Winnick popped up all over the place in the decade leading up to her “Bones” run, from rom-coms like “Two Weeks Notice” and “Failure to Launch” to Doug Bradley’s final outing as Pinhead in “Hellraiser: Helloworld.” However, her recurring role as Hannah marked a turning point in her career, after which she would go from one-off parts on shows like “House,” “Law & Order,” and “CSI” to headlining series herself. She also played Ivana Trump in “Trump Unauthorized,” a 2005 TV movie biopic about the Trump family that I will happily go to my grave having never watched (with no disrespect intended towards Winnick, who I’m sure is perfectly fine in it).
Her biggest post-“Bones” role is unquestionably that of Lagertha on “Vikings,” the first wife of Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel) on Michael Hirst’s popular historical drama series. She also served as part of the main cast of Tony Krantz and John Wirth’s short-lived yet well-received supernatural martial arts Netflix show “Wu Assassins” and led David E. Kelley’s “Big Sky” — an ABC crime drama series based on C. J. Box’s “The Highway” books — over its three seasons. Notably, Winnick has kept busy on the film side even while juggling several TV roles, having since popped up in director Jonas Åkerlund’s “John Wick” wannabe “Polar” and “The Marksman” (2021’s entry into the “Liam Neeson is a gruff old-timer with a violent past who gets a shot at redemption” catalog).
It’s a good reminder: behind every disposable love interest on network television is a hard-working actor whose career goes well beyond a single character.
You can revisit Booth and Hannah’s doomed romance by streaming “Bones” on Hulu and Freevee now.