10 Actors in The Walking Dead Before They Were Famous

Many actors who appeared in The Walking Dead have gone on to become huge stars and reach new levels of fame. As AMC’s flagship series, The Walking Dead featured a huge ensemble cast, forming a group of survivors who band together during a zombie apocalypse to stay alive under near-constant threats from the undead “Walkers” and human antagonists alike. While some cast members from The Walking Dead are exploring new stories in the growing franchise, several others have become household names and have moved on to even bigger projects.

Some extremely talented actors have passed through The Walking Dead and its spinoffs, many of which were well-known before joining the post-apocalyptic series. The likes of Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Michael Rooker, Melissa McBride, Norman Reedus, and more had already appeared in prominent projects before assuming major roles in The Walking Dead, but others used the eleven-season-long series as a springboard. These stars became very famous after appearing in The Walking Dead, and continue to develop their varied careers to this day.

10) Andrew Lincoln

Okay, we’re starting with a bit of a cheat. Andrew Lincoln was pretty well-known prior to being cast in The Walking Dead, most notably as Mark, the videographer with the cue cards who loved Keira Knightley’s recently-married Juliet in Richard Curtis’ iconic 2003 Holiday rom-com, Love Actually. However, Lincoln became a household name after debuting as Rick Grimes in The Walking Dead, the leader of the Atlanta/Alexandria survivors and the co-star of The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live. The series sky-rocketed him to new levels of fame and notoriety.

9) Kerry Condon

Before starring as Stacey in Better Call Saul, Siobhán in The Banshees of Inisherin, and FRIDAY in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Irish actor Kerry Condon had an important role in The Walking Dead. Condon appeared in four episodes of The Walking Dead season 4 as Clara, a survivor who tried to feed Rick to her undead husband. Clara introduced the central theme of season 4, questioning whether one can be redeemed . Condon has gone from strength to strength since her The Walking Dead appearance, and will next be seen in Anthony Maras’ Pressure alongside Andrew Scott and Brendan Fraser.

8) Sonequa Martin-Green

Sonequa Martin-Green had starred in a number of independent movies prior to debuting in The Walking Dead season 3 as Sasha Williams, a role that she played for five years before Sasha sacrificed herself to become a weapon in the war against Negan (Morgan). Since then, Martin-Green has become even more well-known as Michael Burnham in Star Trek: Discovery, and has had roles in New Girl, Once Upon a Time, Invincible, and Space Jam: A New Legacy, among others. Her career is continuing to develop in some exciting ways even eight years after she left The Walking Dead.

7) Corey Hawkins

Corey Hawkins’ The Walking Dead career was short-lived, but the series was the perfect platform for him. Hawkins portrayed Heath in The Walking Dead season 6 until he mysteriously disappeared. Hawkins only appeared in four episodes of The Walking Dead before moving on to some major movies, including Straight Outta Compton, Kong: Skull Island, BlacKkKlansman, In the Heights, The Tragedy of Macbeth, The Color Purple, and more. Hawkins’ career is set to grow even further with upcoming roles in Nadia Latif’s The Man in My Basement, Bart Layton’s Crime 101, and, most excitingly, Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey in 2026.

6) Lauren Ridloff

Following only two on-screen roles, deaf actor Lauren Ridloff was cast in The Walking Dead as Connie, a survivor introduced following season 9’s six-year time jump. She portrayed Connie for 30 episodes, exploring a tender relationship with Daryl (Reedus), and has since gone on to even bigger projects. This includes roles in New Amsterdam, Sound of Metal, and Accused, but Ridloff is surely now best known as the MCU’s first deaf superhero, the speedster Makkari from 2021’s Eternals. Ridloff’s MCU future might be uncertain, but there’s no doubt that this is just the beginning for the talented actor.

5) Cailey Fleming

Young actor Cailey Fleming first gained recognition as a young Rey (Daisy Ridley) in 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but it was Judith Grimes, debuting in The Walking Dead season 9, that gave her even more notoriety. Fleming starred as Judith, Rick and Lori’s (Sarah Wayne Callies) daughter, in 32 episodes of The Walking Dead, and has since appeared in the MCU’s Loki series as a young Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino), and, most recently, in IF alongside John Krasinski and Ryan Reynolds. At only 18-years-old, Fleming has a huge career ahead of her thanks to The Walking Dead.

4) Colman Domingo

Okay, one more cheat. Colman Domingo didn’t appear in The Walking Dead, but he played the central character of Victor Strand in the series’ first spinoff, Fear the Walking Dead. Domingo regularly played bit-roles beforehand, but he has emphasized how Fear the Walking Dead saved his career. Since, Domingo has starred in many remarkable projects, including If Beale Street Could Talk, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Candyman, Euphoria, The Color Purple, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Rustin, Sing Sing, and more, and earned back-to-back Academy Award nominations for the latter two, cementing himself as one of the greatest actors of his generation.

3) Danai Gurira

Danai Gurira had an incredible stage career before debuting in The Walking Dead season 3 in 2012 as Michonne, a lone survivor who becomes a central character. Gurira portrayed Michonne until season 10, and then returned in The Ones Who Live alongside Andrew Lincoln. Since then, she has starred, most notably, as the Wakandan Dora Milaje warrior Okoye in the MCU, appearing in some of the highest-grossing movies in history. She is set to expand her career in Sam Hargrave’s Matchbox in 2026 and Michael B. Jordan’s The Thomas Crown Affair in 2027, so Gurira’s future is very bright.

2) Jon Bernthal

Jon Bernthal was central to the early days of The Walking Dead, as he starred as Shane Walsh, Rick Grimes’ partner in the King County Sheriff’s department who leads the Atlanta survivors until Rick returns. Shane became one of The Walking Dead’s original antagonists, earning Bernthal a huge amount of praise that has led to him accepting some incredible roles in the years since. Most prominently, Bernthal stars as the MCU’s Frank Castle, the Punisher, but he has also earned an Emmy Award for his brief role in The Bear, and has appeared in major movies including The Wolf of Wall Street, Sicario, Baby Driver, King Richard, and more, while he’s set to soon appear in The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

1) Steven Yeun

Few actors from The Walking Dead have reached the level of success that Steven Yeun has accomplished since his brutal departure in the premiere of season 7. Glenn Rhee was Yeun’s first major on-screen role, but, in the years since, he has taken on acclaimed roles in the likes of I Origins, Okja, Sorry to Bother You, Nope, Invincible, and Mickey 17, among others. However, it was Lee Sung Jin’s Beef that earned Yeun his first Emmy, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild Awards, while Lee Isaac Chung’s Minari saw Yeun nominated for Best Actor at the Academy Awards, and his exciting career shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon.

Who are your favorite actors who became famous after appearing in The Walking Dead? Let us know in the comments!

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