'Bates Motel': The New Guest Stars Checking In for Season 2 Drama

Not that Norma, Norman, and Dylan need any help finding themselves in the middle of all kinds of drama, but they're about to get some helping hands with a slew of new "Bates Motel" guest stars. They're all familiar faces — who isn't always happy to see "Alias" star Michael Vartan back on the tube? — and many of them have worked with the "Bates" cast in the past.

[Related: Vera Farmiga on Portraying Norma Bates: 'I Don't Want to Present a Story That Is Just a Dark Dead End']

Oh, and speaking of the past, at least one new guest star, a certain beloved alum from "The Shield," is going to stir up all kinds of outrageous drama from Mama Bates's traumatic childhood …

Michael Vartan

As: George Heldens, a nice guy and recent divorcé who will become Norma's new love interest.

You know him from: "Alias," where he was CIA agent Michael Vaughn; "HawthoRNe," where he was surgeon Tom Wakefield; and from one of the most underrated romantic comedies ever, "Never Been Kissed."

[Related: Michael Vartan: Movie Stars Pushing Him Out of TV]

Six degrees of Bates: Vartan was the grown-up version of Lancelot and Freddie (Norman) Highmore was the young version of King Arthur in the 2001 TNT miniseries "The Mists of Avalon."

 

Kenny Johnson

As: Caleb Calhoun, Norma's brother, who she hasn't seen since she was a kid. Last season, she revealed her brother had sexually assaulted her when she was younger, though A&E describes Caleb as "at once menacing and heartbreaking … [he] is looking for something he doesn't even understand."

You know him from: "Sons of Anarchy," "Dexter," "Burn Notice," and, most notably, as Lem on "The Shield."

Six degrees of Bates: Johnson appeared in a 2006 episode of "Cold Case" with "Bates Motel" star Nestor Carbonell.

 

Kathleen Robertson

As: Jodi Wilson, the head of one of the White Pine Bay drug families. Jodi is described as being in denial about the family biz, for which she is emotionally ill-equipped to run. She will also spend a lot of time with Norma's other son, Dylan, and it may not be strictly professional.

You know her from: "Boss," where she played the personal aide to Kelsey Grammer's mayor of Chicago, and "Beverly Hills, 90210," where she was Claire, love interest of Brandon, Steve, and David.

Six degrees of Bates: None.

 

Michael O'Neill

As: Nick Ford, the estranged father of schoolteacher Miss Watson, and the soft-spoken head of a rival drug family. Soft-spoken, but "terrifying," meaning, like Norman, Nick should not be underestimated.

You know him from: "The West Wing," where he was the head of President Bartlett's Secret Service detail, early CTU director on "24," "Grey's Anatomy," where he was the hostage-taking widower, and movies like "Transformers" and "Dallas Buyers Club."

Six degrees of Bates: O'Neill and "Bates Motel" star Vera Farmiga co-starred in the 2009 movie "Nothing But the Truth" — he played the director of the CIA, and she played a CIA agent whose covert operation was outed by an ambitious political reporter.

 

Rebecca Creskoff

As: Christine Heldens, George's sister, and a member of White Pine Bay society who decides to take Norma under her upper-crust wing.

You know her from: "Hung," where she was life coach-turned-pimp Lenore.

Six degrees of Bates: None.

 

 

 

Paloma Kwiatkowski

As: Cody Brennan, Norman's new love interest, a teen party girl who bonds with Norman over their shared experience of dealing with a dysfunctional family. She's got some bad girl ways, and she pulls Norman into her rebellious plots, which could turn out to be more dangerous than she (or he) realizes.

You know her from: "Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters," in which she played Thalia Grace.

Six degrees of Bates: None.

 

Michael Eklund

As: Zane Carpenter, a psycho ex-con who comes to town looking to become the new drug lord.

You know him from: Dozens of TV guest appearances, on shows like "Almost Human," "Arrow," "Supernatural," "Smallville," "Fringe," "Psych," "Battlestar Galactica," and "Dark Angel."

Six degrees of Bates: He guest starred in a 2004 episode of the USA drama "Touching Evil," which starred Vera Farmiga.

 

 

"Bates Motel" airs Mondays at 9 p.m. on A&E.