26 of the Greatest ‘Gilmore Girls’ Guests
Alex Borstein as Drella, Miss Celine
In an alternate universe, Alex Borstein — who was originally cast as Sookie but had to drop out because she couldn't get out of her MadTV contract — went on to stardom in films such as Bridesmaids, Spy, and the new Ghostbusters. In this universe, Borstein still did pretty well and, even though she couldn't be a GG regular, Palladino brought her in multiple times as both the irascible harpist Drella and, in later seasons, as the old Hollywood-obsessed Miss Celine.
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The Bangles as themselves
Sure, the band is a few years away from the peak of their popularity, but as one of the all-time-great all-female rock bands, it was still quite a coup for GG to get them on the first season of the show. Between its reverence for the classics and its taste in new music (see the Shins, who also appeared on the show), GG established itself as an important cultural influencer during the 2000s.
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Rami Maleck as Andy
Now known for the intensity of his performance on Mr. Robot, when he appeared on GG, he traded his hoodie for a sweater vest as a student at Lane's Seventh-day Adventist university. In an interview with Vulture, he seems to speak with relief that his time on the show is over. "I don't have the most pace when I speak," he says. And his response to the speed of the dialogue: "Who the f–k talks this fast?"
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Jon Hamm as Peyton Sanders
Though Hamm would eventually go on to be an Emmy-award winning actor, Palladino knew back in 2002 what we really want from him: eye candy. Peyton is cute and flirts with Lorelai Gilmore at a charity auction, but in the end, he just doesn't have what it takes to earn a second date with her.
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Nick Offerman as Beau Belleville
What do you get when you take Parks and Rec's Ron Swanson and remove his chill? You get Jackson's whiny brother, Beau. It's not a good look on him — it's not a good look on anybody — but it does partially explain how Jackson became as high-strung as he is.
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Krysten Ritter as Lucy
Ritter made numerous appearances as a fellow Yalie of Rory’s. Though she doesn't have the same teeth that she'd later have in Don't Trust the B—- in Apartment 23, there's definitely a B-vibe in the making.
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Seth MacFarlane as Bob Merriam
A classmate of Lorelai’s who graduates with her from community college. Bob is an opinionated New England jerk, which actually makes a kind of sense. Ratchet up the accent and the opinion and you've got Peter Griffin on Family Guy. It makes sense since not only was Alex Borstein connected to both shows, executive producer Daniel Palladino was also a producer on Family Guy.
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Riki Lindhome as Juliet
Lindhome — future co-frontwoman of the Garfunkel and Oates comedy duo — started out in the coveted role of "Girl #2" but eventually became a recurring character during Rory's Yale years as part of the Life and Death Brigade.
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Victoria Justice as Jill #2
Justice made her name at Nickelodeon, but her very first onscreen role was as an obnoxious little girl attending a Hobbit-themed birthday party. Seriously, who licks a baby carrot, then puts it back on the crudités platter? Rude.
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Danny Pudi as Raj
No, Rory's co-worker at the Yale Daily News doesn't bear much of a resemblance to Community's Abed — though the six-foot-long novelty pencil Raj gives her does seem like something out of one of Abed's TV-inspired flights of fancy. Maybe he could make a brief cameo in the Netflix series like he did on Cougar Town?
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Mary Lynn Rajskub as girlfriend in Kirk’s Film, Troubadour
The alt-comedy mainstay and 24 star played a small role in Kirk's short film (the unfettered glory of which can be seen here), but also reappeared as one of the horde of troubadours who came to Stars Hollow when the town's original troubadour departs.
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Brandon Routh as Jess
Sure, he went on to play superhero Ray Palmer on Legends of Tomorrow and the superhero, Superman, in the movies. But back in his Gilmore days, he played a creeper at the Bangles concert hitting on underage girls. It's gonna take a lot of superheroics to live that one down.
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Jane Lynch as a nurse
Jane Lynch is intimidating as hell, but Emily Gilmore is a force of nature. When Richard ends up in the hospital and Lynch's nurse tries to maintain hospital protocol, the threat of locking horns with Emily is enough to get her to relent.
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Melora Hardin as Carolyn
Before her big break on The Office, Hardin was part of an ill-fated setup with Rory's father, Christopher. It didn't work out (of course); she is cornered by Lorelai, who wants to talk about her relationship troubles with Luke (of course), after which, Lorelai sleeps with Christopher (oooooof course).
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Max Greenfield as Luke
Before New Girl introduced us to Schmidt and his Douchebag Jar, there was Luke — a well-meaning guy whose douchiness may just have been the result of being drunk at Dean's bachelor party. Maybe not deserving of a jar, but definitely not worth keeping around the real Luke's diner.
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Masi Oka as a philosophy student
"We can't make it through the class without discussing relativism!" Oka would later go on to star in Heroes with GG alum Milo Ventimiglia, but here, he's just an engaged student debating philosophy with Rory at Harvard.
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Nasim Pedrad as a waitress
OK, maybe the role itself doesn't really beg to be brought back in the Netflix revival, but surely Pedrad's years on SNL and New Girl have earned her another shot?
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Barbara Boxer as herself
Senator Boxer's skills as a politician are in full view during her GG appearance. After being cornered by an incensed Paris Geller, she deftly hands her off to Rep. Doug Ose, who, at the time, was a congressman with only three years' experience to her 20. Ose left the House two years later. Did Paris's haranguing drive him out of politics? Only she and Mr. Ose know for sure.
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Madeleine Albright as herself/Lorelai?
How to categorize this one? The former secretary of state appears in a dream to Rory. She's clearly still Madeleine Albright, but she's retelling Lorelai's story of Rory's birth to her, so… she's both? Either way, it's clear Dr. Albright still has a soft spot for the show.
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The Shins as themselves
The movie Garden State brought them their most mainstream success, but cool kids were already listening to the band years earlier because of Rory Gilmore. In Season 4, Rory and Paris attend a live Shins performance where Paris tries to get into the spirit of spring break by kissing Rory. Is that because of the Shins? Well, there was no kissing when they saw the Bangles, so maybe?
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Paul Anka as himself
Paul Anka appears about where you'd expect him to: as a cashier at Doose's Market. It's in a dream, but still. The real Paul Anka interacts with Lorelai's dog (also called Paul Anka) about how you'd expect them to: Dog Paul Anka sings while Babette pets real Paul Anka. Eventually the two meet and annihilate each other in a world-ending explosion. About how you'd expect them to.
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Vanessa Marano as April
The character April gets a lot of heat — some of it for following the TV trope of a cute young new family member added in the later seasons of a show to liven things up (it's called pulling a Cousin Oliver) — the rest for breaking up Lorelai and Luke. Switched at Birth star Marano, however, deserves none of it, and we'll see if the Netflix revival gives her the chance to redeem herself in the eyes of fans.
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Bruce McCullough as Tobin
A lot of people don't get along with Michel, but Tobin — the Independence Inn's night manager — is the true polar opposite and Michel's nemesis. Open and perky where Michel is cold and dour, it's a shame they didn't spend more time onscreen together. Unfortunately, the closing of the Independence Inn never led to the Tobin/Michel spinoff we were all hoping for.
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Leslie Odom, Jr.
Rory refers to the editor of the Daily Princetonian as "pompous Princeton guy." As Aaron Burr in the Broadway hit Hamilton, Odom plays another pompous Princeton guy. Coincidence? Definitely. But is there an outside chance that Palladino will try to get him on the Netflix revival because there's about a 100 percent chance that Lorelai and Rory would be Hamilton fans? Absolutely.
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Christiane Amanpour as herself
From the very beginning (well, the second episode), Rory holds up the British journalist as her hero and strives to be like her. In the final episode of Season 7, not only does she get to meet her, she gets Amanpour's business card and an offer to "stay in touch." Could her future look any brighter? Well, her first job is covering the campaign of some senator named Barack Obama. Whatever happened to that guy?
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Matt Jones as Morgan
When you think of Matt Jones cooking something, it’s probably meth since he’s chiefly known for playing Badger on Breaking Bad, but his first television role was actually helping Jackson deep-fry a turkey for Thanksgiving.
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Where the Gilmore Girls lead, we will follow! It’s been nine long years since super mother/daughter duo Lorelai and Rory Gilmore drank all the coffee in Stars Hollow, gorged on junk food and Chinese takeout, fell in and out of love, and dropped every pop culture reference imaginable in their rapid-fire banter. Now, the Gilmores are back to drink even more coffee, talk even faster, and charm us more than ever in Netflix’s continuation of the series, which premieres Nov. 25.
In four 90-minute episodes, titled “Winter,” “Spring,” “Summer,” and “Fall,” Lorelai (Lauren Graham), Rory (Alexis Bledel), and grandmother Emily (Kelly Bishop) all face big changes in their lives. To get ready for the revival, we’re highlighting all the things we love about the show with our official Return to Stars Hollow coverage, from the wacky supporting characters to the insanely clever dialogue to the girls’ complicated love lives. Check back here every day until Nov. 25 to obsess with us over all things Gilmore.
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Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino certainly has an eye for talent. During the run of the show, she delighted in filling out the world with interesting characters — so much so that even many of the one-off roles were played by people who were just a few years away from becoming stars in their own right. Here are 25 you might have missed during the show’s seven-year run, only two of which have been confirmed to return — Vanessa Marano (as April Nardini) and Alex Borstein. Will any of the rest make it back to Stars Hollow for the big Netflix reunion?
Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life is available to stream on Netflix beginning Nov. 25.