The Walking Dead stars are famous for the characters they play while annihilating zombies, but believe it or not most of them did appear in movies and TV shows before this AMC hit show. During the mid-season hiatus when you are really missing the faces of your favorite The Walking Dead stars, why not tune in and watch them before they were famous for their zombie-killing abilities?
You won’t believe how Rick, Carl, Maggie, Glenn, Daryl, Carol, and even Hershel looked and acted when you see them playing other characters. That also goes for many of the other stars who have past and present Walking Dead roles. While many of these characters aren’t offering the brain-smashing gore that they are famous for in The Walking Dead , when acting in other roles, you may still be pleasantly surprised.
With Netflix and the On-Demand features available today, you shouldn’t have too much of a problem when wanting to pull up one of the movies or TV shows that these stars had parts in. You can treat yourself to a weekend of watching The Walking Dead stars before the series ever existed.
There are a few stars who have landed previous roles that offer the blood and guts much like The Walking Dead, but there’s no zombies to speak of. Jessie, who was once the love interest of Rick in Alexandria, played maid Moira O’Hara on the very first season of American Horror Story: Murder House . Alexandra Brekenridge offered up some eye-popping horror in that role.
More than likely you die-hard fans of The Walking Dead are more interested in Rick, Daryl, Carol, Carl, Maggie, Glenn, and Michonne when it comes to the famous faces of the main characters, and Ranker found a few venues where you can see your favorites .
Rick played in the movie Love Actually . Unlike his recent demeanor in the AMC hit show, his movie role called for a “sensitive dude,” according to Ranker . Andrew Lincoln played the guy in love with the wife of his best friend in this movie. He is also in Enduring Love and Encounters of a Sexual Nature.
Danai Gurira, who is The Walking Dead ‘s sword-swinging Michonne, couldn’t have played a more opposite role on the HBO series Treme. She plays a reporter for the Village Voice and her only weapon is a pen. She plays the role of Tupac’s mom in the movie All Eyez On Me . Her Walking Dead co-star, Lauren Cohen, also has a small part in this movie, according to Wet Paint .
Norman Reedus, who plays Daryl, is holding a weapon on The Walking Dead as he did for his role in The Boondock Saints . Back in 1999, his character’s choice of weapon was a handgun for that flick. He also had a role in the movie Floating and Blade II . Reedus played “dark hunks” in several music videos including Lady Gaga’s “Judas” and Keith Richard’s “Wicked as it Seems.” He was also in Bjork’s “Violently Happy” music video. Reedus also stars in the movie Triple 9 .
Many Walking Dead fans miss Beth. Emily Kinney played the role of the sister of a rock star who was accused of murder on an episode of The Good Wife . Where would this AMC show be without Maggie? It has been tough going without Glenn, but if Maggie weren’t around, well she’s still hanging in there so let’s not go to the unimaginable.
If you miss Lauren Cohen, you can catch her in an episode of Supernatural . She played Bela Talbot on that show. She was donned in sexy attire, which is the complete opposite of what she wears to bash zombie brains. Cohen was also in The Vampire Diaries . Many fans of The Walking Dead are missing Glenn, Steven Yeun, this season, but you can catch him in an archived episode of The Big Bang Theory . He is in a flashback scenario where he spills the beans on Sheldon to Leonard as they are about to become college roommates. Yeun also had roles in Warehouse 13 , Law and Order: LA , and The Legend of Korra .
For you Abraham fans, Michael Cudlitz isn’t too far off from his role as an ex-military on the AMC show. He played Sgt. Denver “Bull” Randleman when he appeared in Band of Brothers , the hit HBO series. Cudlitz was in the movie A River Runs Through It and TV shows ER and Buffy The Vampire Slayer, according to The Walking Dead website . You also might remember Sasha, Sonequa Martin, from her role in Once Upon a Time , where she played Tamara .
It seems Merle, Michael Rooker, was made to play sinister parts in movies and TV shows. Before he played the brother of Daryl, who cut off his own hand to get out of handcuffs, Rooker starred in a cult classic. Do you remember 1988’s Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer ? That’s Daryl’s future brother playing that role!
Christian Serratos looked more like a bookworm than zombie-killer Rosita when she landed her role in the Twilight movies. Then there’s Carl, Chandler Riggs, who plays Rick Grimes’ son on The Walking Dead. Before he wound up in a zombie apocalypse, Riggs starred with Bill Murray and Robert Duvall in the movie Get Low . This was a “critically acclaimed” indie flick.
It is so worth seeing Melissa McBride or Carol in her role on Dawson’s Creek . You would never guess that was her with long hair sitting in a bar with James Van Der Beek in the first season of that show. The Wire alumni seen on The Walking Dead includes the guy who plays Bob, whose real name is Lawrence Gillard. Seth Gillian played Father Gabriel on The Walking Dead , but on The Wire , he was an odd beat cop, Ellis Carver.
Do you remember Tyreese? He was on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia . Chad Coleman was a party guest who got drunk and developed a jean shorts obsession. Sons of Anarchy alumnus Jose Pablo Cantillo played Cezar Martinez on The Walking Dead . He was Hector Salazar on the FX biker show. Hershel is Scott Wilson, a character actor for many different shows, but he sported a handlebar mustache for his role in the 2003 film The Last Samurai . This was long before he played Maggie and Beth’s dad.
Josh McDermitt, better known as the meek Eugene, played a part on Mad Men , another AMC hit show. His guest appearance had him playing the role of George Payton. McDermitt is also in two new movies, Odious and Middleman . Who can forget Shane, who was bedding Laurie, Rick’s wife, while they both thought Rick was dead at the dawn of the zombie world? Jon Bernthal was in Oliver Stone’s World Trade Center.
Then there was Laurie, who gave birth as the zombies closed in on her. Sarah Wayne Callies played a woman named Julia who was a patient with a mysterious illness on House M.D. She also had a role on Law and Order and the TV show Tarzan. She also played a character on Numbers , Queens Supreme , and Prison Break.
All your favorite Walking Dead stars had other roles before the zombies inherited the Earth, and some are taking on new roles today. It is actually fun to see them out of their well-known roles and acting as someone totally different. These are just a few of their previous roles; some have played numerous parts before landing a role on The Walking Dead. Check out your TV’s On-Demand or Netflix section to find most of these shows and movies!
[Featured Image by John Shearer/Invision for AMC/AP Images]