'Gilmore Girls' Fans, Look Out For These 16 Pre-Fame Stars During Your Binge Watch

By Nadia Chaudhury | Lists | October 6, 2015 |

By Nadia Chaudhury | Lists | October 6, 2015 |

We all know that Logan Huntzberger (as seen above) went on to become Cary Agos, Dean Forrester became Sam Winchester, Sookie St. James as a comedy superstar, but while you’re in the middle of your Gilmore Girls binge watch that started as soon as the show came on Netflix Instant, here are those other players who you might recognize now.

Adam Brody, first appeared in Season 3, Episode 3: “Application Anxiety”
Oh Adam Brody, you were my first cool boy crush and the music nerd of my dreams.

Ben Falcone, Season 3, Episode 20: “Say Goodnight, Gracie”
Future Mrs. McCarthy played the executor of then-Dragonfly Inn owner Fran Weston’s will, who bears good news, so to speak, to Lorelai and Sookie.

Max Greenfield, Season 4, Episode 4: “Chicken or Beef?”
Greenfield played one of Dean’s bachelor party pals, who is very amused that he and Diner Luke share the same name.

Jon Hamm, Season 3, Episode 5: “Eight O’Clock at the Oasis”
Of course Jon Hamm would flirt with Lorelei over wine (why not something stronger), but it turned out looks can only take you so far, even if the date includes a helicopter ride to a David Bowie concert. Also, Alexis Bledel and Jon Hamm have a short scene together, do you think they talked about this on the Mad Men set?

Melora Hardin, Season 6, Episode 22: “Partings”
After being set-up as a date for Christopher at the elder Gilmores’ house, a post-Luke-break-up Lorelai poured it all out to the psychologist in her car (who I was happy to see in the first episode of Transparent).

Victoria Justice, Season 4, Episode 3: “The Hobbit, the Sofa, and Digger Stiles”
The Nickelodeon version of Hannah Montana, Victoria Justice made one of her earlier TV appearances as Jill #2, the carrot-hating elf at the Lord of the Rings-themed birthday party Lorelai and Sookie planned (for the kids, not themselves).

Arielle Kebbel, first appeared in Season 3, Episode 15
The former Mrs. Forester turned out just fine without Dean, especially now that she’s a vampire in The Vampire Diaries.

Todd Lowe, first appeared in Season 3, Episode 4: “One’s Got Class and the Other One Dyes”
First, he was just the lead guitarist to Dave’s leader, but then he gets the girl, and then goes to war, and gets PTSD, and…wait I’m mixing up my shows here.

Jane Lynch, Season 1, Episode 10: “Forgiveness and Stuff”
Before starring as the howling cheerleading coach on Glee, Lynch was on the receiving end of Emily Gilmore’s yelling at the hospital when Richard landed in the hospital for his first heart attack.

Nick Offerman, first appeared in Season 4, Episode 7: “The Festival of Living Art”
Offerman played Jackson’s brother Beau, who could very well have been a Ron Swanson relative.

Seth McFarlane, Season 2, Episode 21: “Lorelai’s Graduation Day;” Season 3, Episode 11: “I Solemnly Swear”
First he plays one of the snotty graduates in Lorelai’s business school class that looking down on those “money people,” a.k.a. the Gilmores, and then he’s the voice of the lawyer that left a answering machine message about Emily Gilmore’s maid lawsuit.

Chad Michael Murray, first appeared in Season 1, Episode 2: “The Lorelais’ First Day at Chilton”
Tristan was Logan 1.0, Chilton’s misunderstood bad boy who just wanted Mary to love him until he moved away to that hill with just one tree.

Nasim Pedrad, Season 6, Episode 16: “Bridesmaids Revisited”
A super short bit, Pedrad plays the waitress that tries to take drunk Rory’s cocktail napkins, which was a BIG MISTAKE.

Danny Pudi, first appeared in Season 6, Episode 13: “Friday Night’s Alright for Fighting”
Pudi played one of Daily News Yalies under Rory’s editorship, and gave her a giant blue pencil, which seems like a very Abed-like gift to me.

Brandon Routh, Season 1, Episode 13: “Concert Interruptus”
Before he attempted to fill out that spandex, Routh played Jess, the older guy hitting on high school girls at the Bangles concert.

Abigail Spencer, Season 6, Episode 16: “Bridesmaids Revisited”
She played the only bridesmaid of Logan’s sister’s wedding party that didn’t sleep with him.

(This post was originally posted in October 2014. It is being republished to mark the 15th Anniversary since the show debuted.)