ABC’s The Rookie has been a resounding hit for the network and cast lead Nathan Fillion, but many viewers are amazed to learn that Fillion’s John Nolan is based on a real LAPD officer – William Norcross, who joined the force aged 44. The Rookie focuses on John Nolan, a construction manager who, after helping the police foil a bank robbery, enlists as the oldest rookie in the LAPD.
The premise was incredibly well received, and following Nolan’s rise from being the oldest rookie to a fully-fledged cop has kept viewers hooked on 6 seasons since it debuted in 2019, with the The Rookie season 7 on the way in 2025. As unique as Nolan’s story feels, however, it’s actually based on true events. The premise of The Rookie mirrors the story of LAPD officer William Norcross, a serving member of the force who, like Nolan, began his training in his mid-40s.
Who Is William Norcross
The Real Life John Nolan Explained
While the specific events of the show following John joining the LAPD are completely fictional, the premise of The Rookie is inspired by a true story. As fans know, Nathan Fillion’s John Nolan became the oldest rookie in the history of the Los Angeles Police Department when he enlisted aged 45. Nolan’s sudden career change was prompted not only by dissatisfaction with his life following his divorce, but also because he helped the LAPD doil a bank robbery and realized it was the most alive he’d felt in decades.
It was the start of an incredibly gripping story that has so far lasted for 6 seasons, and as unique and innovative as it feels, it wasn’t entirely fictional. John Nolan in The Rookie is actually based on William Norcross, an LAPD officer who, like Nathan Fillion’s character, changed careers and entered law enforcement in 2015 aged 44.
Also known as Bill, William Norcross has gone on to have a highly successful career in the LAPD. Like John Nolan, he’s proved that age is nothing but a number when it comes to someone’s effectiveness at keeping the streets of Los Angeles safe. However, while Norcross’s story inspired the character of John Nolan, everything that followed Nolan beginning his training was entirely made up for the show.
How Much Of John Nolan’s Story Is True?
The Rookie Is Only Loosely Based On Bill Norcross
Much like John Nolan in The Rookie, the story of William “Bill” Norcross is inspiring. It’s a tale that shows it’s never too late to change career, even to one as intense as law enforcement. However, while John Nolan is based on William Norcross, the show made many changes to the true events and how the real LAPD officer started out.
In The Rookie, John Nolan operated his own construction company in Pennsylvania, a career he started after his girlfriend fell pregnant. Decades later, Nolan helped the police foil a robbery and realized that he wanted to join their ranks. He moved to Los Angeles and entered basic training, eventually becoming a fully-fledged member of the LAPD despite being several decades older than the average recruit.
John Nolan’s story in The Rookie roughly mirrors that of William Norcross, but there are several key differences. Firstly, Norcross didn’t decide to change careers after helping to stop a bank robbery. He’d always wanted to be a cop but ended up working in his family’s printing business (rather than construction like John Nolan). The decision to change career came when he realized in his 40s that, if he didn’t follow his dream to become an officer of the law soon, he might never get another chance. The real John Nolan may not have had the same dramatic beginnings as his fictional counterpart, but the emotional core of their stories are near-identical.
Also, William Norcross didn’t enter the family business following an unexpected pregnancy. Instead, he found himself in his initial career due to the death of his mother. Speaking to the New York Times in 2019, Norcross revealed:
“I had been in a family business and when I was in college, my mom died. She was a big part of the family business and when she passed away, there was a huge hole in the business. I came home to help — and the next thing you know, it was 20 years later.”
Unlike John Nolan, William Norcross was unmarried and had no kids, which probably made the decision a little less controversial for his loved ones. It’s easy to see why ABC made the changes to his story, however, as Nolan’s divorce and his relationship with his son, Henry, have allowed for many of The Rookie’s more emotional arcs.
There are many similarities too between William Norcross and John Nolan in The Rookie too. Both moved to LA from Pennsylvania, for example, and their respective ages are only a year apart. Hearing William Norcross describe his decision in his own words also makes it abundantly clear just how much he and John Nolan have in common:
“[Becoming a police officer] was something I had always thought about in the back of my mind … then, all of the sudden, I wake up and I’m 40-something years old and I figured if I was ever going to make a change, that now was the time to do it. I looked around; I always thought about LA — the LAPD has no age limit, as long as you can pass the requirements — and I saw they had expedited testing where you can cram a couple of months of testing into one week, and that’s how it started.
William Norcross Had A Cameo In The Rookie Season 1
The Real John Nolan Is Also An Executive Producer
The story of William Norcross didn’t just inspire Nathan Fillion’s character on The Rookie, but the real John Nolan was also an essential creative force for the show. It was through his friendship with Jon Steinberg, who he attended college with, that The Rookie came into existence in the first place, and both Steinberg and Norcross serve as executive producers on the ABC show.
Not only that, but William Norcross also had a brief cameo in The Rookie season 1. He appears for a brief moment busting down the door of a home with Nathan Fillion’s John Nolan behind him. His character is simply credited as “Officer Norcross”, but it’s refreshing to see that the ABC show has ensured the man who inspired the story has been honored.
