Kirsten Vangsness, who played eccentric tech analyst and communications liaison Penelope Garcia, was on Criminal Minds for seasons 1 through 15 and was the only cast member to also appear on both of the series' spin-offs, Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders and Criminal Minds: Suspect Behaviors. She was also one of several original cast members to join the Paramount+ reboot, which premiered in November 2022.
Penelope served as a key member of the crime-fighting team but also provided some much-needed comedic relief, particularly in her ongoing flirtation with Derek Morgan (played by Shemar Moore).
Matthew Gray Gubler starred as Dr. Spencer Reid — the socially awkward boy genius of the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) — since the premiere of Criminal Minds in 2005 and remained a major player on the series for all 15 seasons, down to the final episode in 2020. Over the years, Gubler's Reid became one of the most beloved characters in the series. In 2015, the actor told Glamour it was "a real honor" to be on the long-running show.
"It's so bizarre it has been on for so long because in no way, shape or form does it feel like that. It still feels like day two," Gubler said. "'Family' is the only thing I can think of to sum it up."
In addition to his role on Criminal Minds, Gubler has appeared in many movies, including RV (2006), (500) Days of Summer (2009), Life After Beth (2014) and Zoe (2018) and has voiced Simon in four Alvin and the Chipmunks movies. He also starred on the Hulu series Dollface.
A.J. Cook was just 27 when the show premiered in 2005, and she remained on it through season 15 as special agent Jennifer Jareau a.k.a. "JJ."
The Canadian actress was also pregnant with her first child during season 3. Cook also joined the series reboot Evolution on Paramount+. In an interview with TVLine in 2020, Cook said the series finale was "nostalgic."
"The way to really put it in perspective is that we all went to kindergarten together, and now we've graduated high school," she said. "It's like we're going off to college, and to wrap up as best you can all the experiences we had in that amount of time is a tough thing to do."
Since starring on Criminal Minds, Cook has appeared on episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and 9-1-1 and appeared in films like Least Among Saints (2012) and Mother's Day (2016).
Joe Mantegna's David Rossi joined Criminal Minds during season 3, and his character quickly took on a father figure role among the group of FBI agents. Mantegna posted on Twitter after filming his final scene for the show in May 2019, calling the series a "truly wonderful experience."
"I will miss playing David Rossi, and I'll miss the wonderful writing that brought him to life, but mostly I will miss seeing my fellow cast mates and our fantastic crew every day," the actor wrote. "It may seem a cliché to say we're like family, but it's so very true."
He didn't have to miss playing Rossi for long since Mantegna was one of the cast members to return for the Paramount+ reboot.
After the final episode of Criminal Minds, Mantegna starred on the Prime Video series As We See It and appeared as himself on HBO's Barry. Of course, Mantegna has continued to voice the character Fat Tony on The Simpsons, a role he has enjoyed since 1991.
Mantegna has been married to Arlene Vrhel since 1975. They have two daughters, Gia and Mia.
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