The ABC series, which premiered in October 2018, follows John Nolan (Nathan Fillion), a recently divorced 45 year old who starts a new life in California and becomes the oldest rookie in the Los Angeles Police Department.

1. The Rookie Cast A Guide to All
the Actors and Characters from
Season 1 to Season 6
HomeTV The Rookie Cast A Guide to All the Actors and Characters
from Season 1 to Season 6

2. Meet the stars of The Rookie.
The ABC series, which premiered in October 2018, follows John Nolan
(Nathan Fillion), a recently divorced 45 year old who starts a new life
in California and becomes the oldest rookie in the Los Angeles Police
Department.
The show, based on the true story of LAPD officer William “Bill”
Norcross, follows John as he learns the ins and outs of an
unpredictable career, all while facing adversity due to his age. Off-
screen, Norcross continues to serve in the LAPD and is an executive
producer on the procedural crime drama, per his LinkedIn.
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter in 2018, Fillion, who also
serves as an executive producer, opened up about why The Rookie
connected with audiences.
“[John Nolan] is literally starting his life over, from scratch,” he said.
“He has an incredible history behind him, but he‟s starting everything
brand new. It‟s a very attractive prospect that people can relate to.”
Now five years after its original debut, The Rookie season 6 is in the
works, with Eric Winter teasing the new scripts on X (formerly known
as Twitter) after the Writers Guild of America‟s strike ended.

3. While the cameras get rolling again, here‟s everything to know about
the cast of The Rookie.
Nathan Fillion as John Nolan
Nathan Fillion plays John Nolan, an L.A. transplant and the oldest
rookie in the LAPD.
Fillion has dozens of TV and film credits from his acting career of
nearly 30 years. He got his start in 1994 when he took over the role of

4. Joey Buchanan on One Life to Live, earning him a Daytime Emmy
Award nomination. Five years later, he appeared in Saving Private
Ryan and joined the cast of the sitcom Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza
Place.
Despite the actor only starring in the space Western Firefly for one
season in 2002, it was dubbed a cult classic and inspired a follow-up
2005 movie, Serenity, in which Fillion reprised his starring role.
Through the rest of the 2000s, he appeared in multiple TV series,
including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Robot Chicken and Desperate
Housewives. In 2009, Fillion was cast in the ABC drama Castle, where
he played the role of the titular mystery novelist Richard Castle, who
assists the NYPD with solving crimes. The show ran for eight seasons
until it was canceled in 2016.
“They are light dramas,” he told Parade in 2022 about Castle and The
Rookie. “There are moments of intensity with largely happy lives,
which I think that‟s pretty much how my life is, so I hope that‟s close to
reality.”
The Canadian star has also appeared in web miniseries, narrated
audiobooks, lent his voice and likeness to video games and more. His
accolades include a Saturn Award, an SFX Award, three TV Guide
Awards and four People‟s Choice Awards.

5. Eric Winter as Tim Bradford
Eric Winter plays Sgt. Tim Bradford, Lucy Chen‟s training officer.
To pay for college at UCLA, Winter worked as a model, including in a
commercial for Britney Spears „ fragrance Curious.
Following a few minor TV parts, he portrayed Rex Brady on Days of
Our Lives from 2002 until 2005. After leaving the daytime soap opera,
he appeared on TV shows like Brothers & Sisters, CSI: Miami, Rizzoli &

6. Isles, The Good Doctor and more. He has also starred in a number of
Hallmark and Lifetime movies.
Winter was born in La Mirada, California. He married Puerto Rican
singer and actress Roselyn Sánchez in November 2008, and the couple
have two children: daughter Sebella “Sebi” Rose and son Dylan
Gabriel.
In 2017, Winter and Sánchez co-authored a book, Sebi and the Land of
Cha Cha Cha, inspired by their daughter. They also host a podcast, He
Said, Ella Dijo, covering parenthood, celebrity news and more.
Melissa O’Neil as Lucy Chen

7. Melissa O‟Neil plays Officer Lucy Chen, another rookie in the LAPD.
O‟Neil was born and raised in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and she first
stepped into the spotlight when she auditioned for the third season of
Canadian Idol in 2005 while still in high school. O‟Neil was crowned
the winner in September of that same year, becoming the first female
winner and the youngest in the show‟s history. She signed a record deal
with Sony Music Canada and released her self-titled debut album two
months after winning.
The actress began performing in theater productions, and in 2015, she
was cast in Syfy‟s Dark Matter, where she starred for three seasons.
O‟Neil has also had roles in Canadian and American TV shows,
including a recurring part in iZombie and an appearance in A Simple
Favor (2018).
Tru Valentino as Aaron Thorsen

8. Tru Valentino joined the cast of The Rookie in season 4 as rookie
officer Aaron Thorsen. He was promoted to series regular in season 5.
He has primarily done voice-over work for animated series, including
Spidey and His Amazing Friends, Netflix‟s The Cuphead Show!, Fast &
Furious Spy Racers and Madagascar: A Little Wild. Valentino is also in
the main company of the Groundlings Theatre in L.A.

9. Valentino‟s parents are U.S. Army veterans. He was born in Frankfurt,
Germany, and raised in Waynesville, Missouri.
Jenna Dewan as Bailey Nune
Jenna Dewan plays Bailey Nune, a firefighter and John Nolan‟s love
interest who joined the series in season 3.
Dewan was born in Hartford, Connecticut, but moved frequently
throughout her childhood. In 2000, she began working as a backup

10. dancer for Janet Jackson, first appearing in her “Doesn‟t Really
Matter” and “All for You” music videos and later joining her on tour in
2001. She has also danced for artists like Pink, Missy
Elliott and Christina Aguilera.
Dewan is best known for her starring role in Step Up (2006) and has
appeared on TV series such as American Horror Story: Asylum, The
Mindy Project, The Resident and Superman & Lois.
In 2006, Dewan began dating her Step Up costar Channing Tatum,
whom she married three years later. Their daughter, Everly Elizabeth
Maiselle, was born on May 31, 2013. The couple announced they were
separating in 2018, and the divorce was finalized the following year.
In February 2020, she revealed her engagement to actor Steve Kazee,
whom she began dating in 2018. Their son, Callum Michael Rebel,
arrived in March 2020. Kazee joined Dewan on The Rookie in season
4, playing her character‟s estranged husband.
Mekia Cox as Nyla Harper

11. Mekia Cox joined the cast in season 2 as former undercover detective
Nyla Harper, John Nolan‟s training officer who later returns to a
detective position.
Prior to joining The Rookie, Cox had roles on several TV shows,
including 90210, Mob City, Chicago Med and Once Upon a Time.
Cox was born in St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, but her family
moved to Orlando, Florida, when she was 7. She married basketball

12. analyst Britt Leach in April 2018 and gave birth to their first daughter
that December. She announced her second pregnancy on Instagram in
January 2022, which was written into her storyline on The Rookie, and
their second daughter was born in May of that same year.
Richard T. Jones as Wade Grey
Richard T. Jones plays Wade Grey, a sergeant and watch commander
in the Mid-Wilshire Division.

13. Jones appeared in a number of TV shows and movies throughout the
early 1990s before his first main role in the one-season show Brooklyn
South in 1997. He then starred in Judging Amy from 1999 until 2005.
He was a guest in series like Numb3rs and Grey‟s Anatomy and landed
recurring roles on Hawaii Five-0, Nikita, American Horror Story:
Hotel, Criminal Minds and more.
Jones was born in Kobe, Japan. His father, Clarence Jones, was a
professional baseball player playing for the Nankai Hawks in Osaka,
Japan, and the family moved to California after the 1978 season.
Lisseth Chavez as Celina Juarez

14. Lisseth Chavez joined the series in season 5 as rookie Celina Juarez.
Before The Rookie, Chavez had a recurring role on The Fosters and
leading roles on Chicago P.D. and D.C.‟s Legends of Tomorrow, plus a
number of other TV credits.
Annie Wersching as Rosalind Dyer

15. Annie Wersching played Rosalind Dyer, a serial killer and recurring
antagonist in seasons 2, 3 and 5.
The actress was born in St. Louis and got her start appearing on shows
like Star Trek: Enterprise, Charmed and Supernatural before her first
major role on 24. She starred in the main casts of Bosch and Runaways
and had roles on The Vampire Diaries and Star Trek: Picard.

16. In 2013, Wersching played Tess in the PlayStation game The Last of
Us, providing motion capture and voice-over work. The game has since
spawned a hit HBO series of the same name.
In September 2009, Wersching married actor Stephen Full. They
shared three sons: Freddie, Ozzie and Archie. In mid-2020, she was
diagnosed with cancer; Wersching kept her diagnosis private and
continued to work.
Wersching died in L.A. on Jan. 29, 2023, at the age of 45. On Feb. 14,
2023, the series dedicated an episode to the late actress.
Alyssa Diaz as Angela Lopez

17. Alyssa Diaz plays Angela Lopez, a training officer turned detective at
the Mid-Wilshire Division.
Diaz‟s first major role came in 2005 when she was cast on the soap
opera As the World Turns. She went on to star in TV shows like Army
Wives, Zoo and Narcos: Mexico. She has also had recurring and guest
roles on The Vampire Diaries, Ray Donovan, NCIS: Los Angeles and
more.

18. Diaz grew up in Northridge, a neighborhood in L.A. In 2019, she
became engaged to Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Gustavo
Galindo. In December 2020, she confirmed that she and Galindo had
welcomed a baby boy together. Her real-life pregnancy was written into
her character‟s storyline in season 3.
Shawn Ashmore as Wesley Evers
Shawn Ashmore plays Wesley Evers, a lawyer and Angela Lopez‟s love
interest.

19. The Canadian actor is best known for his role as Bobby Drake/Iceman
in the original X-Men film trilogy. His other film and TV credits
include Cadet Kelly, Smallville and The Boys. His identical twin
brother, Aaron Ashmore, is also an actor.
In July 2012, Ashmore married film executive Dana Renee Wasdin.
The pair met on the set of the psychological horror film Frozen (2010),
on which Wasdin was an assistant director. Their son Oliver arrived in
July 2017.
Titus Makin Jr. as Jackson West

20. Titus Makin Jr. played Officer Jackson West, another rookie later
assigned to the Mid-Wilshire Division.
After a few minor roles, Makin got his first recurring part on Glee in
season 2. His other TV credits include Grey‟s Anatomy, Pretty Little
Liars and NCIS: New Orleans.
Following three seasons in his leading role on The Rookie, his
character died in the first episode of season 4. However, the Hawaii-

21. born actor had considered leaving the show earlier, particularly after
police officers killed Breonna Taylor and George Floyd in 2020.
“It starts back for me, even just playing a cop in the first place, which
was a hurdle [with] where I‟m from and how I viewed the cops growing
up,” he told Entertainment Weekly. “To play one, I already was
wrestling with, „Oh man, people are gonna think I‟m Team Cops.‟ And
the reality was I was struggling.”
The real-life events inspired Makin to “find a voice within” himself by
“addressing the reality” his character might be going through. In the
wake of Taylor and Floyd‟s deaths, the actor spoke with The Rookie
showrunner Alexi Hawley and others to incorporate relevant dialogue
into West‟s storyline, and he was “thankful” it was possible.
Since departing from the series, he has appeared on NCIS: Hawai‟i, in
the movie On the Come Up (2022), and two short films.
Brandon Routh as Doug Stanton

22. Brandon Routh portrays Doug Stanton, a training officer, in season 3.
After minor TV appearances on Gilmore Girls and Will & Grace,
Routh‟s big break came in 2006 when he played Superman in the film
Superman Returns.
He joined the Arrowverse as Ray Palmer/The Atom on Arrow in 2014
and subsequently starred in Legends of Tomorrow and The Flash. In

23. the 2019 Arrowverse crossover event, “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” he
reprised his role as Superman.
Routh was born in Des Moines, Iowa, and grew up in nearby Norwalk.
He married actress Courtney Ford in November 2007. The couple
welcomed their son, Leo James, in 2012.
Dylan Conrique as Tamara Collins

24. Dylan Conrique joined The Rookie season 3 as Tamara Collins, a
troubled teenager Lucy Chen takes under her wing.
Conrique was born in Gilroy, California, and grew up in the
Sacramento area. Her acting credits include TV shows like Henry
Danger, and The Kids Are Alright, as well as the web series Chicken
Girls.
In addition to her acting work, Conrique is a singer-songwriter. Her
first EP, Baby Blue, was released in 2020, followed by Pieces in 2023.
PEOPLE named her an Emerging Artist to hear in the spring of 2022.
Arjay Smith as James Murray

25. Arjay Smith plays James Murray, a community activist and Nyla
Harper‟s future husband, who was introduced in season 3.
He first rose to fame as the star of Nickelodeon‟s The Journey of Allen
Strange from 1997 until 2000. Smith has had recurring and guest roles
on shows like Malcolm in the Middle, Sons of Anarchy and Major
Crimes, and he had a starring role on Perception from 2012 to 2015.

26. Smith was born in Redlands, California. He married director and
producer Brittany Scott Smith in December 2015. The couple share two
children.
Ali Larter as Grace Sawyer
Ali Larter played Dr. Grace Sawyer, John Nolan‟s love interest in
season 2.
The actress has an extensive film and TV résumé. Her movie roles
include House on Haunted Hill (1999), Final Destination (2000),
Legally Blonde (2001) and Obsessed (2009). As for TV, Larter had her
breakout role on Heroes and has made appearances on Dawson‟s
Creek, Curb Your Enthusiasm and more.

27. She grew up in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Larter married actor Hayes
MacArthur in August 2009, and the couple share two children: son
Theodore Hayes and daughter Vivienne Margaret.
Afton Williamson as Talia Bishop
Afton Williamson portrayed Talia Bishop, John Nolan‟s training
officer, in season 1.

28. The Ohio-born actress got her start as Kerry Washington‟s understudy
in the 2009 Broadway play Race before taking over the role in 2010.
She has appeared on several TV shows, including Law & Order: Special
Victims Unit, Nashville, Banshee and Shades of Blue.
In 2019, Williamson confirmed reports that she would not return for
The Rookie season 2. The actress claimed that while filming the pilot
and the first season, she “experienced racial discrimination/racially
charged inappropriate comments from the hair department and
bullying from executive producers.”
Williamson also alleged that a guest star sexually harassed her and that
the head of the hair department sexually assaulted her at the season 1
wrap party.
Entertainment One, the series‟s production company, completed its
400-hour investigation the following month and found no evidence of
wrongdoing. In a statement to PEOPLE, eOne said that those
investigated “did not conduct themselves in an unlawful manner or
demonstrate behavior inappropriate for the workplace.” In an
Instagram post, Williamson called the results “heartbreaking.”
Mercedes Mason as Zoe Andersen

29. Mercedes Mason plays Zoe Andersen, commanding officer of the Mid-
Wilshire Division in season 1.
The Swedish actress has appeared in TV shows like How to Get Away
with Murder, Fear the Walking Dead, and NCIS: Los Angeles, as well
as films like Little Dixie (2023).
As for her personal life, Mason married David Denman in September
2014. The couple share two sons, Caius Kane and Sagan Cyrus.
Niecy Nash as Simone Clark

30. Niecy Nash appeared as a guest star in The Rookie season 4 in two
episodes that were a backdoor pilot for her character, FBI agent
Simone Clark. Her spinoff series, The Rookie: Feds, premiered in
September 2022 and was canceled in November 2023 after one season.
Nash has a number of TV and film credits under her belt, including
starring roles in both Reno 911! and Claws. She won a Daytime Emmy
Award for her role as the host of Clean House on the Style Network in
2010. She also received critical acclaim for several other TV roles,

31. including Getting On, When They See Us and Dahmer — Monster: The
Jeffrey Dahmer Story.
Nash was born in Palmdale, California. She has three children —
Dominic, Donielle Mikel and Dia La Ren — with her ex-husband Don
Nash, to whom she was married from 1994 until 2007. She was
married to Jay Tucker from 2011 to 2020.
In August 2020, Nash married musician Jessica Betts. Betts also
appeared on The Rookie: Feds as Dina “DJ” Jackson, Simone Clark‟s
love interest.
Originally published at https://hotgossipnewz.blogspot.com.