Summary
- Brooklyn Nine-Nine boasts a stellar main cast of comic actors like Andy Samberg and Terry Crews, alongside memorable guest stars.
- Guest appearances from acclaimed actors in cop shows like Jimmy Smits add authenticity and depth to the show’s comedic storyline.
- Stars like Zooey Deschanel and Craig Robinson make unexpected but enjoyable appearances, enriching the show’s universe.
With a never-ending list of guests and recurring stars, Brooklyn Nine-Nine has featured some iconic actors in its plot with recurring appearances and amusing cameos. Whether the show casts them due to their dramatic or comedic talents, each one of these stars contributes some additional flavor to a show that is already rich with content and star power. Premiering in 2013 and running for eight seasons, Brooklyn Nine-Nine is a comedic police procedural featuring seven NYPD detectives dealing with a new commanding officer.
The main Brooklyn Nine-Nine cast was a fantastic list of comic actors, including Andy Samberg, Terry Crews, Andre Braugher, Melissa Fumero, Jo Lo Truglio, and more. On top of this, a plethora of recognizable guest stars dropped by Brooklyn Nine-Nine, both as officers and criminals. In addition to being some of Hollywood’s best actors, several of these stars also appeared in other cop shows, making their performances on Brooklyn Nine-Nine even more convincing.
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10 Ken Marino
Reno 911!, NYPD Blue, CSI: Miami, & Agent Carter
Ken Marino played the precinct Captain Jason ‘C.J.’ Stentley at the beginning of season 4 while Holt and Peralta were in witness protection. C.J. is typically portrayed as being clueless and unqualified for the job, allowing everyone in the precinct to take advantage of him to maintain the image of a “chilled” boss. Marino ended up reprising the role and had five appearances during his Brooklyn Nine-Nine run.
Most fans know Marino from his work in stand-up comedy, as he was part of the sketch comedy series The State, which led to him appearing with some of his State cast members on the comedy cop series Reno 911! where he also appeared in five episodes in various guest roles. He also had a one-episode guest role as Detective Gerard Donnelly on NYPD Blue (“The 3-H Club”). Marino also appeared in one episode of CSI: Miami (“You May Now Kill The Bride”) and had a recurring role in Marvel’s Agent Carter.
9 Jimmy Smits
Det. Bobby Simone On NYPD Blue
Guest starring as Amy’s father, Jimmy Smits perfectly embodies the role of retired cop Victor Santiago, a rugged and analytical former detective who places his daughter’s wellbeing as his utmost priority. Perhaps this is due to Smits’s long history of experience doing cop-related shows, an experience that has given him the ability to come across with both brawn and intellect. Alas, he only appeared in two episodes of Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
Before his appearance on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Smits guest-starred on Miami Vice (“Brother’s Keeper) and Cop Rock (“Potts Don’t Fail Me Now”). However, he is best known for playing Detective Bobby Simone in the long-standing police procedural drama NYPD Blue. He also had roles as an ADA in Dexter, a senator in 24: Legacy, and the Assistant Chief in the CBS police procedural East New York, where he mainly played the same no-nonsense characters in all his appearances, so his Brooklyn Nine-Nine casting was perfect.
8 Zooey Deschanel
She Appeared On Her Sister Emily Deschanel’s Show Bones
While typically known for portraying Jess on New Girl, Zooey Deschanel is not an actress that fans would expect to appear on a police-related series, or in the action genre for that matter. To the delight of Brooklyn Nine-Nine and New Girl fans alike, Deschanel made a one-episode guest appearance in Brooklyn Nine-Nine (“The Night Shift”), where she reprised her role as Jess in a New Girl/Brooklyn Nine-Nine crossover. It was highly unusual and unexpected, as the two shows proved to be in the same fictional universe.
In contrast to her typical roles, Zooey also made a guest appearance on Bones as Margaret Whitesell, a distant cousin of Detective Temperance Brennan, who is portrayed by her real-life sister, Emily Deschanel. That is the extent of her roles in cop shows and Deschanel hasn’t been doing much acting since New Girl ended.
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7 Craig Robinson
Robinson Starred In The Supernatural Cop Series Ghosted
Revered for playing the witty and hilarious Doug Judy on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Craig Robinson has returned to reprise his role as the “Pontiac Bandit” at least once every season. Judy is Jake Peralta’s long-standing “frenemy,” and manages to escape Jake’s grasp during each encounter. In all, Robinson has played the character in nine different episodes during the show’s run.
Robinson stars as the main character in another cop show called Ghosted, where he plays disgraced former LAPD detective and current mall cop Leroy Wright. He is one of the two leads, with Adam Scott as his co-star, as they join The Bureau Underground to investigate supernatural occurrences. Both shows see Robinson playing his role for laughs. Unfortunately for Robinson, Ghosted was canceled after just one season. While not a cop show, in Mr Robot, he did play a crooked prison warden in a rare non-comic performance.
6 Garret Dillahunt
Dillahunt Was A Former Police Officer On Fear The Walking Dead
Garret Dillahunt guest starred in season 2 as Detective Dave Majors, the best detective in the NYPD. He is someone both Amy and Jake try their utmost to impress. Majors also finds himself attracted to Amy, making Jake ponder whether or not he should reveal his feelings to Amy before Majors asks her out. This is his only appearance on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, but he was a major character as the episode was actually titled, “Det. Dave Majors.”
It’s no wonder that Dillahunt naturally fit into the role of the rugged detective, as he is a veteran at acting in police procedural dramas. His long list of credits includes guest spots on NYPD Blue, CSI, CSI: NY, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, and a recurring role on Justified. On Justified, he isn’t a police officer but is a former soldier who works as a security expert and enforcer. He also starred in Fear the Walking Dead as John Dorie, a former police officer who is making due after the zombie apocalypse.
5 Gina Gershon
Gershon Starred In The David Kelly Series Snoops
Gina Gershon cemented her place in Brooklyn Nine-Nine fans’ minds as Lieutenant Melanie Hawkins, leader of an elite task force and an idol to Jake and Rosa. There is more to Lt. Hawkins than meets the eye, as the squad from the 99th precinct would find out over a three-episode arch spanning seasons four and five. She almost cost Jake and Rosa their careers before the police finally figured out what was going on and brought her down.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine is not Gershon’s first outing as a police officer. She previously starred in the David Kelly-created detective series Snoops as Glenn Hall, a woman who operates her own detective agency. She also guest-starred on Cop Rock, The Untouchables, and Numb3rs. She returns in 2024 for another guest appearance on the CBS police procedural Elsbeth, a spin-off of The Good Wife and The Good Fight.
4 Nick Offerman
Offerman Voices The Titular Character On Axe Cop
Best known for his role as Nick Swanson in Parks and Recreation and his funny stand-up career, Nick Offerman has a cameo appearance as Frederick, Captain Holt’s (Andre Braugher) ex-boyfriend. Another interesting piece of trivia is that Offerman’s voice says “Fremulon” when the Fremulon production graphic appears at the end of each episode. Fremulon is the production company that produces Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Good Place, Master of None, and Parks and Recreation, explaining why Offerman was chosen for this voice role.
Among Nick’s other appearances on cop shows include a recurring appearance on 24 (Marcus). He also played two different roles in episodes of NYPD Blue and had one-shot appearances in guest spots on Profiler, Monk, and CSI: NY. In the world of animation, Offerman also voices the titular character from the FXX series Axe Cop, which ran two seasons with 22 episodes.
3 Bradley Whitford
Whitford Starred In The Good Guys
Bradley Whitford plays a recurring role in Brooklyn Nine-Nine as Captain Roger Peralta, Detective Jake Peralta’s estranged father. First appearing in the second season, Jake dislikes Roger because he abandoned him and his mother. However, he soon finds his way back into their lives as he and Jake’s mother reconcile and begin dating again. He only appeared in a total of four episodes of the comedy police procedural.
Whitford previously starred in the police sitcom The Good Guys as Detective Dan Stark. That 2010 cop series is a mismatched duo show, with Whitford as an old-school detective who teams up with a young by-the-book detective played by Colin Hanks. The Good Guys lasted one season and 20 episodes. He is also yet another actor from Brooklyn Nine-Nine who enjoyed a recurring role on NYPD Blue, where he played Norman Gardner, a sleazy reporter who causes problems for the detectives.
2 Dean Winters
Winters Had A Long-Running Role On Law & Order: SVU
No stranger to action films and TV shows, Dean Winters plays the recurring character Detective Keith Pembroke. Pembroke is also known as “The Vulture,” a fellow NYPD officer in the Major Crimes Unit, an adversary to the gang from the 99th precinct. While he has hounded the squad numerous times, the height of his chaos came when he briefly took over as Captain of the Precinct during season three. He was a recurring character in the first and third seasons and a guest star in the fifth and sixth.
Winters has a noteworthy record of appearances in police-related shows. He starred in Homicide: Life on the Street, NYPD Blue, Law and Order: Criminal Intent, and CSI: Miami. He also had a major role in Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, playing Brian Cassidy. His character was a young and inexperienced detective in the first season and was Munch’s original partner. He transferred out in the middle of the season but returned in season 13 and was recurring until season 20.
1 Eva Longoria
Longoria Starred In The Rebooted L.A. Dragnet
Appearing in four episodes in Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s second season, Longoria plays the role of Sophia Perez, a defense attorney who becomes the love interest (and later girlfriend) of Detective Jake Peralta. While the couple share many common interests, such as their love of Die Hard movies, eating hot wings, and playing ping-pong, they fail to reveal their respective careers to one another, which later creates some complications. She eventually dumps Jake when he arrests her boss for drug possession.
While Longoria is typically not known for cop shows like Brooklyn Nine-Nine, she did appear as a series regular on the police procedural drama L.A.Dragnet, where she portrayed Detective Gloria Duran. This series was based on the classic Dragnet series, with Ed O’Neill taking on the role of Joe Friday and Ethan Embry as Frank Smith. Longoria joined when the show stopped being comedic and turned into a regular police procedural, and it ended up quickly being canceled.
