‘The Walking Dead’ Star Cuts Iconic Hair Off

The Walking Dead star Tom Payne has officially shed the look associated with his Paul “Jesus” Rovia character from AMC‘s zombie series. Payne exited the role in the currently airing ninth season when his character was slain by the Whisperers in the Mid-Season Nine premiere, offering him the opportunity to explore new gigs in television. After landing one, Payne has shed the long hair look which helped him land the part of Jesus, in the first place.

Payne joined The Walking Dead in its sixth season in a fan-favorite episode which saw his Jesus character being chased through open fields by Daryl and Rick. His ninja-like skill set was quickly on display but his appearance matched that of The Walking Dead comics. At first, his beard was fake, but the look was complete with some long hair. Now, that hair has been chopped off in anticipation of a role on a new Fox series.

Check out Payne’s Instagram post below, showing off that the actor has freed himself of the long flowing locks which fans had grown to adore…

Originally, Payne had planned to keep the long hair as a means to land new roles, but it seems his first new gig has turned the tide. He will soon be appearing on Fox’s Prodigal Son series.

“I’m gonna keep the hair for the time being because that’s actually two and a half years of growth and there aren’t that many male actors with long hair, so that might give me an advantage in some way,” Payne told ComicBook.com back in December of 2018. “But I can change the beard because that’s only a few months. But I do think that the hair might help me with other jobs. Having said that, I’ll shave everything off is some really cool thing comes along, you know.”

Payne has no ill will toward The Walking Dead following his departure. “I’m happy, because I’m pretty laid back, and I was kind of ready to leave anyway, so I think it was a pretty easy,” the actor explained. “I know it was, because I was very, ‘Oh, okay, cool, uh huh, cool.’ She was kind of surprised, she was waiting for some kind of meltdown or something. I was like, ‘Sounds great, okay, awesome.’”

The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 pm ET. Fear the Walking Dead will return for its fifth season in 2019. For complete coverage and insider info all year long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter and watch ComicBook.com’s After The Dead each Sunday night following new episodes.

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