When you think about Scandal, most fans probably first think of Olivia and the likes of Fitz, Mellie, and Cyrus. After all, these are the ones that stayed until the very end when Fitz left the White House and Mellie became POTUS.
Beyond the primary cast, it’s almost hard to remember who else appeared on the show throughout its four-season run. Of course, no one’s going to forget Huck or Quinn anytime soon. But what about the many other actors who made small guest appearances over the years?
Brenda Song
The actress originally rose to fame for her role in Disney’s The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. Since then, Song has continuously taken on more adult roles, including playing Alissa on Scandal.
As fans may recall, Alissa served as a legal secretary to U.S. Attorney David Rosen (Joshua Malina) and she was loyal to David the entire time they worked together. Appearing on the show in seasons one and two, Alissa assisted in several cases, including one about the suspicious death of White House intern, Amanda Tanner (Liza Weil).
Kelly McCreary
One of the things that fans may not know about Shondaland shows is that its actors sometimes guest star on one series before landing a permanent gig on another show. This seems to be the case for Kelly McCreary, who famously portrays the incredibly smart and accomplished Dr. Maggie Pierce on Grey’s Anatomy.
Unbeknownst to many, McCreary appeared on Scandal prior to snagging this role. In the political drama, she played a terrorist who helps Olivia and her team to get information on Maya (Khandi Alexander). Unfortunately, her character was later killed.
Lisa Edelstein
Lisa Edelstein joined the cast briefly as Sarah Stanner during the show’s second season. Sarah is a devoted mother to two children who also happens to be the CEO of a large company. Her perfect world comes crashing down when news emerges that she’s been having an affair with a White House nominee for the Supreme Court Justice.
Thanks to Olivia’s team of gladiators, Sarah manages to survive the scandal relatively unscathed. In fact, she even got to keep her job and her marriage stayed intact. In contrast, things didn’t turn out too well for the White House nominee.
Josh Brener
The Silicon Valley star briefly appeared in Scandal as Gavin Price, a young man accused of murdering his wealthy real-estate developer dad.
Olivia ends up on the case after Gavin’s stepmom calls for her assistance when Gavin runs away. And while it was a bit of a challenge trying to find him, Olivia eventually catches up to Gavin at a casino. And although he initially swears that he didn’t have anything to do with the murder, it turned out that Gavin was behind it all along.
Keiko Agena
Early on in the series, Agena appeared as White House Press Secretary Britta Kagen, who reported to Olivia Pope during the first 100 days of Fitz Grant’s (Tony Goldwyn) presidency. Around that time, Olivia was serving as the White House Communication’s Director and even after Liv left the White House, Britta remained in her post.
Sadly, she was fatally wounded during the shooting at Fitz’s birthday gala. Verna Thornton (Debra Mooney), the Associate Justice at the U.S. Supreme Court, later confessed to ordering the hit. She also referred to Britta as “collateral damage.”
Lena Dunham
Girls creator and star, Lena Dunham, once appeared as Sue Thomas, a woman who pens a manuscript surrounding her sexual escapades with several influential men. She threatens to release the manuscript unless she is paid $3 million.
As it turns out, this role is just the type of character that Dunham enjoys doing. “I just want to go full intensity,” Dunham told IndieWire. “I don’t want to play anybody’s sassy best friend who loves the buffet.” Unfortunately, Sue later is killed, so there was no possibility of Dunham's character making a return.
Michael Welch
On the show, the Twilight star portrayed a police officer named Jeff Newton who is involved in the shooting of a Black man. The victim was killed after Jeff suspected he had a knife, but it was later discovered that the knife was planted on the victim’s body.
When confronted by this, Officer Newton goes on a shocking rant, even making claims that he doesn’t get enough respect. He is subsequently charged with several crimes after the Justice Department decides to open an investigation.
Marla Gibbs
Years after scoring five Emmy nods for her performance in The Jeffersons, Gibbs decided to make a brief return to the small screen on Scandal. On the show, she played a woman named Rose, who makes her way to Olivia’s office to ask for help in looking for her ex-lover, Lois (Fran Bennett).
This disappearance sparks some interest among Liv’s gladiators since Lois happens to be Liv’s neighbor. It turns out that Lois was murdered when Olivia was kidnapped. Following Liv’s rescue, she lies to Rose, telling her that Lois died of an aneurysm.
Lorraine Toussaint
The Orange is the New Black actress once guested on Scandal as Nancy Drake, the wife of a pastor who was found dead with another woman handcuffed to him. After the discovery of the body, Nancy decides to work with Olivia in order to make sure that his husband’s good work is not tarnished.
The problem was, the pastor’s other woman, Ana (Elisa Neal), refused to remain silent about everything unless she’s paid millions. Eventually, Ana agrees to the deal so long as she is allowed to attend the pastor’s funeral, to which Nancy agrees.
Lisa Kudrow
Even today, Kudrow is best known for her performance on Friends as the amusing Phoebe Buffay. But what many fans may not realize is that the actress also enjoys playing more serious characters when necessary. In the series, she appeared as U.S. Representative Josie Marcus. While running in the Democratic presidential elections, Josie hires Liv to specifically cover up the fact that her sister was really her daughter.
In the end, however, this information came to light and Olivia encourages her to tell the truth. Josie follows Olivia’s advice but fires her soon after. She hires Olivia again later on.