17:50Classic TV · 1985Criminal Minds Cast Then and Now
Episode: Criminal Minds (2005): Cast Then & Now 2026 — Who's Still Alive After 21 Years?
From Hollywood Legends Era · 20 min ·
About the Criminal Minds Cast Then and Now
The Criminal Minds cast then and now covers more than two decades of television about the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit, the team that studies how killers think. The CBS drama premiered on September 22, 2005, ran for fifteen seasons until February 2020, and came back on Paramount+ in 2022 as Criminal Minds: Evolution.
This episode looks at fourteen people: the agents viewers followed week after week, and a few unforgettable guest villains. Four of them have passed away, all within the last two years.
Who Were the Original Agents?
Mandy Patinkin as Jason Gideon
Mandy Patinkin arrived as the team's leader with an Emmy already in hand, won in 1995 for Chicago Hope, and a devoted following as Inigo Montoya in The Princess Bride. He left early in the third season, in 2007, citing creative differences.
In a 2012 interview with New York magazine, he called choosing the show his "biggest public mistake." In January 2015, the episode "Nelson's Sparrow" revealed that Gideon had been killed off screen, with Ben Savage playing the young Gideon in flashbacks. Patinkin went on to star in Homeland. He has been married to Kathryn Grody since 1980 and is 73.
Thomas Gibson as Aaron Hotchner
Thomas Gibson came to the show after Chicago Hope and Dharma & Greg, which earned him two Golden Globe nominations. He played unit chief Aaron "Hotch" Hotchner from the pilot.
In August 2016, during an episode he was directing, he had an on-set altercation with writer-producer Virgil Williams. He had previously had a run-in with an assistant director and gone through anger-management counseling. He apologized, describing the dispute as creative differences, but the studios ended his contract early in season twelve.
He and Christine Parker, married in 1993, finalized their divorce in 2018. They have three children. In 2025 he returned to the stage in the play Henry Johnson in Chicago. He is 64.
Lola Glaudini as Elle Greenaway
Lola Glaudini was one of the original profilers, with credits on NYPD Blue and The Sopranos. Elle's story ended dramatically: she resigned from the BAU after killing a suspect.
Glaudini left early in season two to do theater work on the East Coast. She later appeared on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. She married Stuart England in 2005, and they have two sons. She is 54.
Shemar Moore as Derek Morgan
Shemar Moore was already well known as Malcolm Winters on The Young and the Restless. He played Derek Morgan for eleven seasons and 251 episodes, leaving in March 2016 in "A Beautiful Disaster," when Morgan stepped away to care for his wife and newborn son.
He then led S.W.A.T. for eight seasons and appeared in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and 3. His daughter was born in January 2023. He is 56.
A.J. Cook as Jennifer "JJ" Jareau
Before the show, A.J. Cook played one of the Lisbon sisters in The Virgin Suicides and starred in Final Destination 2. In June 2010, CBS announced she would not return as a regular, reportedly because of budget cuts.
Fans sent thousands of letters and petitions, and she came back for two episodes to close JJ's story, then rejoined the cast. In 2017, she and Kirsten Vangsness won new contracts after seeking equal pay. Her real sons, Mekhai and Phoenix, have played JJ's boys on screen. She married Nathan Andersen in 2001, and she is 48.
Kirsten Vangsness as Penelope Garcia
Kirsten Vangsness started as a recurring player and became a regular in season two. Garcia, the team's colorful technical analyst, became its warmth. In the season three episode "Penelope," Garcia survives being shot.
Off camera, Vangsness co-wrote several episodes with showrunner Erica Messer, including the 2020 series finale. She is 54.
Matthew Gray Gubler as Dr. Spencer Reid
Matthew Gray Gubler was about 25 when he was cast as the young genius Spencer Reid. In 2009 he dislocated his knee while out dancing, which required three surgeries. The writers put Reid on a cane, just as Gubler was in real life.
He appeared in (500) Days of Summer, voiced the Riddler in Batman: Assault on Arkham and directed twelve episodes of the show. He returned as a special guest star in 2025. He is 46.
Who Joined the Team Later?
Joe Mantegna as David Rossi
Joe Mantegna won a Tony Award in 1984 as Richard Roma in Glengarry Glen Ross, played Joey Zasa in The Godfather Part III and has voiced Fat Tony on The Simpsons since 1991. He joined in 2007 as Rossi, a founding BAU profiler who returns from retirement.
He has been married to Arlene Vrhel since 1975. Their daughter Mia is autistic, and the two have appeared together to raise autism awareness. He is 78.
Paget Brewster as Emily Prentiss
Some viewers remember Paget Brewster as Kathy on Friends. In 2010 CBS cut her along with A.J. Cook, and producer Ed Bernero later said network executives had asked him to drop both actresses. In season six, Prentiss seemed to die in the episode "Lauren." In season seven she returned alive.
She left in 2012, then returned as a regular in 2016. She also voiced Della Duck on DuckTales. She married Steve Damstra in 2014, with Matthew Gray Gubler officiating. She is 57.
Aisha Tyler as Dr. Tara Lewis
Aisha Tyler was already known as Charlie Wheeler on Friends and the voice of Lana Kane on Archer. She joined in 2015, at 45, as Tara Lewis, a forensic psychologist who interviews killers.
In 2013, on The Talk, she spoke openly about infertility. Behind the camera, she has directed episodes of Criminal Minds and the Walking Dead franchise. She is 56.
Where Are the Guest Stars We Lost?
James Van Der Beek as Tobias Hankel
In 2007, four years after Dawson's Creek, James Van Der Beek played Tobias Hankel, who kidnapped and drugged Reid. That story launched Reid's long struggle with addiction.
In November 2024 he announced he had stage 3 colorectal cancer. He died on February 11, 2026, at age 48, survived by his wife, Kimberly, and their six children.
Michelle Trachtenberg as Diane Turner
Michelle Trachtenberg, Dawn on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, played the stalker in "Zugzwang," which aired in January 2013. Her character killed Reid's love, Maeve, and then herself.
She was found in her Manhattan apartment on February 26, 2025, at 39. In April 2025, New York City's medical examiner ruled her death natural, from complications of diabetes.
Tim Curry as Billy Flynn
Tim Curry, three times nominated for a Tony and remembered as Dr. Frank-N-Furter and Pennywise, played killer Billy Flynn in the 2010 season five finale and season six opener.
A 2012 stroke left him using a wheelchair, but he kept working, often with his voice, and published his memoir, Vagabond, in 2025. He died at his Los Angeles home on August 25, 2026, at age 80.
Nicholas Brendon as Kevin Lynch
Nicholas Brendon, beloved as Xander on Buffy, played Kevin Lynch, the analyst who became Garcia's boyfriend, from season three through season ten. In later years he found joy in painting.
He died on March 20, 2026, at age 54. A county coroner later ruled his death natural, caused by heart disease.
Why Criminal Minds Still Holds Viewers
For all its dark cases, the show was really about a team that looked after one another. Viewers saw these agents grieve, recover and come back to work.
The people who played them did the same. Actors were cut and brought back, injuries were written into the story, and a new generation keeps finding the show in reruns and streaming.
Which BAU agent, or which villain, has stayed with you the longest?
Sources and Further Reading
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