Fans watching The Rookie season 8, episode 13, “The Thinker,” are sure to spot a few very familiar faces in the guest cast of the episode! The episode features an amazing lineup of guest stars who enter the picture as part of the central plot of the episode, in which Nolan’s ride-along with Bailey goes awry.
The first of the episode’s key guest stars is actor Max Brandt, whose character spells trouble for Bailey and Nolan, taking them hostage and ordering them to save the life of an injured man who holds the key to finding his money. One of television’s most recognizable character actors, Brandt is an actor whose face viewers know from countless roles.
Brandt is perhaps best known for playing Corrections Officer Mack Andrews on the first season of Fox’s hit drama Prison Break, which marked his first acting role. Following Prison Break, Brandt has appeared in dozens of shows with one of his most notable roles coming in the MMA drama Kingdom, on which he starred as Mac Sullivan across the show’s three-season run.
Brandt’s additional credits include The Night Shift, Supernatural, Tracker, George & Mandy’s First Marriage, The Pitt, On Call, SEAL Team, Criminal Minds, The Cleaning Lady, Chicago Fire, Monster, and 911.
Also guest-starring in the episode is actor Robert Baker, who plays the armed gunman who abducts Bailey and Nolan. Baker is best known for his work in another hit ABC drama, having played Dr. Charles Percy on Grey’s Anatomy back in the day. While Baker's run on Grey's was short-lived, his character's death remains one of the most memorable from over the years, with Percy dying at the hands of gunman Gary Clark back in the season 6 finale.
Of course Grey’s Anatomy is just one of Baker’s many roles, which include recurring and guest roles in several hit television series, including Supergirl, SWAT, St. Denis Medical, Pivoting, Magnum PI, Blindspot, The Magicians, Wrecked, Ballers, Longmire, and Riverdale. Fans might also recognize him from some of the many movies he’s appeared in over the years as well, including Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, The Lady Killers, The Lone Ranger, and Out of Time.
The final notable guest star of the episode is Sydney Mae Diaz, who plays Bailey's paramedic colleague in the episode. An up-and-coming actor, Diaz is best known for playing Raul in The Consultant and Hex in Marvel's Iron Fist. Fans might also recognize Diaz from titles such as Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Search Party, The Golden Voice, High Fidelity, and The Other Two.