From guest appearances as street magicians to recurring roles as psychotic plastic surgeons,
Castle has hosted a lot of famous faces in its cast.
Annie Wersching played the role of Dr. Kelly Nieman in Seasons 6 and 7 on Castle. Neiman
was a villainess and plastic surgeon who secretly worked alongside Michael Mosley's serial killer,
Jerry Tyson. Wersching's performance stood out as one of the strongest
one-off villains in the series for her calculating, demented doctor.
"Good. You're awake. We can get started."
Wersching initially gained fame for her role as Renee Walker in Seasons 7 and 8 of the series
24 — an extremely tough, willful, and complex character frequently butting heads with Jack
Bauer. Other significant roles in her filmography include Amelia Joffe in General Hospital,
Julia Brasher in Bosch, Emma Whitmore in Timeless, and the Borg Queen in Star Trek:
Picard. She also gained critical acclaim for her motion-capture performance as Tess in the 2013
video game, The Last of Us. Wersching tragically passed away from cancer on January 29, 2023.
You may not have realized Chadwick Boseman was even in Castle, but he appears in Episode 12 of
Season 3 as a magician named Chuck Russell. Although he's only there as the red herring
suspect for the murder of a fellow magician, Boseman stands out in his rather silly role.
Boseman is adored worldwide for his starring role as T'Challa the Black Panther in the Marvel
Cinematic Universe. He made his first appearance as the character in 2016's Captain America:
Civil War but was given his own film in 2018. He continued the role throughout Avengers:
Infinity War and Endgame until his tragic passing in 2020 from
colon cancer. He was praised for his acting talent, charitable work, and philanthropy,
with many celebrating his legacy in popular culture, including a statement
by Black Panther director Ryan Coogler. According to Den of Geek, Coogler claimed,
"[Boseman] was such an integral part of that character for us, both as the character and
as a person, that we could not conceive of a version with having someone else on set."
Although Len Lesser plays a very small role in Castle, the famous character actor is
still remembered for his part in the second episode of Season 1. Lesser makes his minor
appearance count as the funny distraction from an ongoing murder investigation.
"He's not a cop. I'm a cop." "And you're looking for someone to have sex with?"
Lesser may be familiar to audiences from his standout role as Uncle Leo in the hit
NBC sitcom Seinfeld. His character made his first appearance in the 2nd season of the show as Jerry
Seinfeld's eccentric uncle who frequently gives his nephew trouble about a variety of overblown
inconveniences. Uncle Leo was so beloved, he's ranked at #6 on Rolling Stone's "100
Best Seinfeld Characters" list. Sadly, Len Lesser passed away in 2011 at the age of 88. According
to HuffPost, Jerry Seinfeld made an official statement following Lesser's death, stating,
"Len was one of our favorites. We always loved having him on the show. I'll never forget when
Uncle Leo was in prison and tattooed 'Jerry Hello' on his knuckles. He was a very sweet guy."
Chad Everett was a prolific actor who appeared in almost 100 movies and television shows over his
50-year career. His last credited on-screen role was in Season 4, Episode 14 of Castle,
where he plays Jerry Maddox, a former private investigator going under the name Joe Flynn.
While this role can be considered a footnote in his career, the appearance came just before
his death from lung cancer in July of 2012. Everett was mainly known for his
portrayal of Dr. Joe Gannon in the CBS series Medical Center from 1969 to 1976,
with his other notable parts being in Airplane II: The Sequel, The Nanny, and Mulholland Drive.
Unlike any of the other Castle actors on this list, Wes Craven was the only one to make a cameo
appearance as himself during Season 5. The episode revolved around Castle and Beckett investigating
the death of a woman who was convinced she was cursed from watching a haunted video tape. This
episode's obvious homage to horror flicks like The Ring explains why horror icon Craven shows up.
"Is Stephen King beating you at Texas Hold 'Em again?"
"Yeah, right."
Craven is best known for the cult classics The Last House on the Left and The Hills Have Eyes,
as well as the massive horror franchises A Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream.
Craven passed away from a brain tumor in 2015 at the age of 76,
and is remembered as a pioneer of horror moviemaking. During one interview with fellow
horror director Mick Garris, Craven summed up his filmmaking philosophy,
"You realize you're doing something that means something to people,
so — Shut up and get back to work."
Fans of Castle will no doubt remember Nathaniel Marston's performance as Grant Vyro in the Season
3 episode titled "The Last Call." Vyro was a union dock worker operating under the false
identity of a dead man, but — ultimately — had a verifiable alibi to clear him of any wrongdoing.
Marston was a successful actor who was mainly known for his roles on the ABC soap opera One
Life to Live. Marston played the character Al Holden from 2001 to 2003, and became Dr. Michael
McBain from 2004 to 2007, after Holden dies and his spirit transitions into McBain. Marston had
other minor roles in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, White Collar, and Blue Bloods. Marston died
from surgery complications in 2015, after he was severely injured in a car accident.
Robin Sachs appeared as the Announcer in Season 4, Episode 13,
in which Castle investigates the death of a dog trainer.
"Only one question remains. Who will be this year's Best in Show?"
Sachs became well known for his performances in film, television, and theater over his
decades-long career. He is probably best known for his part as Ethan Rayne in Buffy
the Vampire Slayer, a recurring antagonist against Buffy and her crew. Sachs was also
known for many minor roles, including The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Galaxy Quest, and Babylon
5. Sachs passed away from a fatal heart attack in 2013, just four days short of his 62nd birthday.
Although only supplying a small cameo as one of Castle's regular poker buddies,
the story of Stephen J. Cannell goes much deeper than that. Cannell was a writer,
producer, and novelist who had a hand in many successful television series,
which includes The A-Team, Renegade, and 21 Jump Street.
Cannell openly struggled with dyslexia throughout his early life and career,
some of which was chronicled in the 2012 documentary Dislecksia:
The Movie. He was an important factor in the creation of Castle and — as a
result — he was given a special tribute at the end of a Season 3 episode which read,
"Stephen J. Cannell. Colleague. Mentor. Friend. We'll miss you, pal."
Cannell passed away in September of 2010 due to complications from melanoma at the age of 69.
When it comes to hard-working character actors in Hollywood,
few were as impressive as Jon Polito. While his only minor role in Castle was as a
witness convinced that the world is still in the 1970s, he nonetheless stood out as a highlight.
"That's a nice dress. Can I talk you out of it?"
Polito was a unique character actor who started in TV and movies in the 1980s with roles in The
Gangster Chronicles, Highlander, and the Coen brothers' Miller's Crossing — arguably stealing
the show as the weaselly Johnny Caspar. Polito's profile grew as he snagged bigger roles in the
Coen brothers' films Barton Fink and The Big Lebowski, as well as appearing as Bigelow in
The Rocketeer, and Gideon the pawn shop owner in The Crow. He passed away in 2016 at the age of 65.