regina king

What happens when two really big celebrities want to guest star on one of TV's hottest shows?

The show turns them down.

Both Jennifer Aniston and Ben Stiller wanted to appear on FOX's 24, but producer Joel Surnow turned them down because they are "too recognizable. They'll take you out of the reality."

The show has added a lot of new cast members this season, including Rick Schroder, Peter MacNichol, Regina King, Eric Balfour, Powers Boothe, and Michael Angarano, so maybe a big name star (or stars) would put the entire feel of the show out of whack.

Look, I know that his years on NYPD Blue redeemed him from a crash course with the child star curse of reality shows and cultural irrelevance, but he'll always be Ricky Schroeder to me. Ricky Schroeder - Silver Spoons star, friend to "Tap Dance Kid" Alfonso Riberio and owner of the racing car bed. Fortunately for Ricky, he overcame the 80s with the aforementioned three seasons on NYPD Blue, a comedic turn as Nurse Paul Flowers on Scrubs and his latest outing as Dr. Dylan West on Lifetime's Strong Medicine.

Ricky has made another great career move - further distancing himself from that plucky young lad in The Champ. He'll be joining the cast of 24 as CTU operative Mike Doyle. Expect to see Schroder team up with Kiefer Sutherland's Jack Bauer in executing "key field ops." 24 is really pulling out all the stops with its latest casting decisions. Schroder is just one of a list of fancy new cast members including Chad Lowe, Regina King, Powers Boothe, Peter MacNicol, James Cromwell, Kal Penn and David Hunt. That's right - Deadwood's Cy Tolliver meets Babe's Father Hoggett meets The Boondocks' Huey Freeman meets Kumar. Who doesn't want to see that?

Deadwood fans take note! Powers Boothe has joined the cast of 24. He'll play the Vice President. D.B. Woodside's character, Wayne Palmer, is now President.

This is just the latest is a series of big casting moves the hit FOX show has made. We've already heard that Eric Balfour, Peter MacNichol, Regina King, and Michael Angarao will be in the cast this season, which starts in January.

[via TV Tattle]

Chad Lowe is the latest newcomer to sign on to season six of mega-hit 24. He'll play "savvy politico" Reed Pollock... and that's all FOX is saying about his character. It's great to see Lowe back on television. That really is the medium where he shines. Not only was his role as 'Jesse' on Life Goes On a classic, he also played one of the freakiest criminals ever on Law & Order: SVU.

Other notable actors joining the cast this season include Peter MacNicol, Regina King, and James Cromwell. Steamy Eric Balfour will also return this season. FOX is going to post a first look at season six online later this month, we'll let you know when that happens.

I've read about this on a couple of different sites now, so I think it's legit. Regina King has been cast in season six of 24 as Angela Palmer, the sister of Wayne Palmer and the late President David Palmer.

Angela, a powerful lawyer, has no doubt been added to fill the role of "crazy black female" left vacant by the likes of Sherry Palmer and Julia Milliken.

Alright, I kid, but I'm sure she'll find some way to get involved in Jack's plans since he won't be battling it out in China.

Regardless, I'm pleased with the add. She was fantastic in Ray. However, what really has me excited is far more spoiler-ish. It's after the jump if you care to read on.

Names like Regina King, Madeleine Stowe, Christine Taylor and Jonathan Silverman should add some clout to all sorts of dramas and comedies being planned by the networks for next fall.

Here is the latest casting news from The Hollywood Reporter: