10 Best Guest Stars On 9-1-1

If you're an actor looking to find yourself in the most bizarre emergency possible, securing a guest spot on "9-1-1" is your best bet. The procedural from Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Tim Minear features Los Angeles firefighters (and one very determined cop) responding to calls that are occasionally mundane, but mostly over-the-top. The show's cast includes acting veterans like Angela Bassett, Peter Krause, and Jennifer Love Hewitt alongside several newer faces.

Procedurals like "9-1-1" offer ample room for guest stars, as episodes routinely feature LA residents in crisis alongside family members and other first responders. Unlike the major movie star incubator that is "Law & Order," "9-1-1" is less known for launching careers than for bringing established performers into memorable supporting roles. The show has featured major stars, veteran actors caught in tricky situations, and a few surprising casting choices. Here are the 10 best guest stars on "9-1-1."

Brooke Shields appears in the action-packed Season 3 finale of "9-1-1," providing a moment of quiet reflection amid all of the drama. She plays Dr. Sanford, a victim's advocate. Athena has recently suffered a near-deadly attack at the hands of Jeffrey Hudson (Noah Bean), a serial rapist she was tracking. Athena is struggling to process the attack, and when Dr. Sanford comes to visit her, she assumes that she's there to talk about the other victims. When Dr. Sanford reminds her that she's a victim too, Athena initially deflects.

Eventually, Athena begins to open up to Dr. Sanford, who reminds her that the attack wasn't her fault and that it will take time to heal and feel like herself again. It's something of a breakthrough moment for Athena, who hates showing weakness, and we appreciate Dr. Sanford for the push.

Though it's a fairly quiet role for Shields in a very loud show, her character helps usher Athena along her journey to recovery. The actress has worked with Ryan Murphy before, having appeared in both "Scream Queens" and "Nip/Tuck." More recently, Shields stars in the Acorn TV mystery series "You're Killing Me," which will be returning for a second season.

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Ronda Rousey is best known as a wrestler and mixed martial artist, but she's also dabbled in acting over the years. You may have seen her kicking butt in "Furious 7," "The Expendables 3," or the 2019 reboot of "Charlie's Angels." One of her most substantial scripted TV roles came in Season 3 of "9-1-1." She first appears in Season 3, Episode 2, also known as the show's two-part tsunami episode. She plays Lena Bosko, a firefighter at the 136. When we meet her, she's climbed atop a buckling Ferris wheel after being separated from her team.

Lena temporarily joins the 118 after her squad is injured, replacing Buck (Oliver Stark), who is out on medical leave. Eddie (Ryan Guzman) and Lena become buddies, and, in a nod to Rousey's combat-sports career, she introduces him to an underground fight club. At first, they have a lot of fun together, but when Eddie's suppressed anger gets a hold of him and he almost kills someone, Lena distances herself. The fight club ultimately serves as an outlet for Eddie's feelings about losing his wife, Shannon (Devin Kelley).

Though it ends in a dark place, Lena's friendship with Eddie helps him relax and blow off steam, at least initially. For Rousey, her guest spot on "9-1-1" was no walk in the park. She nearly severed her finger on the first day of filming but still returned the next day to continue the shoot.

You may not know his name, but it's likely you know Jack McGee's face, as the veteran character actor has appeared in more than 200 films and television shows over the last few decades. One of his most prominent roles was on another great firefighter show, "Rescue Me," where he played Chief Jerry Reilly. He's also appeared in films like "The Fighter" and "Moneyball."

McGee guest stars in "The One That Got Away," a Season 3 episode of "9-1-1." He plays Red Delacroix, a retired firefighter whom Buck meets at a bar. They get to know each other, and Buck learns that Red has a long-lost love named Cindy. Perhaps still thinking of his own lost love, Abby (Connie Britton), Buck tracks Cindy down and takes Red to meet her. When they get there, they discover that Cindy (Deborah May) has dementia, leaving Red shaken and angry with Buck.

Later, Buck learns that Red is dying from mesothelioma and tries to make up for his mistake. He organizes a group of firefighters and fire trucks to line up outside the hospital, giving Red the kind of salute he deserves. Red dies shortly thereafter.

Though McGee's appearance on the show primarily serves as a lesson in growing up for the ever-boyish Buck, he believably embodies the role of a cranky old firefighter (perhaps because he's had practice), and it's ultimately a moving storyline.

Buck and Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) have a very complicated relationship with their parents, to say the least. Unbeknownst to Buck, his parents' first child, Daniel, had leukemia, and Buck was conceived in hopes that he could serve as a bone marrow donor for him. Unfortunately, the transplant did not take, and Daniel died, causing the Buckleys to emotionally abandon their two remaining children and hide the truth from Buck.

It's a shocking and heartbreaking storyline, and it explains a lot about Buck's abandonment issues and the ways he's acted out over the years. The characters are brought to life by Gregory Harrison, who plays Buck and Maddie's father, Phillip, and Dee Wallace, who plays their mother, Margaret. Wallace's performance is especially memorable. She does a beautiful job portraying both Margaret's cognitive dissonance about the pain they've caused their children and the unprocessed grief she still carries. Though it's hard to forgive Phillip and Margaret, Wallace gives the character depth.

Wallace has been working in Hollywood for decades, most notably in horror films in the '70s, '80s, and '90s. She's perhaps best known for her role in "E.T.," and has also appeared in films such as "The Hills Have Eyes," "Cujo," "Critters," and "The Howling." Her most recent appearance on "9-1-1" as of this writing was in Season 9, when Margaret and Phillip announced they were getting a divorce.

The most hilarious guest spot on "9-1-1" has got to be Mark Consuelos, who plays an unforgettable role across several episodes of Season 9. In the thrilling Season 9 premiere, Consuelos appears as Tripp Hauser, a tech billionaire in the vein of Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos. We first meet Tripp in a typically outlandish circumstance: trapped inside the mouth of a whale. He's swallowed by the unfortunate creature while kayaking and on a video call with his company. The firefighters at the 118, with Hen (Aisha Hinds) leading the rescue, save his life.

In gratitude for Hen's actions, Tripp offers to donate a large chunk of change to the department, with one condition: Hen has to go to space. And that, in case you've forgotten, is how we got an episode of "9-1-1" set in outer space. Hen takes Athena (Angela Bassett) with her, and all is well until they face a major disaster in space, where no one can hear you scream. Thankfully, the humans on the ground actually can hear them, thanks to the quick thinking of Hen's rocket scientist wife, Karen (Tracie Thoms), and 9-1-1 operator extraordinaire Maddie.

As if we had any doubts, Consuelos' Tripp comes out looking like a total fool and an evil megalomaniac, putting the lives of his space travelers at risk for the sake of profits. It's a comical send-up of the tech billionaire class, and Consuelos fully commits to the bit.

Mike Farrell has been on television for decades, starring as Captain B.J. Hunnicutt on "M*A*S*H" for eight seasons. Since then, he's appeared in numerous other TV shows and films, including one of the best episodes of "Law & Order: SVU." In Season 9 of "9-1-1," he has a humorous turn as an old man testing the limits of his independence. He plays Bill, who's tired of being constantly surveilled and infantilized by his son, Andrew (Jason Gray-Stanford). When Bill leaves the house, Andrew worries he's lost his mind or is being elder scammed, and Athena is sent to investigate.

What she finds is Bill riding his lawnmower — because Andrew took away his car keys — on the freeway, en route to pick up his long-distance girlfriend from LAX. Athena has to pull him over because it's illegal to drive a lawnmower on the road, but she takes pity on him. Andrew worries that Bill has been catfished and that he belongs in a nursing home, but when Bill's girlfriend arrives on his doorstep, he's proven wrong. Bill advises Andrew to turn off the security cameras he's installed or risk being "scarred for life."

It's an endearing role for Farrell, who plays Bill with comical stubbornness and wit. Before "9-1-1," the actor hadn't appeared on television since 2019, when he guest-starred in two episodes of "NCIS."

Malcolm-Jamal Warner's character in Season 7 of "9-1-1" represents an unwelcome blast from the past for Bobby Nash (Peter Krause). He plays Amir Casey, a burn unit nurse filled with resentment toward Bobby. Amir follows Bobby to an AA meeting and reveals that he lost his wife in the fire that Bobby inadvertently started back in Minnesota. Hoping to make amends with Amir, Bobby follows him to the United States-Mexico border, where he's doing volunteer work. Unfortunately for both men, they get caught up in cartel business and nearly lose their lives.

Their troubles intensify when Athena and Bobby's house is burned down, nearly killing Bobby in the process. Athena suspects Amir of setting the fire, but he denies it, and the cartel ultimately turns out to be behind the arson. According to Warner, Amir was initially supposed to be a more explicitly villainous character. He told TV Insider that showrunner Tim Minear changed his mind after the first episode and decided that Amir should be innocent of the crime because he'd already been established as such a morally upstanding character. Warner's powerful performance, which oscillates between practiced calm and simmering rage, adds plenty of gravitas to the weighty storyline.

Warner is best known for playing Theo Huxtable on "The Cosby Show," in addition to roles on "Malcolm & Eddie" and "Reed Between the Lines." The actor died by drowning in 2025.

Adrienne Barbeau is pretty good at getting herself out of sticky situations, as seen in films like "The Fog," "Escape From New York," and "Swamp Thing." You may also know her as the voice of Catwoman and Maude's (Bea Arthur) daughter in "Maude." In a Season 6 episode of "9-1-1," Barbeau finds herself in another pickle, though not of the science-fiction variety. She plays Lois, a bride on the way to her wedding. Things take a turn for the worse when she gets stuck in the floor of her horse-drawn carriage on the way to the chapel.

When the 118 arrive on the scene to rescue her, she explains her story. She's on her way to marry the love of her life, Philip (Fran Montano), whom she met 50 years ago. They lost touch and married other people, but reconnected on "The Facebook" and decided to take the plunge all these years later. When the team frees Lois, she begs them to go to the ceremony instead of the ER, imploring them, "You have to let me choose love." Bobby, the softie that he is, responds, "I can do that. It says so on my hat."

Barbeau is as charming as ever in the episode, which features a running theme about weddings and engagements. Her storyline fits neatly into that theme, which also sees Maddie and Chimney (Kenneth Choi) finally getting engaged after Maddie proposes when Chimney loses the ring.

One of several guest stars on the dramatic Season 3 finale of "9-1-1," Rumer Willis plays Georgia, a drummer aboard a passenger train from Phoenix to Los Angeles. Also aboard the train is Abby, Buck's former paramour, who's traveling to LA with her fiancé, Sam (Travis Schuldt). When the train derails, Abby disembarks safely, but Sam and Georgia are both stuck. The impact of the crash leaves Georgia's leg impaled into her torso (ouch), while Sam is trapped under a beam. If they move the beam, it may kill Georgia, but if they don't, it will probably kill Sam.

Quite a conundrum they find themselves in. Buck, being the death-defying hero that he is (and wanting to keep his promise to Abby), offers to climb on the outside of the train to save them both. Bobby says no, but Buck still manages to crawl around like Spider-Man, saving the day as he always does. Sadly, he doesn't get the girl, but Georgia survives to drum another day.

Willis' part gives her a chance to get majorly bloody and bruised, and her life hanging in the balance represents a pivotal moment for Buck and his growth (or not) as a firefighter. Willis, the daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, previously appeared on Fox in "The Masked Singer" and "Empire." She's also had roles on "90210," "Hawaii Five-0," and "Doctor Odyssey."

For our purposes, the most significant part of actor Brian Hallisay's bio is this: he's married to Jennifer Love Hewitt, star of "9-1-1." In a bit of casting genius, Hallisay appeared not as Hewitt's kind and supportive love interest, Chimney, but as her violent, abusive ex-husband, Doug. After fleeing the relationship and moving to LA, Maddie is stalked by Doug, who stabs Chimney in Season 2. He then kidnaps Maddie and takes her to a snowy cabin. Maddie escapes, and after a brutal fight in the woods, she stabs him to death.

Doug is most certainly dead, but he does return a few times over the course of the series: in Buck's mind while he's in a coma in Season 6, and in a Season 7 episode when Chimney contracts viral encephalitis on his wedding day and begins hallucinating Doug in a nightmarish scenario.

Though filming scenes like that with your spouse may seem like a difficult prospect, Hewitt says it was a great experience for them. "It was just lovely to be able to go to work together," Hewitt told Entertainment Tonight, joking, "He couldn't be more opposite of his character on the show, which is very important for people to know."

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