Famous Actors Who Had Parts On Gilmore Girls And You Barely Noticed

For seven seasons, "Gilmore Girls" fans watched incredible performances from Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel as Lorelai and Rory Gilmore, respectively. The two women carried the show with witty, fast-paced, and heartwarming dialogue, showing audiences an immensely loving relationship between a mother and daughter. As the show progresses, audiences fall in love with the quirky, ragtag group of characters that make up the town of Stars Hollow, and those that the Gilmore girls befriend along the way.

One aspect of "Gilmore Girls" that makes it so appealing to audiences is its relatable characters and plots. The characters struggle with new careers, going to college, maintaining relationships, and navigating friendships. These are events that almost everyone goes through, so it's easy for viewers to relate to these fictional characters. 

As with any show, the main characters on "Gilmore Girls" are the most memorable, but guest appearances add excitement and hilarity. Throughout the series, there are many cameos from celebrities who either weren't famous at the time but are known actors now. Here are several that you might not have noticed.

In Season 2, Episode 9, Lorelai is deep in the throes of earning her business degree. It's a plot point that many fans were proud of, and one that spanned most of the season. In this particular episode, Lorelai is at school when she's confronted by a classmate, Paul, who wanted the last burrito from the vending machine. The two strike up a conversation, and he asks for her notes from class. After talking for a bit, he asks her out on a date. The two go out and have a nice time. He's nice and seems like he could be good for Lorelai. However, when Lorelai runs into him with his parents at Luke's diner, she realizes just how young he really is. There's nothing scandalous about their age gap, but he's definitely too immature for someone like Lorelai.

Bryce Johnson plays Paul for this one episode, but he is mostly known for other projects. He plays Jake in the film "Darkness Rising." He also plays Jim in the film "Willow Creek" and Josh Ford in the television series "Popular." However, to "Gilmore Girls" fans, Johnson is likely most known for playing Detective Darren Wilden in the hit teen television show "Pretty Little Liars." Johnson may not be the right match for Lorelai, but he is fun to watch in the episode.

Throughout the show, Lorelai dates her fair share of men. However, in Season 3, Episode 5, she has a great meet-cute with a man at an auction she attends per her mother's request. They both go to the counter for a glass of wine, but the man orders the last glass of merlot. He and Lorelai get into a miniature bidding war over the glass, until the man asks the bartender for an empty glass and splits the wine with Lorelai. They flirt, and after he leaves Lorelai realizes she wants to find his name and number to ask him out. She is forced to turn to her parents for help, and they do help her get his information. However, when she ends up asking the man, Peyton, out on a date, he is incredibly boring and has no idea of his lack of personality. This poses a problem for Emily, as she's friends with Peyton's mother and could potentially be shunned for her daughter's actions.

Peyton is played by Jon Hamm, who's made waves in the film and television industry and, most recently, in Progressive commercials as Flo's potential love interest. Hamm is best known for his leading role as Don Draper in the popular television show, "Mad Men." However, he has also been in a slew of blockbuster films, including "Baby Driver," "Top Gun: Maverick," and "Tag."

"Gilmore Girls" fans can spot Jason Earles in a smaller cameo. In Season 3, Episode 16, Rory and Paris compete to give a speech at the Chilton Bicentennial. It's a prestigious event with television coverage, and it's really tough competition. However, they both are awarded the opportunity to speak, so they try to make the best of it and create a speech together. A wrench is thrown into the plan when Paris gets rejected from Harvard on the day of the speech. Instead of saying what she and Rory had written, Paris talks about getting rejected from Harvard and the fact that she had sex with her boyfriend. The whole scenario gets out of hand, and the camera keeps panning back to Richard and Lorelai for their reactions in the audience. When the camera is on Richard and Lorelai, you can see Earles in the background as an audience member in between the father and daughter.

Earles is most known for his role as Jackson Stewart in Disney Channel's "Hannah Montana," both the television series and film. Earles is also a main character in the Disney series "Kickin' It," and starred in the Disney Channel film "Dadnapped." Most of his work is in children's programming, specifically Disney, as he also is most recently in Season 3 of "High School Musical: The Musical: The Series," and the Disney films "Space Buddies" and "Super Buddies."

In Season 4, Episode 4, Dean is celebrating his upcoming nuptials. The night before his wedding, Dean's friends get together and throw him a bachelor party. They all get incredibly drunk and head to Luke's diner for a bit of food to help them refuel. One of Dean's friends is the designated driver and in the Navy; another friend is also named Luke and tells Luke Danes that they should start a club for their name. They all sit and talk to Luke for a while about their night and Dean's marriage until a drunken Dean starts saying Rory's name. Luke Danes kicks them all out except for Dean, whom he takes upstairs to his apartment to sleep off the alcohol.

Luke's name-twin is played by Max Greenfield. Undoubtedly, Greenfield is most famous for his portrayal of the character Schmidt on the popular sitcom "New Girl." Most recently, Greenfield is starring in a sitcom with Cedric the Entertainer called "The Neighborhood." He has also been in several films, including "Promising Young Woman" and "Hello, My Name Is Doris."

Season 4 has many cameos, including one from Rami Malek. In Season 4, Episode 11, Lane has a group of her friends from her militantly religious college over to study. Their assignment is to interview a leader of high stature in the community, and no one can come up with an original idea. One student wants to interview the pastor, but Lane wants to keep taking suggestions to see if they can come up with something better. Another student suggests the assistant pastor, but Lane still wants to try and keep their options open.

The student wanting to phone the assistant pastor is Rami Malek, who actually got his start as an extra on "Gilmore Girls." After that role, a series of other roles including his acting in "Medium," "Night at the Museum," and "Twilight: Breaking Dawn" followed. To Glamour, Malek said, "It was an opportunity that gave me a stepping stone to get that next job," he says. "[Booking 'Gilmore Girls'] let me feel like this career was not insurmountable." And he was right, as continuing after those smaller roles, Malek booked the lead in the television series "Mr. Robot" and portrayed the influential and fabulous Freddie Mercury in the Queen biopic "Bohemian Rhapsody." To think it all started with "Gilmore Girls."

Rory deals with a lot while in her various roles for the Yale Daily News. When she becomes editor, Rory is under a lot more stress and must deal with other school editors. In Season 6, Episode 16, Rory sits on a panel of college editors to answer a variety of questions, and immediately she and the audience are bothered by the Princeton editor, Quentin Walsh. He is described to Lorelai by Rory as the "pompous Princeton guy," and throughout his responses on the panel lives up to that name. However, Rory uses her usual diplomatic nature and charm to win him over professionally by the end.

Quentin's pompous behavior is perfectly portrayed by Leslie Odom Jr. The Broadway phenom and screen acting star is best known for his role as Aaron Burr in the musical "Hamilton," which was both professionally performed on Broadway and recorded for Disney+ for fans to watch at home. He has also starred in movies like "One Night in Miami," "Harriet," and "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery."

The last notable cameo comes in Season 7, where the audience can spot Danny Pudi for a few episodes. While Rory is in charge of the Yale Daily News, she has to work with a number of staffers who keep the paper running. One of these staffers, who can be spotted in the background a few times, is Raj. He is a hard worker and keeps up with the never-ending wit and fast pace of the newspaper and of "Gilmore Girls" in general.

Raj is played by Danny Pudi. More than anything else, Pudi is known for his role as Abed in the hit sitcom "Community," where several community college students form a study group and chaos ensues. However, Pudi has also been in shows like "Mythic Quest" and "DuckTales," and even had a small role in the Marvel film "Captain America: The Winter Soldier." His roles as Abed and Raj are not too far off in their smarts and work ethic.