For nearly a decade, The King of Queens brought viewers into the world of Doug and Carrie Heffernan, providing them with countless laughs, many of which came courtesy of their unique friends and quirky relatives. During the show’s run, we were introduced to a number of familiar faces that would only go on to be familiar to us after the fact. The reason for that, of course, is that the actors in question were still ascending the entertainment ladder at the time and hadn’t reached the height of their respective successes just yet. Let’s take a look at a few rising stars who showed up on the popular sitcom early in their careers.
4. JERRY FERRARA
Best-known today for playing “Turtle” on HBO’s Entourage from 2004 to 2011, Jerry Ferrara landed his first speaking role in the Season 3 King of Queens episode “Strike Too.” In it, Doug (Kevin James) and his fellow IPS drivers are on strike, and he’s forced to take a job as a substitute teacher. One of the unruly students Doug encounters is Joey, as played by Ferrara, who gives Doug trouble from the moment he tries to tell the class what to do.
3. BILLY GARDELL
Before starring in his own hit CBS sitcom, Mike & Molly, Billy Gardell was terrorizing Spence Olchin (Patton Oswalt) in Season 2’s “Block Buster.” Gardell appears as one of Doug’s old high school buddies, who was also Spence’s bully. At one point, he and another friend take Spence on a beer run and abandon him at the store for old time’s sake.
2. JANE LYNCH
Prior to her breakout role as Sue Sylvester on Glee, Jane Lynch played a doctor at a fertility clinic in the Season 4 episode “Ovary Action.” As Dr. Foreman and Lynch reveal, Carrie has only one functioning ovary. However, she encourages Doug and Carrie to try to conceive a child immediately because Carrie’s ovulation cycle is about to begin, and at the same time, Doug’s parents are staying over at their house.
1. BRYAN CRANSTON
Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston made many TV appearances before his starring role in Malcolm in the Middle. One of those guest spots was as Doug and Carrie’s annoying neighbor, Tim Sacksky, in Season 1’s “Dog Days.” The character pops up again later that season, offering to let the Heffernans have his beach house in the Hamptons, and two more times following Malcolm in the Middle’s debut, where he convinces Doug to take part in a pyramid scheme and builds an aboveground pool that intrudes on the couple’s privacy.
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