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On a show like Chuck where they encounter villains and go out on missions on a weekly basis, cool guest stars has become almost the norm after nearly three years. Herewith, my five favorite guest stars so far:
- Scott Bakula as Orion/Stephen Bartowski – Papa B! He’s just as rumpled and brilliant and paranoid and adorable as I’d hoped Chuck’s dad would be. Perfect casting for Zachary Levi and Sarah Lancaster’s on-screen dad, and the geek factor is high thanks to his starring turns in Quantum Leap and Star Trek: Enterprise. Can’t wait ’til he returns!
- Mini Anden as Carina – Sarah needs a friend and while I’d love for her and Ellie to be BFFs, having a spy pal who pops in on occasion – bringing mayhem with her – works for me. Yvonne Strahovski and Mini Anden play so well opposite each other, it’s easy to believe they’ve been spy friends for years.
- Angie Harmon as Sydney – Angie nailed it as tough Ring operative Sydney this season. She manipulated Devon within an inch of his life, literally, and did it all in stilettos. Her mixture of malice, condescension and ennui we brilliant. I wish she could have been a recurring character.
- John Laroquette as Roan Montgomery – Speaking of seductive… Anyone who can make General Diane Beckman blush just by saying “hello” must be included on this list. I enjoyed his throwback to the old Bond-style spy genre, plus he gave us a scorching Chuck/Sarah kiss and built up Chuck’s confidence on a seduction mission. Plus, he was very, very funny.
- Arnold Vosloo as Vincent Smith – I can’t help it, he’s THE MUMMY! Even Team Bartowski had a tough time killing him and keeping him dead. I’m still not convinced he’s really dead. Maybe just “mostly dead” and hanging out in a cyrogenics chamber somewhere.
That’s my list, who made it onto yours?
My fav is still John Laroquette. My #1, no close second, scene of the entire series is when he asks Chuck – “But is she worth dying for?”
I miss that Chuck.
ted roark must be in the top 5
My Top Five
1. Laroquette was awesome as Roan Montgomery. They need to bring him back to mentor Chuck more in Season Four.
2. I loved Chevy Chase as Ted Roark. I thought he played it with the perfect snarkiness.
3. The guy who played Manoosh this year was perfect for the role.
4. Scott Bakula as Orion/Papa B. “Aces, Charles.” And when he first sees Ellie and she says, “Pancakes,” his Quantum Leap-inspired reaction “Uh-oh” was priceless.
5. Gary Cole as Sarah’s con-man father.
I second that motion, I LOVED manoosh, ted roark, roan montgomery, AND orion, that was good stuff :]
Besides a few quibbles about the order, the only change I would make is to replace Angie Harmon with Gary Cole. Also an honorable mention to Bruce Boxlietner for the “Sam Kinison and an Indian Lesbian” line alone. Jonathan Cake was pretty good in Leathal Weapon (still not too keen about Beefcake)
Hey , hope for season 4 !!!!
You’ve made a good first list, but as much as I love Angie Harmon, I didn’t think they gave her much to work with.
I’d definitely include Bakula, Chase and Laroquette on my list. I’d also add Gary Cole (I definitely want to see Sarah/Sam’s dad back again!), the great Tony Hale and of all people, Nicole Richie, who was surprisingly good. I know that’s six, but it’s my list and I’m sticking to it.
If this were the Friday Ten, I’d definitely have included Nicole Richie, Gary Cole, Chevy Chase, and Jonathan Cake. Too many terrific guest stars!
This is a bad problem to have?
Definately add Jordana Brewster, Gary Cole, Chevy Chase, Jonathan Cake, Kristen Kruek, and Rachael Bilson.
I hope Clare Carey and McKenna Melvin get recurring roles, now that love of country is out.
I’m not making a list until the end of this season (other worthy guests to appear). But Scott Bakula (he was Sam too!) and John Laroquette will definitely be near the top. And I had never heard of Kristin Kreuk before Chuck but I thought she was delightful in her part.
Good picks! Loved Gary Cole (Jack Burton), Jonathan Cake (Cole Barker), Matt Bomer (Bryce Larkin), and Lorena Bernal (La Ciudad from “the Tango”). For the other end of the spectrum, I’d have to say that Brandon Routh (Daniel Shaw) is a bust, and Jordana Brewster (Jill) seemed out of place. But maybe that’s just me projecting my disapproval over the whole PLI business.
Can Morgan Fairchild and Bruce Boxlietner be one entry? They’d make it. No luv for Jenny McCarthy, Andy Richter, or Rachel Bilson? Godd, but not my top five either.
That’s good, not godd
Matt Bomer? No Bryce Larkin no Chuck the spy.
Bakula #1 no doubt – oh boy!
Mini Anden next – Carina cuts through the emotional stuff like a surgeon. Amazing for one so emotionless.
Matt Bomer – Bryce! He stirred the relationship pot like no one else. Amazed he was not on your list Mel.
Gary Cole – fantastic job as Sarah’s father.
You know, I just never really connected with Bryce. I can appreciate his character within the context of the show, but he’s not a character I want to see more of, which was the major criterion for making my list.
Well, that makes Harmon hard to bring back considering Shaw killed Sydney. Of course, Ted Roark was killed off as well.
#5 – Armad Assante (Allejandro Goya)
#4 – Michael Clarke Duncan (Colt)
#3 – Chevy Chase (Ted Roark)
#2 – Scott Bakula (Stephen Bartowski)
#1 – John Larroquette (Roan Montgomery)
1. Scott Bakula (Orion)
2. John Larroquette (Roan)
3. Mini Anden (Carina)
4. Ben Savage (Mark)
5. Bruce Boxleitner/Morgan Fairchild (The Awesomes)
Guest I’m most looking forward to: Christopher Lloyd!
1. Scott Bakula: With Chuck and Quantum Leap both being my favorite shows, I was really excited when I heard about this casting. Bakula was awesome as Chuck’s dad.
2. John Laroquette: Roan Montgomery was super cool! He really needs to come back. His scenes in “the Seduction” were hilarious.
3. Jonathan Cake: Agent Cole Barker was one tough dude. I liked that line he said to Chuck, “seeing that there’s nothing between you two, I’m going to try to butter that muffin.”
4. Arnold Vosloo: He was certainly one of the best villains on the show. When asked about shooting Chuck, he said, “It would be unprofessional not to.” I can’t remeber if he died or not, cause it would be cool if he coudl return later on this season, perhaps in the finale.
5. Tony Sirico: He and that other guy (who played Edgar Stiles on 24) from “the Fake Name” were hilarious as gangsters. It was especially funny when they were giving Chuck relationship advice there at the end. Too bad they had to get killed.
Nice list! There really have been some great guest stars in Chuck.
I think my list would include (not sure about the order) Scott Bakula, Chevy Chase, Mini Anden, Rachel Bilson and Gary Cole.
-John larroquette
-scott Bakula
-Mini Anden
-Gary Cole ( hope he comes back maybe this season or hopefully next)
-Jenny McCarthy
What, no Brandon Routh?
The guy’s in 8 episodes + unconfirmed additional. He must be the best of the bunch.
I’m waiting until his arc is over before adding him to ANY lists.
Geeeeee I wonder what is wrong with that. I can’t tell if you are being sarcastic or serious…I’m hoping for the first. I saw a funny picture: The Emotions of Agent Shaw. (All the same pictures). I don’t mean to bash Routh, but A) His character is completely unlikeable and B) He doesn’t help because you can never tell if his emotionless face is due to the script or the terrible acting. Enough with the Shaw bashing, here’s my list.
1. Chevy Chase as Ted Roark
2. Scott Bakula as Stephen Bartowski
3. John Laroquette as Roan Montgomery
4. Mini Anden as Carina
5. Matt Bomer as Bryce Larkin
Seriously, I love all of these guest stars. Everytime I see Routh it makes me wish for Bomer…he was such a good actor! But I think this list accurately covers almost all my favorites…too many more though!
1. Scott Bakula – he just owned the role of papa bartowski, had great chemistery with the rest of the cast. Perfectly cast and glad to know he’ll be returning on the tail end of this season.
2. Chevy Chase – he gave us a great recurring villian, brilliantly menacing and humourous at the same time. His scenes in Chuck vs. The Ring were perfectly portrayed, raising the stakes at Ellie’s wedding while at the same time giving us a few laughs (40 mins tops… traffic…)
3. Michael Clarke Duncan – Not too much impact on the series as a whole but the season 2 opener is one of my favourite episodes. He got to pull off some killer lines (i was going for imposing…) and had an excellant fight with Sarah. Very good guest villian.
4. Jordana Brewster – She had a really, really difficult role to pull off in her 4 episodes but she pulled it off. Makes it onto the list because Jill is so central to the mythos of Chuck and in less capable hands the Jill character arc would have fallen flat.
5. Her name escapes me but whoever played Lou (chuck’s girl in 2 season 1 episodes). She was the first temp love interest for Chuck and was quirky enough for me to enjoy her short time on the show. If she’d stuck around longer i would probably have tired of her though.
Matthew Bomer doesn’t make the list because I just class him as a recurring star, not a guest (otherwise he’d be on the list)
Nobody from series 3 is on as the season is still going and i haven’t had enough rewatched to be able to judge from them yet. (though in a similar vein i consider Shaw and Beckman part of the main cast too given how many episodes they are in)
Scott Bakula
Chevy Chase
Mini Anden
John Laroquette
Jonathon Cake
My favorite is Ronan and papa Bartowski
Okay I agree with Scott Bakula, John Larroqutte and Mini Anden. The other two I picked, I don’t think anyone has mentioned, Michael Clarke Duncan, Season 2 Episode 1 and Dominic Monaghan as the rock star in the 3D episode both did excellent jobs.
Hey Mel, Here’s one you should do for the Friday Five which is great by the way. Jeff & Lester’s top 5 funniest scenes. I won’t tell you mine till you put this question out.
Jonathan Cake: I would like to see him again, maybe as a British help on some international mission :).
John Laroquette: Love him to. Maybe it would be interesting to pair up his character with Cake’s.
Gary Cole: I always remember him from Talladega nights “If you ain’t first, you’re last.” (and later refering to it “Was i high when i said that?!”
Armand Assante: I’m glad he’s coming back in 4th season
Matthew Bomer: He was okay, with that Chuck affection and the feelings towards Sarah. I would choose him anytime over Brandon. To bad they killed him (again). It would be too much for Bryce to come back from the dead (again).