Matthew Gray Gubler Makes Surprise Cameo on Criminal Minds as Star A.J. Cook Details How the ‘Impactful’ Moment Came to Be

Longtime Criminal Minds fans were treated to a surprise cameo from original series star Matthew Gray Gubler during this week’s emotion-packed episode.

Dr. Spencer Reid (Gubler) returned to support Jennifer “JJ” Jareau (A.J. Cook) at the funeral for her husband, Will LaMontagne Jr. (Josh Stewart) in the May 22 episode of Criminal Minds: Evolution titled “Time to Say Goodbye.”

In an interview with TVLine, Cook opened up about how Gubler’s cameo came to be — and all it took was a phone call.

“Well, Matthew, I was on the phone with him. I was like, ‘Matthew, will you come do this, please?’ I called him and said, ‘Look, this is happening… and I know you’ve got things going on… but it would be really great. It just doesn’t feel right if Spence wasn’t there,’ ” she said.

“And he agreed, he said he’d do it, and I’m forever grateful because I feel like something humongous would have felt missing if [Spencer] didn’t show up in that moment,” Cook continued. “Though it’s brief, it’s impactful, and I’m so happy that he took the time to come and do that. It was so great having him back.”

Gubler issued a statement to TVLine about his cameo, saying, “It’s a joy to get to tell stories with people you love so I will always cherish any moment, big or small, that I get to hug my Criminal Minds family or slip back into my dear friend Spencer’s oversized wingtips.”

Gubler played Spencer for all 15 seasons of Criminal Minds‘ original run, which aired on CBS from 2005 to 2020. Unlike Cook, he didn’t return when the series returned in 2022 with a new title, Criminal Minds: Evolution, on Paramount+.

Following his last episode of Criminal Minds, Gubler took to Instagram to say goodbye to the series by sharing a photo of some of Spencer’s most iconic props that meant the most to him, including Spencer’s FBI ID badge, wristwatch and revolver.

“i’ve carried these 3 props with me almost every day for the last 15 years,” he captioned the post. “after tonight i’ll just carry them in my heart where i will forever keep memories of the best crew, the best cast, and the best fands (fans/friends) a fictional crimefighter could ever have.”