%20%20--%3E%0A%3Csvg%20version%3D%221.1%22%20id%3D%22Layer_1%22%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20xmlns%3Axlink%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F1999%2Fxlink%22%20x%3D%220px%22%20y%3D%220px%22%0A%09%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20684.6%2068.1%22%20style%3D%22enable-background%3Anew%200%200%20684.6%2068.1%3B%22%20xml%3Aspace%3D%22preserve%22%3E%0A%3Cg%3E%0A%09%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M444.1%2C29.3h-17.4v14.5h17.4V29.3z%20M36.4%2C68.1l29.3-50.8V0H50.4L32.9%2C36.8L15.5%2C0H0v68.1h16.7V45.8l12.4%2C22.3H36.4z%0A%09%09%20M49.1%2C68.1h16.6V23.4L49.1%2C52.1V68.1z%20M76.6%2C68.1h45V53.8H93.3V41.6h21V27.1h-21V14.8h28.3V0.1h-45V68.1z%20M175.6%2C68.1h17.3v-68%0A%09%09h-16.5v40.3L150%2C0.1h-17.6v68h16.7V27.7L175.6%2C68.1z%20M235.8%2C14.8h15.4V0.1h-47.4v14.7H219v53.2h16.8V14.8z%20M290.3%2C45.9h-17.1%0A%09%09l7.5-15.6h2L290.3%2C45.9z%20M298.7%2C68.1h18l-32.2-68h-5.7l-32%2C68h18l3.3-7.1h27.1L298.7%2C68.1z%20M325.2%2C68.1h46.2V53.8h-29.6V0.1h-16.7%0A%09%09V68.1z%20M423.7%2C14.8h27.2V0.1H407v68h16.7V14.8z%20M462%2C68.1h46.2V53.8h-29.6V0.1H462V68.1z%20M564.8%2C34.1c0%2C10.7-7.2%2C19.2-18.5%2C19.2%0A%09%09c-11.4%2C0-18.5-8.5-18.5-19.2s7.1-19.2%2C18.5-19.2C557.6%2C14.9%2C564.8%2C23.4%2C564.8%2C34.1%20M580.6%2C34.1c0-19-14.2-34-34.3-34%0A%09%09c-20.2%2C0-34.3%2C15-34.3%2C34c0%2C19%2C14.1%2C34%2C34.3%2C34C566.4%2C68.1%2C580.6%2C53.1%2C580.6%2C34.1%20M604.8%2C20.5c0-4.1%2C3.3-6.2%2C6.7-6.2%0A%09%09c4.4%2C0%2C6.6%2C3%2C6.6%2C6.6h14.7C631.8%2C9.1%2C625.1%2C0.1%2C611%2C0.1c-12%2C0-21.7%2C9.3-21.7%2C20.6c0%2C10.9%2C5.9%2C15.9%2C16.7%2C19.8%0A%09%09c5.2%2C1.8%2C11.5%2C3.2%2C11.5%2C8c0%2C3.3-2.4%2C5.5-6.4%2C5.5c-3.6%2C0-6.6-3-6.6-6.7h-15.2c0%2C11.5%2C7.9%2C20.8%2C21.8%2C20.8c12%2C0%2C21.6-9.3%2C21.6-20.6%0A%09%09c0-10-5.3-16.4-16.7-19.8C610.6%2C26.1%2C604.8%2C25.3%2C604.8%2C20.5%20M670%2C20.9h14.7C683.8%2C9.1%2C677.1%2C0.1%2C663%2C0.1c-12%2C0-21.7%2C9.3-21.7%2C20.6%0A%09%09c0%2C10.9%2C5.9%2C15.9%2C16.7%2C19.8c5.2%2C1.8%2C11.5%2C3.2%2C11.5%2C8c0%2C3.3-2.4%2C5.5-6.4%2C5.5c-3.6%2C0-6.6-3-6.6-6.7h-15.2c0%2C11.5%2C7.9%2C20.8%2C21.8%2C20.8%0A%09%09c12%2C0%2C21.6-9.3%2C21.6-20.6c0-10-5.3-16.4-16.7-19.8c-5.4-1.6-11.3-2.4-11.3-7.2c0-4.1%2C3.3-6.2%2C6.7-6.2C667.7%2C14.4%2C670%2C17.3%2C670%2C20.9%0A%09%09%22%2F%3E%0A%3C%2Fg%3E%0A%3C%2Fsvg%3E%0A)
The cliché "It takes a village" is very literal in Gilmore Girls.
The script is filled with unforgettable moments and characters, sweeping us from our couches straight into Stars Hollow and all its quirky antics. We get a seat at the table alongside Lorelai, Rory, Emily, Richard, Luke, and the many characters who keep their world spinning.
Some guest stars appear in multiple episodes, while others drop in for just a few quotable lines. For a handful of these stars, Gilmore Girls was their first on-screen role; for others, they were already established before appearing on the show.
Revisiting all 157 episodes of the franchise might be a bit, well, daunting; we’ve compiled a list of 10 Gilmore Girls guest stars you probably forgot appeared on the show so you don’t have to comb through every episode yourself.
RAMI MALEK
Rami Malek, now famous for portraying Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody and Elliot Alderson in Mr. Robot, made his very first on-screen appearance in a Season 4 episode of Gilmore Girls.
In Episode 11, "In the Clamor and the Clangor," Malek plays Lane’s Seventh-day Adventist college classmate, Andy, who passionately suggests their group project include an interview with Assistant Pastor Eric.
VICTORIA JUSTICE
Victoria Justice, best known for playing the lead role in Victorious and Lola Martinez in Zoey 101, also had a childhood cameo on Gilmore Girls.
At just 10, Justice appeared as a birthday party guest in Season 4, Episode 3, "The Hobbit, the Sofa, and Digger Stiles." In this episode, a pregnant Sookie prepares an elaborate Lord of the Rings–themed spread for a kid’s birthday party. The food isn’t exactly kid-friendly, and Sookie snaps at Justice for putting a carrot in her mouth and back on the tray.
JON HAMM
Jon Hamm, known for roles like Don Draper in Mad Men, Dr. Drew Baird in 30 Rock, and Ted in Bridesmaids, was briefly featured in Season 3 of Gilmore Girls.
Hamm played Peyton Sanders in Episode 5, "Eight O’Clock at the Oasis," a romantic prospect for Lorelai. She meets him at a charity auction her mother organized (potential red flag?) and goes out with him, only to discover he’s extremely boring. For their second date, he invites her to a David Bowie concert, which she tries to avoid but ultimately attends at Emily and Richard’s request. Needless to say, it’s their last date.
MAX GREENFIELD
Before Max Greenfield was Schmidt in New Girl or Dave Johnson in The Neighborhood, he played Dean’s friend Lucas in Gilmore Girls Season 4, Episode 4, "Chicken or Beef?"
Greenfield, along with several other actors, helps Dean celebrate his "last night of freedom" at his bachelor party before marrying Lindsay. Lucas jokes about starting a club with Luke since they share the same name and questions "phase two" of the boys’ debauchery.
SETH MACFARLANE
Seth MacFarlane, creator and voice actor behind Family Guy, American Dad!, and Ted, made a brief but memorable appearance in Gilmore Girls Season 2, Episode 21, "Lorelai’s Graduation Day."
He plays Zach, a fellow graduate who mocks Lorelai, her wealthy parents, and the camera crew Emily hires to film the event. MacFarlane also voices Emily’s lawyer in Season 3, Episode 18, "I Solemnly Swear," and a male folk singer in Season 4, Episode 8, "Die, Jerk."
ADAM BRODY
Adam Brody, most famously known as Seth Cohen in The O.C. and Rabbi Noah in Nobody Wants This, also left his mark on Gilmore Girls.
Brody appeared in nine episodes of Season 3 as Dave Rygalski, Lane’s bandmate-turned-boyfriend. He even reads the Bible (cover to cover, mind you) to win Mrs. Kim’s approval so he can take Lane to prom. Dave and Lane try to keep their relationship secret from Mrs. Kim and their fellow bandmates, Zack and Brian. Eventually, Dave moves to California for college, and he and Lane drift apart.
CAROLE KING
Like Adam Brody, Carole King’s Gilmore Girls role spanned multiple episodes. The legendary singer-songwriter not only performed the show’s theme song, "Where You Lead," but also played Sophie Bloom, owner of Stars Hollow’s music store.
She helps Lane find her instrument (Season 2, Episode 20, "Help Wanted"), lets Zack practice the banjo (Season 5, Episode 18, "To Live and Let Diorama"), and witnesses Hemp Alien’s fumble of a showcase (Season 6, Episode 10, "He’s Slippin’ 'Em Bread... Dig?"). She also returns a decade later in the "Summer" episode of Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life.
JANE LYNCH
Jane Lynch, best known as Sue Sylvester in Glee, Dr. Linda Freeman in Two and a Half Men, and Sophie Lennon in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, skipped Stars Hollow and went straight to a Hartford hospital to assist the Gilmore Girls in the early 2000s.
Lynch plays an unnamed nurse in Season 1, Episode 10, "Forgiveness and Stuff," who refuses to make an exception for a frantic Emily Gilmore after Richard suffers a heart attack.
NICK OFFERMAN
Nick Offerman, the beloved Ron Swanson in Parks and Recreation and Bill in The Last of Us, played Jackson’s older brother Beau Belleville in Gilmore Girls.
He first appears in Season 4, Episode 7, "The Festival of Living Art," to help Sookie, Jackson, and their midwife prepare for baby Davey’s birth. He returns in Season 6, Episode 4, "Always a Godmother, Never a God," as Jackson’s baptism sponsor, and to awkwardly flirt with Lorelai, thinking she’s interested. Thanks a lot, loon!
NASIM PEDRAD
Before she was a Saturday Night Live cast member and Winston’s wife Aly on New Girl, Nasim Pedrad made her on-screen debut as a waitress on Gilmore Girls.
She appears briefly in Season 6, Episode 16, "Bridesmaids Revisited," and serves a very intoxicated Rory, who is bothered by news about Logan and Honor’s bridesmaids and isn’t very nice to her as she tries to clean up.