‘Felicity’ Turns 25: See 13 Stars Who Guest Starred on the Show
No doubt countless high schoolers tried to scout out an application for the University of New York a quarter-century ago, after Felicity Porter (Keri Russell) followed a boy there in the pilot of The WB’s Felicity.
The school was fake, of course, but the TV drama’s romantic storylines felt real for the viewers who tuned in to watch Felicity connect with Ben Covington (Scott Speedman) and then Noel Crane (Scott Foley). In fact, TV Insider named the trio as one of TV’s best and most divisive love triangles.
Felicity debuted on September 29, 1998, and launched the careers of several of its stars, plus those of creators J.J. Abrams and Matt Reeves. And plenty of famous faces matriculated at UNY, too. Below are some of those well-known guest stars.
Tyra Banks
The supermodel played Jane Scott, a love interest for Noel, in three Season 3 episodes — and was “just not into” a kissing scene with Foley, as he revealed on Watch What Happens Live in 2019.
John Cho
Cho guest starred in Felicity’s second-ever episode as Larry, a pal of Noel’s, and Abrams later cast him as Sulu in the Star Trek films. “I wasn’t used to J.J.’s dedication,” Cho told TV Insider in 2017. “He’d do 20 takes. I thought I was incompetent. It’s a miracle he hired me again.”
Lisa Edelstein
A couple years before landing in the House cast, Edelstein recurred in Felicity’s fourth season, playing Lauren, who goes from sponsoring Ben’s dad at Alcoholics Anonymous to having a romantic relationship with Ben himself.
Donald Faison
By the time Scrubs premiered, Faison had just wrapped a multi-season arc as Tracy, Elena’s virgin boyfriend, on Felicity. He and Russell reunited when she guest starred on Scrubs in 2007.
Jennifer Garner
Abrams cast Garner as the lead star of Alias after she recurred as Hannah Bibb, a girlfriend of Noel’s, in three episodes of Felicity. Garner and Foley, who met on the set of Felicity, were married from 2000 to 2004.
Taraji P. Henson
The future star of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Empire had two bit parts in Felicity’s first season, playing a residential adviser in “Drawing the Line: Part 1” and an art student in “Todd Mulcahy: Part 2.”
Jane Kaczmarek & Bradley Whitford
The Malcolm in the Middle alum and the West Wing star — who were married at the time they guest starred on Felicity — played Carol Anderson, biological mom of Julie (Amy Jo Johnson), and Tom Anderson, Carol’s husband in Season 1’s “Happy Birthday.”
Sung Kang
Long before he starred as Han Lue in the Fast & Furious film franchise, Kang played an unnamed student in the Season 2 episode “The Love Bug.”
Jane Lynch
The Glee alum and Weakest Link host recurred in Season 4 as Professor Carnes, an instructor Felicity fools with a fake paper… until our heroine has a crisis of conscience, of course.
Michael Peña
This actor from the Ant-Man movies and the new film A Million Miles Away had a five-episode arc in Felicity’s second season as Brian Burke, a freshman with the hots for the title character.
Adam Rodriguez
Now an alum of CSI: Miami and a star of Criminal Minds, Rodriguez played Erik Kidd, a Pop Rocks Records employee intrigued by Julie, in three Felicity episodes. “Everybody was really cool on that show,” he told Glamour in 2014. “That was a really cool time for me.”
Kenan Thompson
This long-running SNL star played DeForrest Ingram, a love interest for Elena, in four episodes of Felicity Season 3. The New York Times commended the character’s “lovely speech about protecting himself from being hurt in relationships” in the episode “It’s Raining Men.”
