It Was So Good To See You (Week of April 4) 

This was an interesting week for guest stars on some of my favorite shows, starting with the appearance of British actress Christina Cole, playing an American escaped convict in Sunday’s episode of Breakout Kings.  Christina is best known for her role in the box office film What a Girl Wants, but she also appeared in the first season of the UK series called Hex and made guest appearances on Doctor Who, Human Target, the short-lived series Cane and the new series CHAOS.  Her movie appearances also include Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day and Casino Royale as well as the made-for-TV mini-series Lost in Austen, and two Masterpiece mini-series Jane Eyre, and Emma.

In this same episode of Breakout Kings, actor Frank Grillo appeared as a federal agent who bumped heads with the U.S. marshals.  Frank was most recently seen in the ABC summer series The Gates, but he has also appeared in the daytime soap Guiding Light and in Prison Break, The Shield and the short-lived series Blind Justice.  He has guest starred in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Without A Trace, CSI: NY and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.  His movie appearances include The Sweetest Thing, Minority Report and My Soul to Take.

Then on Monday night during the episode of Castle both actor Peter Onorati and actress Liz Vassey appeared in the story that, at first glance, seemed to be about pizza wars between rival restaurant owners, but actually turned out to be something much worse.  Peter Onorati was one of the rival pizza shop owners and Liz Vassey was a real estate agent with a very dark secret and dangerous identity.

Peter has appeared in the short-lived TV series Murder One as well as Civil Wars and has guest starred in The Pretender, Crossing Jordan, Walker, Texas Ranger, ER, Monk, NCIS, JAG, and American Dreams among many others.  Some of his movie roles include Postcards from the Edge and Goodfellas.  More recently he has appeared in episodes of The Glades, In Plain Sight, Rizzoli & Isles, Desperate Housewives, Chuck, and 24.

Liz Vassey got her first big break in the daytime soap All My Children then appeared in episodes of Quantum Leap, Murder, She Wrote, and ER.  She was a regular on the short-lived shows The Tick and Push, Nevada.  She also appeared in Tru Calling and is best known for her role on CSI.  She was seen in a cameo role in the internet sensation Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.

In the debut episode of the AMC series The Killing, actor Callum Keith Rennie appeared as the fiancée of Detective Sarah Linden (Mireille Enos), who is investigating the murder of 17-year-old Rosie Larsen.  Callum has a long resume of TV appearances, but it best known for his roles in the last season of Due South as well as Battlestar Galactica, Californication, and Harper’s Island.  He has also guest starred in 24, Dark Angel, Tru Calling, Supernatural, Smallville, and The L Word among many others.  His movie roles include Memento, X-Files: I Want to Believe, The Butterfly Effect, Blade: Trinity, and Case 39.  He also appeared in the made-for-TV movie Tin Man.

Over on Stargate Universe, well-known actor Victor Garber turned up as an Ambassador to one of the worlds visited by the SGU team.  Victor is best known for his role in the popular ABC spy drama Alias, but he also has a long resume of TV, movie and stage roles where he has a twenty year history.  His film roles include Legally Blonde, Titanic, Milk, and Sleepless in Seattle; he has appeared in the made-for-TV movies The Last Templar, Annie, and Ice Quake as well as the made-for-TV movie Alex Hayley’s Queen (that starred a then unknown Halle Berry) and he has appeared in the TV shows Eli Stone and The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd.  His guest appearances include Flashpoint, Glee, Nurse Jackie, Ugly Betty, Will & Grace, and the short-lived series Justice (among countless others).

It should also be briefly noted that it was great to see actor David Hewlett reprising his long-time role of Dr. Rodney McKay in the same episode of Stargate Universe.

Brief though it was, seeing actor Ryan Carnes on the latest episode of NCIS, was interesting because he was playing a suspect in the, what will be ongoing, case of the port-to-port killer who was proven innocent by Gibbs and his team.  Ryan Carnes was first noticed on Desperate Housewives and then landed the lead role in the Syfy made-for-TV movie The Phantom.  He has also appeared in General Hospital, The Closer, CSI: NY, Doctor Who, CSI: Miami, Saving Grace, and Bones.  He also had a small role in the Clint Eastwood directed film Letters from Iwo Jima.

Lastly, actor Tony Plana appeared in the new ABC drama Body of Proof, playing the father of a social worker killed by one of her charges.  Tony is best known for his role as Betty’s dad on Ugly Betty, but he has a long resume of TV and film roles dating back to the early 1970’s.  He has appeared in the TV shows Royal Pains, The Closer, 24, CSI, JAG, Monk, John Doe, and The West Wing.  He has also had a role in the TV series Resurrection Blvd.  His made-for-TV movie credits include The Princess and the Barrio Boy, The Case of the Hillside Stranglers, and Sweet 15. His film roles include An Officer and a Gentleman, The Rookie, Havana, and Primal Fear.

Until next week, and what will assuredly be another week full of great guest appearances.