a meeting.” There was just something about him…
Milo Ventimiglia
The other #RoryBoy in that triangle with Dean, Jess mostly won out, but in the end, he was no blonde preppy that pulls out the finger guns and calls everyone ace — damn Rory’s man tastes went all over the board. After Milo was done with Stars Hollow he went on to play a flying hero on Heroes and Sylvester Stallone’s son in Rocky Balboa. Most recently, he appeared as The Ogre on Gotham.
Nick Offerman
The man who singlehandedly brought back cool mustaches (even though they’re mostly only cool on him) and reminded us of bacon’s majesty while playing Ron Swanson on Parks and Recreation appeared on Gilmore Girls for two episodes as Sookie’s brother-in-law.
Seth MacFarlane
The creator of Family Guy and the writer/director of Ted played a guy who was a prick to Lorelei on her graduation day in season 2, but he didn’t sing any big bang songs and he didn’t sound like a maniacal baby, so it’s hard to recognize him.
