Yahoo Lifestyle Desperate Housewives: 30 Actors You Probably Forgot Visited Wisteria Lane, From Armie Hammer to Sarah Paulson
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Exactly two decades ago, a desperate woman named Mary Alice Young blew her brains out, launching a mystery that would darken the idyllic neighborhood of Wisteria Lane for eight wonderful years.
Beyond being an Emmy Award-winning guilty pleasure, ABC’s Desperate Housewives was must-see TV, introducing viewers to a cavalcade of personalities we’ll never forget. Or at least we thought we’d never forget them. Because the more we think back to the years we spent in Fairview, the more we can’t believe how many characters we’ve completely forgotten.
Pop quiz: Do you remember when Armie Hammer played Mike’s drug dealer? Or when Sarah Paulson and Carrie Preston guest-starred as Lynette’s sisters? Unless you recently completed a full rewatch (which we recommend!), there’s a good chance you’ve forgotten how many famous faces popped up, not to mention how many stars-to-be got their start on the primetime sudser.
Read on for a list of 30 familiar faces you (probably) forgot were on Desperate Housewives. And feel free to drop a comment with any additions you have from a recent binge.
ADRIAN PASDAR
When Gabby needed to get Carlos out of prison in Season 2, she turned to one of the Heroes for help, naturally.
AISHA HINDS
Before she was saving lives on 9-1-1, Hinds played a maid who attempted to save Bree from making a big mistake with Karl. (Spoiler alert: She did not succeed.)
ARMIE HAMMER
Before his big-screen career took off, Hammer played Mike’s drug dealer Barrett in Season 4. His only rule? Don’t call him by his name.
BEAU MIRCHOFF
There was nothing Awkward about Mirchoff’s turn as the oh-so-emotional Danny Bolen, who moved to Wisteria Lane in Season 6 with his parents, played by Drea de Matteo and Jeffrey Nordling.
BILLY GARDELL
Two years before he would become one half of Mike & Molly, Gardell played a skeevy undercover cop who helped Gabby spy on her tenant, whom she suspected of being a drug dealer.
CARRIE PRESTON
The future star of True Blood and Claws is barely recognizable as Lynette’s (blonde!) sister Lucy, who made a single appearance in Season 4.
CHRIS CARMACK
Sometime between “Welcome to the O.C., bitch!” and “Welcome to Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital,” Carmack played Susan’s cousin Tim, who received a very warm welcome to Wisteria Lane, courtesy of Katherine (Dana Delaney).
CIERRA RAMIREZ
Before starring on The Fosters and Good Trouble, Ramirez passed through Wisteria Lane as a girl scout named Anne Marie who inadvertently inspired Gabby to relaunch her modeling career — even if her comeback was short-lived.
DIXIE CARTER
The Designing Women star passed away three years after playing Orson’s scheming mom-ster in the show’s third season, making Gloria Hodge one of her final roles.
ED QUINN
Long before playing the leader of the free world on The Oval, Quinn (as Brent Ferguson) had a major issue with authority, the kind of issue that results in a street-wide riot.
FRANCES CONROY
Something tells us that this ensemble, which Conroy sported while playing the eccentric Virginia Hildebrand in Season 5, would get Myrtle Snow’s seal of approval.
GARY COLE
Before wooing Diane Lockhart on The Good Wife, Cole worked that raw sexual magnetism on Katherine, playing her estranged ex Wayne.
JASON GEORGE
The future Station 19 star got some experience putting out fires on Wisteria Lane when his connection with Rene (Vanessa Williams) went up in smoke in Season 7.
JAX TAYLOR
Before slinging drinks on Bravo’s Vanderpump Rules, Jax — who played the ever-memorable “How Guy 2 in Dance Club” — bought drinks for Edie during a friendly competition with Gabby in Season 5.
JO MARIE PAYTON
Lynette got the sassing of her life, delivered as only Harriet Winslow could, when her kids escaped their babysitter (a drunk Bree) in Season 2.
JOHN BARROWMAN
All you need to remember about Barrowman’s character is that his final words were “You bitch!” before his car blew up.
JULIE BENZ
We’re not sure which surprised us more about Benz’s character Robin — that she ended up becoming romantically involved with Katherine, or that we only met her because Susan was the part-owner of a strip club.
JUSTINE BATEMAN
Remember earlier in this list when we mentioned that Billy Gardell helped Gabby spy on her drug-dealing tenant in Season 4? Believe it or not, that tenant was played by former Family Ties star Bateman.
KATHY NAJIMY
That’s Detective Najimy to you! The Hocus Pocus star worked her magic in a Season 6 episode, playing a former classmate of Susan’s… whom she may have nicknamed “Moose.”
KRISTIN BAUER VAN STRATEN
We’re so used to Bauer van Straten playing larger-than-life roles — think Pam on True Blood and Maleficent on Once Upon a Time — that it feels strange seeing her standing next to Lynette in a plain ol’ pantsuit.
LAURIE METCALF
We almost didn’t include Metcalf on this list, but she threatened to take us “grocery shopping” if we didn’t — and we all know how that ends.
LESLIE JORDAN
This natural-born scene stealer recurred in the show’s final season as Felix Bergman, an eccentric art collector who offered Susan a job in New York.
LILY TOMLIN
Mrs. McCluskey couldn’t have asked for a better sleuthing partner — or could she? — while investigating Edie’s new husband Dave (played by Neal McDonough) in Season 5.
MAE WHITMAN
Her? Oh, yes. The future star of Arrested Development, Parenthood and Good Girls guest-starred in Season 3 as a friend of Julie’s. But as you can see here, she was more interested in Austin (played by Josh Henderson).
MEGAN HILTY
If you thought Hilty was a triple threat on Smash, you should have seen what she could do with a pair of scissors — especially when feeling threatened — during her brief arc in Season 5.
NATHAN FILLION
Before Fillion was solving mysteries on Castle, he was the mystery on Wisteria Lane, playing Katherine’s secretive husband Adam in Season 4.
SARAH PAULSON
Lynette’s relationship with her sisters was a true Horror Story, so it only makes sense that one of them was played by Paulson.
RACHAEL HARRIS
Harris played a reporter digging up dirt on Bree and Orson in Season 5 — which was really just good practice for her future career as Lucifer‘s therapist, if you think about it.
ROSELYN SANCHEZ
Sanchez popped up in the show’s series finale as the Solis’ new gardener — hired by Carlos, naturally. But the crazy part is that the character’s name was Carmen Luna, someone Sanchez would later play on Devious Maids, another Marc Cherry drama. Gasp!
REBECCA WISOCKY
Have you ever wondered how Bree became so… well, Bree? We got our answer in the show’s final season during a twisted flashback to her childhood. Wisocky — who went on to star in Marc Cherry’s Devious Maids, before haunting CBS’ Ghosts — played Bree’s mother, who taught her the art of a deceptive smile.
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