Actors have day jobs, but with an eye on a paycheck, a fun day's work, or an Outstanding Guest Actor Emmy, they moonlight in TV guest roles, too. Here are a few performers (and one non-performer) who will soon provide their Guest Services.
Actor: John Slattery
Day Job: Roger Sterling on AMC's "Mad Men"
Guest-Starring On: "The Simpsons"
Role: Unknown!
Pros: Slattery is a great comic actor (as we were recently reminded when he guested on "30 Rock" last year).
Cons: We don't get to see his face?! That's the moneymaker!
Actor: Josh Gad
Day Job: Elder Cunningham on Broadway in "The Book of Mormon"
Guest-Starring On: "Modern Family"
Role: Kenny, a neighbor to the Dunphys, who's patterned his entire life after Phil's
Pros: This is a show that does right by its guest stars (see also Shelley Long, James Marsden).
Cons: An over-eager goof with a man-crush on someone in his orbit? Sounds a lot like Elder Cunningham.
Actor: Donna Brazile
Day Job: I'll let her official site field this one: She's "a university professor, author, columnist, and the Democratic National Committee's Vice Chair of Voter Registration and Participation."
Guest-Starring On: "The Good Wife"
Role: Herself
Pros: The show does revolve around a Democratic politician; adding an actual Party operative into the mix lends verisimilitude.
Cons: She's not an actor, so depending on how convincing she is at delivering dialogue, this could be tough to watch.
Actor: Danny Pudi
Day Job: Abed Nadir on NBC's "Community"
Guest-Starring On: "Chuck"
Role: Also unknown!
Pros: "Chuck" is a show that has proven to be geek-friendly over the years, as its stuntcasting amply demonstrates; Abed, Pudi's best-known character, is arguably the biggest geek on television.
Cons: We like Pudi. We don't like "Chuck."