The Walking Dead Cast Before And After Zombie Fame

The Walking Dead‘s cast has become some of the best known faces on television. It wasn’t always that way, though.

Prior to becoming the toughest survivors of the zombie apocalypse, the majority of the cast of The Walking Dead had only nailed roles which left viewers thinking, “Hey, they were in that one movie!” Chances are, though, you had seen a lot of the cast before.

On the following slides, we run through some of the places you may have seen the cast of The Walking Dead before the AMC series made them global icons.

(Photos via Business Insider)

Andrew Lincoln

Prior to becoming the leading man in the zombie apocalypse, Andrew Lincoln was best known for his role in Love Actually. 

Lincoln’s resume extends to largely unknown roles in movies like Heartbreaker, Gangster No. 1, Scenes of a Sexual Nature, and Human Traffic. In fact, the actor has over 40 credits to his name according to his IMDb profile. However, aside from Mark in Love Actually and The Walking Dead‘s Rick Grimes, Lincoln’s other best known work came from the popular BBC show This Life. 

Now, it’s hard to imagine anyone else facing off against Negan.

 

Jeffrey Dean Morgan

Prior to becoming the most iconic villain on television, Jeffrey Dean Morgan was typically known as a good guy.

Not only was Morgan John Winchester on Supernatural and The Comedian in Watchmen, but Negan himself is best known for his heartbreaking role on ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy as Denny, the love interest to Katherine Heigl’s Dr. Izzie Stevens.

His credits extend to over 65 productions and has recently played the role of Thomas Wayne, husband character to Lauren Cohan’s Martha wayne, in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. This is most interesting because it leaves the door open for the actor to take on the role of Batman should the DC Films universe go the route of a Flashpoint story.

 

Danai Gurira

The Walking Dead has helped propel Michonne actress Danai Gurira to fame, landing her roles in the Tupac biopic and the upcoming Marvel Studios film Black Panther. 

Before playing the katana-wielding bad-ass on The Walking Dead, Gurira was best known for her role in Ghost Town, Law & Order, and Treme. She also takes pride in 2013’s Mother of George film but has one of the smaller resumes of all the cast members of The Walking Dead. 

 

Norman Reedus

Norman Reedus found a good bit of fame prior to becoming one of The Walking Dead‘s most popular characters. However, much of his fame came in the late 90’s. 

Reedus starred alongside Sean Patrick Flanery in the Boondock Saints film which became a cult phenomenon, playing one of the Murphy McManus, a vigilante in the New York streets delivering harsh justice to criminals. He reprised the role in 2009 but the sequel did not quite live up to the original. In 2002, Reedus took on the role of Scud in Blud II. 

Reedus also had a brief modeling career, working for Prada in 90’s.

 

Melissa McBride

It may be tough to imagine The Walking Dead‘s Carol with a full head of long hair but prior to surviving the apocalypse, Melissa McBride was rocking it. 

The actress played a small role in Dawson’s Creek, shown in the picture below, but also had roles in The Mist, Pirates of Silicon Valley, and The Dangers Lives of Alter Boys. She even had a part in Walker, Texas Ranger for a couple of episodes.

 

Christian Serratos

You know her as Rosita Espinosa these days but Christian Serratos was once best known as Angela in the Twilight Saga having played the role over the course of a few films.

However, Serratos also had roles in American Horror Story, Zoey 101, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, and Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide. 

 

Lauren Cohan

British actress Lauren Cohan has earned spots in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, The Boy, and The Mindy Project since conquering the zombie apocalypse as Maggie Greene.

However, prior to The Walking Dead, Cohan was best known for her part in Vampire Diaries where she played the love interest to Ian Somerhalder’s Damn Salvatore. Her pre-Walking Dead resume extends to Death Race 2, Van Wilder 2: The Rise of Taj, and Supernatural. 

 

Austin Nichols

Nichols, no longer with The Walking Dead having been killed by Negan in te most recent episode, is best known for his role on One Tree Hill. 

Prior to The Walking Dead, Nichols had quite a few notable roles. He appears in The Day After Tomorrow, Glory Road, Wimbledon and Agents of SHIELD for an episode. The actor has 45 credits to his name, going all the way back to one of the Olsen twins first films, Holiday in the Sun.

 

Steven Yeun

Steven Yeun was one of very few cast members from The Walking Dead to be featured in the series premiere, if only his voice through a tank’s radio. 

Prior to becoming pizza boy zombie killer Glenn Rhee, Yeun was best known for an appearance on the popular CBS series The Big Bang Theory. He does, however, have a slew of credits to his name. He voiced a few characters in video games Crysis and Warhead, as well as played parts in Law & Order: LA, Lemmons, and The Legend of Korra. 

R.I.P. Glenn.