The Rookie: Who Did Alan Tudyk Play & Which Other Firefly Stars Had Cameos?

Nathan Fillion has starred in numerous TV shows over the years, and he's made plenty of friends along the way. As evidence of this, several of his former "Firefly" castmates have popped up on his newest series, "The Rookie," from time to time. 

One such appearance belongs to Alan Tudyk, who played Hoban "Wash" Washburn on "Firefly." Tudyk is the ultimate "That Guy" actor, from voicing many characters in animated Disney movies to leading his own series with "Resident Alien." However, he also helped his buddy on "The Rookie" Season 2, Episode 8 — "Clean Cut." Tudyk plays Ellroy Basso, a crime scene cleaner who tags along on one of John Nolan's (Fillion) cases. 

Other "Firefly" cast members who popped up on "The Rookie" include Sean Maher and Gregg Henry, but Fillion isn't stopping until the whole cast makes its way onto the show. During a panel at Comic-Con@Home 2020, Fillion tried to coax Gina Torres, who played Zoe on "Firefly," to make a "Rookie" cameo. She sounded open to the possibility on one condition, "You'll have to promise you'll actually be there because when I came on Castle, you bailed." "Firefly" may not have lasted long, but it's clearly sustained itself in the zeitgeist, with the cast remaining friendly throughout the years. 

Nathan Fillion and Alan Tudyk sure do seem to like working together. In addition to working in space together on "Firefly" and the film "Serenity," Fillion got back into science-fiction by appearing in Tudyk's series, "Resident Alien." Fillion lends his voice to the octopus, 42, in the SyFy show in a recurring capacity. In fact, Tudyk was the one who helped Fillion get the role. 

According to SYFY WIRE, Chris Sheridan, the creator of the series, initially thought about having Tudyk do it since he's a proficient voice actor, but Tudyk recommended Fillion. Sheridan explained, "We loved trying to get those two together again in this little, weird way. We reached out to Nathan and he was into it ... Like everyone is doing these days, he recorded from home at the time. But he played with the part and ad-libbed some really funny things. It's a really odd role and I think Nathan was just hysterical in it."

And fans had another chance to see the two work together when Tudyk reprised Ellroy Basso in Season 4, Episode 22 of "The Rookie" — "Day in the Hole." Of course, the real question may be whether these actors will get a chance to board the Serenity once again in a "Firefly" reboot. The show has maintained a passionate fanbase over the years, but as of right now, there's nothing in the works. Fox tried its hands at another sci-fi space adventure with "The Orville," which moved to Hulu for its third season. But where there's a will, there's a way, and this likely isn't the last time Fillion and Tudyk share the screen.