During the incredible 15-season run of Supernatural in just as many years, the show featured some impressive guests, including some of the biggest names from horror history. Supernatural ran from 2005 to 2020 and quickly became one of the most successful shows to ever come out of The CW network. Sam and Dean Winchester face off against countless demons, monsters, ghouls, and even gods during the series with some being played by well-known actors in the horror and thriller genre. Supernatural often used these cameos as a way of bringing the world of Supernatural and real life closer together, and some famous stars even played a parody of themselves.
Other times, the actors who were in smaller parts went on to find success and gain more notoriety after their involvement with the series. And for a few, horror stars appear to pay homage to earlier roles and add another layer for fans of the series to enjoy. Whatever the reason these stars appeared in Supernatural, the show’s 327 episodes make it impossible to remember every single celebrity who made a guest appearance in the series. These are some of the most prominent stars that only briefly appeared in at least one of the Supernatural seasons.
10 Sterling K. Brown
Sterling K. Brown is one of the few actors on this list to have received a recurring role in Supernatural. He plays Gordon Walker, a relentless vampire hunter who will stop at nothing to drive a stake through the heart of the undead. Gordon appears in two episodes of season 2, and another during season 3, where his relationship with the Winchesters quickly sours due to their differing opinions on how to carry out their hunter work. Gordon takes genuine joy and pleasure from his kills and ends up being turned into one before a fateful encounter with the Winchesters leads to his decapitation and eternal rest.
9 Amber Benson
Amber Benson had a long-term returning role in Buffy The Vampire Slayer as Willow’s girlfriend. Benson appears in two episodes of Supernatural, with the first being shared with Sterling in season 2. Benson’s character, Lenore, is the leader of a group of peaceful vampires who survive by feeding on cattle rather than humans. She again appears much later in the series in season 6, episode 19, “Mommy Dearest” and provides the Winchesters and Castiel with the location of Eve. It’s also in this episode that Castiel abruptly kills Lenore once the boys leave the room.
8 Lauren Cohan
Lauren Cohan may be best known for her performance as Maggie in The Walking Dead, but her character in Supernatural is much less likable. Having made a deal with a crossroads demon as a teen, Bela Talbot only cares about one thing, herself and her survival. By the time the brothers meet her, she is already working for demons to try and preserve her life from the consequences of her first deal. Cohan appears in six episodes of Supernatural season 3, and whenever she appears, it only means trouble for the Winchesters.
7 Cory Monteith
The late Cory Monteith appeared in one of the first episodes of Supernatural from 2005, season 1, episode 2, “Wendigo”. This was years before the actor’s breakout role starring in Glee as the quarterback Finn Hudson. His appearance in Supernatural was brief and easy to miss, as Monteith played a young man camping in the woods who is the unfortunate victim of a Wendigo attack. Having appeared so early and not being a popular name at the time, it’s easy for this cameo to go unnoticed.
6 Linda Blair
Linda Blair is most known for her role as Regan in The Exorcist. Blair appeared in Supernatural season 2, episode 7, “The Usual Suspects” where she played the role of Detective Diana Ballard. Many of the cameos in Supernatural tend to go under the radar, but throughout this episode, Sam and Dean Winchester repeatedly make references to The Exorcist as the pair faces off against a vengeful ghost.
5 Robert Englund
Robert Englund, most famous for his performance as Freddy Krueger in The Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, made quite the impression in Supernatural season 6, episode 11, “Appointment in Samarra”. Englund plays the role of Dr. Robert, an old friend of John Winchester. When Dean asks him to assist him in dying so that he can meet Death and attempt to bargain for Sam’s soul, it’s Dr. Robert who puts him under. Not entirely unlike his villainous counterpart who kills his victims while they are in a sedated, dreaming state.
4 Paris Hilton
In Supernatural season 5, episode 5, “Fallen Idols,” the Winchesters need to discover what is happening in a town where people are being captured and killed by famous icons, both dead, like Abraham Lincoln, and alive, like Paris Hilton. Paris appears as one of the forms of this demon who kills famous faces. This is another self-aware cameo in that Hilton kind of appears as herself. Although, it was a demonic, murderous creature pretending to be Paris Hilton.
3 Nicole ‘Snooki’ Polizzi
Snooki’s role is similar to Hilton’s, as she plays an exaggerated cameo as herself possessed by a crossroads demon. Snooki makes her appearance in Supernatural season 9, episode 16, “Blade Runners,” as Sam and Dean attempt to track down Crowley to get a powerful weapon. Snooki’s role is brief, but it’s a fun cameo, and the Winchester boys lean into the ‘Snooki is a demon thing’ to add to the comedy of the scene.
2 James Marsters
James Marsters, famous for his portrayal of Spike in the classic series, Buffy The Vampire Slayer can be seen in a guest star appearance during Supernatural, season 7, episode 5, “Shut Up, Dr. Phil”. Marsters plays one-half of a witch/warlock couple in the middle of a rough patch. This role is made even more significant thanks to the actor playing opposite Marsters as his bewitching wife.
1 Charisma Carpenter
Charisma Carpenter, another Buffy The Vampire Slayer actor in Supernatural, plays none other than James Marsters’ wife in “Shut Up, Dr. Phil”. Although the two don’t usually play opposite one another on Buffy, they maintain a natural rapport that sells the strained but familiar relationship for the feuding couple. As Sam and Dean find themselves in between the couple and their disputes, it’s a joy to see so many stars from similarly thrilling series support Supernatural.
