• The variety of unsubs that have appeared on Criminal Minds, ranging in severity from minor transgression to unfathomable nightmares, is one factor that makes the show such a draw. Numerous actors have joined the cast in order to bring these monsters to life, some of whom are even more well-known than when they starred in the show.

Well-known actors started their careers with minor roles in movies or television shows. The actors that portray characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe started acting as kids in various films, melodramas, or theater productions.

While playing unsubs (unknown perpetrators of a crime) or criminals on the TV show Criminal Minds may not have been a starting role for many actors, viewers might be surprised to find that their favorite actors once played dangerous criminals on the procedural drama. Fans of the procedural show may have to wait a little while before the revived Criminal Minds show arrives on Paramount+, but that just means that there is more time to re-watch 15 seasons of the original series.

13 Andrew Jackson as Tim Vogel

Season 1, Episode 1

Today, most viewers might recognize Andrew Jackson as the voice behind popular animated television shows such as Rusty Rivets where he voiced the character, Botarilla, a robotic gorilla. In addition to Rusty Rivets, Jackson also voiced Buford in Numb Chucks and played Danny Hullstrom in a few episodes of the drama series, The Collector. However, this is only a snapshot of his work.

In season 1, episode 1 of Criminal Minds, Jackson portrayed Tim Vogel, who also went by the alias, “The Seattle Strangler.” He would trick his victims by setting a meeting with them about a business transaction. As the victims sat in the car, he would hit them and take them to his shipyard, where he would imprison them in a cage. He would eventually strangle them.

12 Michael Massee as Jacob Dawes

Season 1, Episode 14

Michael Massee‘s career spanned both films and TV series. In his last credited role before he passed away, he played John Pennell in the drama Last Man Club. In 2014, he played Theo in the crime horror The Wolves of Savin Hill and played the supervillain, Gustav Fiers, in The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

In season 1, episode 14, Massee played Jacob Dawes, who was identified as a sexual psychopath. He was connected to at least 18 victims, which were teenage girls. While he acted on these crimes primarily alone, he did convince his wife to kill their son. He intended to play a card game with the BAU team where every time they won the game he would admit to killing one girl’s name.

11 Riley Smith as Ryan Phillips

Season 3, Episode 12

Fans of the iconic mystery seriesNancy Drew, might recognize Riley Smith as the fashionable and wealthy Ryan Hudson. Besides playing one of the lead protagonists in Nancy Drew, Smith played Levi Smith in the 2019 series Proven Innocent, Dr. Will Grant in the 2018 series Life Sentence, and Frank Sullivan in the 2016 series Frequency.

In season 3, episode 12 of Criminal Minds, Smith portrayed the former high school student, Ryan Phillips. As a high school student, he was involved in small crimes before he was expelled. He abducted two young women one night after they were leaving a theater. These women, Lindsey Vaughn and Katie Owen knew him but didn’t expect that he would torture them.

Season 1, Episode 2

In 2020, Lukas Haas had the leading role in the drama The Violent Heart, where he played Joseph. Additionally, he starred in the horror Browse. Haas also appeared in the Epix original series, War of the Worlds, and in the 2013 series, Touch where he played Calvin Norburg.

Although Haas’s character in Criminal Minds, The Footpath Killer, was briefly introduced in episode 1, it wasn’t until episode 2 that viewers began to understand who he was. The agents weren’t able to reveal his name; however, they found out that he worked as a gas station clerk. He would kill his victims that were hiking in remote locations.

9 Timothy Omundson as Phillip Dowd

Season 1, Episode 6

Timothy Omundson has appeared in various films and movies over the years. In the fantasy musical Galavant, he played King Richard, in American Housewife, he played Stan Lawton and in Wild Honey, he had the leading role and played Martin.

Omundson portrayed Philip Dowd, a soldier discharged from the U.S. Army. He lived with narcissism and paranoid personality disorders, as well as Hero Syndrome. He wasn’t defined as a serial killer because he only killed two people by shooting them in the stomach.

8 Jason O’Mara as The Mill Creek Killer

Season 2, Episode 9

In 2021, Jason O’Mara played Max O’Neill in the Peacock original conspiracy series, Departure, and played Joshua Keith in the mystery thriller, Truth Be Told. He starred in the Netflix thriller Hypnotic, where he portrayed the hypnotherapist, Dr. Collin Meade.

Although his real name wasn’t revealed in the show, O’Mara’s character was given the alias The Mill Creek Killer. He was identified by the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) team as a narcissist and necrophilic serial killer. His victims were Caucasian women, and he would convince them to help him with some tasks before hitting them. If a woman refused to help him, he would attack her.

7 DJ Qualls as Richard Slessman

Season 1, Episode 1

Fans of the TV show Supernatural may recognize DJ Qualls from him from the show. In the science-fiction television show, he portrayed Garth Fitzgerald IV a hunter who turned into a werewolf. Besides Supernatural, Qualls, appeared on the television shows Z Nation, The Man in the High Castle, and Perception, among other projects.

In Criminal Minds, he appeared in the pilot episode of the series. He played Richard Slessman, an assistant to the unsub, Vogel, that the BAU team was trying to find. Slessman was loyal to Vogel and refused to reveal his identity to the police. He was described as an aggressor who would videotape his tortured victims.

6 Finn Wittrock as Harvey Morell

Season 7, Episode 11

American Horror Stor y fans will instantly recognize Finn Wittrock through his multiple performances on the show. Wittrock began his career in theater before transitioning to film and television, where he quickly gained recognition for his talent and charisma in films such as The Big Short and Unbroken. Most recently, he also appeared in Netflix’s Luckiest Girl Alive as Luke Harrison, starring opposite Mila Kunis.

In Criminal Minds, Wittrock played Harvey Morell, a murderer, and Caleb Rossmore’s (Jeff Newburg) former accomplice. The infamous Zodiac Killer became their obsession and the two penned stories about him for their junior high newspaper and also murdered people together. After years of drifting apart, the news of Harvey’s engagement causes Caleb to begin killing again to gain Harvey’s attention.

5 Adrianne Palicki as Sydney Manning

Season 6, Episode 13

Adrianne Palicki began her career in television, where she gained recognition for her role as Tyra Collette in the hit series Friday Night Lights. She has since appeared in a number of films and TV shows such as John Wick, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and The Orville.

In Criminal Minds, Palicki played Sydney Manning, a serial killer, thrill seeker, arsonist, and thief who, along with her lover Raymond Donovan (Jonathan Tucker), killed a number of people. As the narrative goes on, viewers learn more about Sydney’s troubled history, including the abuse she endured at the hands of her father and the jealous murder of Ray’s ex-girlfriend​​​​​.

4 Cameron Monaghan as Jeffrey Charles

Season 2, Episode 6

Today, viewers likely saw Cameron Monaghan in the 2011 TV comedy-drama series Shameless. His character, Ian Gallagher, is the third-oldest child of the Gallagher family. Monaghan also played Jeremiah Valeska in the 2015 science-fiction thriller series, Gotham. Among the many projects that Monaghan was involved in include playing Asher in the book to movie adaption, The Giver.

Monaghan was only a young boy when he played Jeffrey Charles in Criminal Minds. One of the creepiest kids on TV, his character’s victims were children that attended the same school as him. He would brutally beat his victims with a baseball bat in the forest. After the victims died, he would take one of the victims’ belongings home with him such as a backpack or a baseball cap.

3 David Ramsey as Terrance Wakeland

Season 2, Episode 16

On the TV series, Superman & Lois, The Flash, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow , Supergirl, Batwoman , and Arrow, David Ramsey played John Diggle (Spartan), a loyal friend to many of the superheroes on the show. Besides playing John Diggle, Ramsey played Mayor Carter Poole in Blue Bloods.

Before he became a criminal on Criminal Minds, Ramsey’s character, Terrance Wakeland, was known as a freelance musician and a security guard. However, he used his credibility as a musician to convince young African American women to join him at a music studio to record their singing. After he recorded their voices, he would drug them with water tainted with drugs, and strangle them.

2 Katheryn Winnick as Maggie Lowe

Season 1, Episode 18

Katheryn Winnick holds the leading role in the 2020 TV crime series Big Sky, where she plays underrated television police detective Jenny Hoyt. Her character searched for two young women who were kidnaped by a truck driver in Montana. In the historical drama series, Vikings, she played Lagertha, a fierce warrior and the former wife of Ragnar Lothbrok.

In season one, episode 18, Winnick played Maggie Lowe, a young woman who attended Julliard School in New York City. Her victims were tied to Lila, her friend from school. The BAU claimed that Maggie suffered from erotomania, which is the belief that someone of a higher social class loved them.

1 Audrey Plaza as Cat Adams

Season 11, Episode 11

Audrey Plaza is no stranger to moviegoers as recently, she took part in numerous popular and acclaimed movies and television shows such as The White Lotus, Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, and Emily the Criminal. However, Plaza had begun her career as an intern at NBC’s Saturday Night Live before landing a recurring role on the hit comedy series, Parks and Recreations.

In Season 11, Episode 11 of Criminal Minds, Plaza played Cat Adams, a notorious hitwoman and serial killer who becomes a recurring antagonist for the team. Cat is a seductive and cunning woman who thrives on psychological seduction. She tends to gravitate toward males which makes her think of her father who abused her.