‘Veronica Mars’ Turns 20: Jessica Chastain, Taylor Sheridan & Other Famous Guest Stars
Kudos to the Veronica Mars casting agents, because they knew talent when they saw it. Not only did they cast Kristen Bell as the UPN-turned-CW-turned-Hulu show’s namesake teen private eye, but they populated the fictional town of Neptune, California, with many future Hollywood stars.
Veronica Mars debuted 20 years ago — on September 22, 2004 — with a compelling mystery around the murder of Veronica’s best friend, played by Amanda Seyfried at a time when she was still a ways away from her big-screen glory.
And Seyfried wasn’t the only Veronica Mars day player on the brink of big fame. The show also featured guest appearances by Jessica Chastain, Melissa Leo, and J.K. Simmons before they won their Academy Awards and Taylor Sheridan before he created linear television’s most-watched scripted show. (All of that had changed by the time Veronica Mars came back for a season on Hulu in 2019.)
Read more about their parts and those of other household names below as we show off 20 big-name Veronica Mars guest stars for the show’s 20th anniversary.
Anthony Anderson
In Season 1’s “Lord of the Bling,” this future Black-ish star played Percy “Bone” Hamilton, a record exec who becomes a client for Veronica and her gumshoe dad, Keith (Enrico Colantoni).
Jessica Chastain
In her second-ever screen appearance, this Oscar-winning star of The Eyes of Tammy Faye played Sarah Williams, a troubled neighbor of the Mars duo, in Season 1’s “The Girl Next Door.”
Matt Czuchry
In Season 3’s “Charlie Don’t Surf,” this star of The Resident played Norman Phipps, a Vanity Fair reporter impersonating Charlie Stone, the long-lost half-brother of Veronica’s love interest Logan (Jason Dohring).
Ryan Eggold
This New Amsterdam lead, meanwhile, played the real Charlie Stone, a private school teacher, in that same episode.
Max Greenfield
Before his days on New Girl and The Neighborhood, Greenfield started playing on Leo D’Amato, a sheriff’s deputy Veronica befriends, in what would become a 14-episode stint.
Alyson Hannigan
This Buffy the Vampire Slayer vet recurred in three episodes in the first two seasons, playing struggling actor Trina Echolls, Logan’s adopted sister.
Melissa Leo
Years before she won an Oscar for her performance in The Fighter, Leo played Julia Smith, the missing-in-action mother of one of Veronica’s classmates at Neptune High School, in Season 1’s “Meet John Smith.”
JD Pardo
Now known for leading the cast of Mayans M.C., Pardo played Rick, a Neptune High student who frames Veronica in a fake-ID scheme, in the first-season installment “Clash of The Tritons.”
Aaron Paul
This Breaking Bad alum and three-time Emmy winner portrayed murder suspect Eddie LaRoche a.k.a. The Worm in Season 1’s “Silence of the Lamb.”
Lisa Rinna
Before her tenure on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Rinna recurred in Season 1 as Lynn Echolls, Logan’s ill-fated movie-star mother. (And Harry Hamlin, Rinna’s real-life husband, played Aaron Echolls, her onscreen husband.)
Krysten Ritter
This Jessica Jones and Orphan Black: Echoes star played Gia Goodman, a privileged Neptune High student, in eight episodes of Veronica Mars and reprised the part for the 2014 crowdfunded film of the same name.
Paul Rudd
Before suiting up for a “tiny” role in Ant-Man, Rudd played the musician Desmond Fellows in the Season 3 episode “Debasement Tapes.”
Adam Scott
This Severance actor played Mr. Rooks, a Neptune High teacher having an affair with his student, in Season 1’s “Mars vs. Mars.”
Amanda Seyfried
Recently seen in Mank and The Dropout, Seyfried recurred in 11 episodes of the show, played Lilly Kane, Veronica’s murdered best friend.
Alia Shawkat & Michael Cera
Both these Arrested Development stars had guest appearances in Season 2’s “The Rapes of Graff”: Cera played Dean, an orientation guide at Hearst College, and Shawkat played Stacy, a date rape victim at the school.
Taylor Sheridan
This Yellowstone creator appeared in five Veronica Mars episodes across Seasons 2 and 3, playing Danny Boyd, a member of the Fighting Fitzpatricks family gang.
J.K. Simmons
An Oscar winner for Whiplash, Simmons played Season 4 character Clyde Prickett, a con man who becomes a fixer for Neptune businessman Dick Casablancas (David Starzyk).
Toni Trucks
This SEAL Team actor guest-starred in Season 3’s “There’s Got to Be a Morning After Pill,” playing Phyllis, a Hearst College student who slips her roommate a miscarriage pill.
Cress Williams
Before he starred as the titular hero in Black Lightning, Williams recurred in Season 2 as Nathan Woods, the biological father of Veronica’s buddy Wallace (Percy Daggs III).
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