Who Did Annie Wersching Play In Nathan Fillion's Castle?

Over the past few decades, there have been no shortages of cop dramas on television. "Castle," however, managed to stand out above the rest. The series featured an incredible cast led by Nathan Fillion as the titular author and Stana Katic as Detective Kate Beckett. It also had a number of notable guest stars playing other members of the NYPD as well as suspects who committed heinous crimes.

One such guest star, the late Annie Wersching, appeared in three episodes as Kelly Nieman. Kelly is an esteemed plastic surgeon who is also the girlfriend of the serial killer Jerry Tyson (Michael Mosley). Like her partner, she has psychopathic tendencies and is eventually brought to justice. 

Wersching first appeared as Kelly Nieman in the Season 6 episode, "Disciple." After finding two bodies, who bear a striking resemblance to Lanie (Tamala Jones) and Javi (Jon Huertas), Castle and Beckett trace the event to Kelly, who confirms that she did the plastic surgery and made them look like the NYPD employees. Castle believes the case is connected to Jerry Tyson, aka 3XK, which is confirmed via prison records when Kelly was a doctor during Jerry's incarceration. When they try to confront her, all they find is a piece of paper saying, "Better luck next time," solidifying her involvement in the murders.

Annie Wersching returned as Kelly in "Resurrection" in the following season of "Castle." It is revealed that she is connected to Jerry, helped him fake his death, and secure an alibi that he is actually a different man who got plastic surgery. They misdirect the NYPD and hold Kate Beckett hostage, and Kelly reveals her plan to transplant their faces and take on Beckett's beauty. Wersching's last appearance as Kelly is in "Reckoning," where she attempts to finish her gruesome surgery on Beckett. However, Beckett manages to free one hand, and she grabs the scalpel. She stabs Nieman to death, and she is soon rescued by the NYPD team. 

In an interview with Pop Culture Principle, Wersching spoke about her experience on the series. Having just finished her third and final episode, she loved playing Kelly, especially because she was so creepy and obsessed with Beckett. She also said that Stana Katic and the rest of the cast were sweet and funny, and they made filming really fun. Wersching also talked about playing Kelly with Crooked Forest, and she expressed her disappointment that the character didn't last as long as she wanted her to. "I would've loved to delve more into the world of the psychotic plastic surgeon, Dr. Kelly Nieman, I played on "Castle,"' she said. She believed there was way more to the character, and that there was an extra story that could have been told, had she been able to return.