Why Michael From Will Trent Looks So Familiar
It’s only the first week of January, and we already have a contender for best new show of the year. ABC’s “Will Trent” debuted on Tuesday of 2023, bringing Karin Slaughter’s best-selling novel series to life for the first time. If you haven’t seen the first two episodes, the series follows a Georgia Bureau of Investigation detective who was abandoned at birth and raised in the state’s foster care system, giving him a unique perspective on his cases. So far, critics agree that “Will Trent” is one of the most unique shows on TV, with Decider comparing it to an old-school, character-driven detective show in the vein of “Monk,” “Psych,” or “Rizzoli & Isles.”
Leading the cast of “Will Trent” is Ramón Rodríguez. He joins an impressive cast that includes Erika Christensen, Iantha Richardson, and Jake McLaughlin. McLaughlin plays Michael Ormewood, an Atlanta detective who couldn’t be more different from Will, as he comes from an upper-middle-class background, served in the military, and generally cultivates a “tough guy” image.
According to IMDb, “Will Trent” marks McLaughlin’s 36th appearance on TV or in film, so chances are you’ve seen him before. Here are some of his career highlights.
McLaughlin first appeared on screen in 2007, when he appeared as Specialist Gordon Bonner in “In the Valley of Elah.” He then went on to star in a series of hit network police procedurals. That same year, McLauglin appeared on the main “CSI” series as Matt Bartley, the wheelchair-bound brother of the main victim in the “A” episode of Season 2’s “La Carte.”
In 2008, McLaughlin appeared on the “CSI” spin-off series “CSI: Miami” as Sam Laughlin, a valet who catches a man stealing gasoline and sets it on fire to “teach him a lesson.” Later that year, McLaughlin appeared on another CBS series, “Criminal Minds.” This time, he played police officer Tom Kayser, a rookie Phoenix cop who falls victim to a serial killer nicknamed “Animal.”
The following year, McLaughlin appeared on another CBS crime documentary, “Cold Case.” His character, James Addison, was a cadet who oversaw the murder of a soldier named Kate Butler, who was the subject of the episodes “The Long Blue Line” and “Into the Blue”.
In 2010, McLaughlin completed the “CSI” trilogy by joining “CSI: Los Angeles”. This time, he played Keith Rush, the brother of a U.S. Navy police officer who died in an illegal street racing accident. In late 2010, McLaughlin landed the role of Aaron Karev on ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy”. Aaron is the brother of Grey Sloan Memorial’s former chief of pediatric surgery, Alex Karev (Justin Chambers). When Aaron goes to Alex’s hospital for a hernia surgery, he learns that Alex is married and has a child without telling him, which causes a violent conflict.
