Tom Payne Cast As Jesus On The Walking Dead

AMC has cast a key player in its upcoming sixth season, indicating it will be following the comics some more, at least for the time being.

Tom Payne will be playing Paul “Jesus” Monroe in the upcoming sixth season of the Sunday night zombie drama, as revealed by TheWrap.

The addition of Jesus to the cast potentially means a larger world is coming to The Walking Dead. Following his introduction in issue 91 of The Walking Dead comic series, we learned of the Hilltop Colony, from which Jesus hailed, and others in the area of Alexandria.

Jesus goes on to live full time in Alexandria and serves as an adviser to Rick Grimes, playing a considerable part in the All Out War story against Negan and the Saviors, who may or may not be the Wolves on television.

Payne’s previous credits include roles in The Physician, and on Waterloo Road and Skins. The casting comes on the heels of the reveal of Xander Berkeley being added as an undisclosed character from the comics, presumably Hilltop leader Gregory, though, some suspect Negan.

The Walking Dead returns October 11 at 9 PM EST on AMC.