David Morrissey has landed one of the most anticipated roles in the upcoming third season of AMC’s “The Walking Dead.”
AMC announced on Friday (February 24) that Morrissey has been cast as The Governor, a character whose very name sense shivers up and down the spines of fans of the “Walking Dead” comic series.
Of The Governor, the cable network only says that he’s “the leader of Woodbury, a small settlement of survivors, and becomes the chief antagonist for Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and his group.” That’s only the tip of the iceberg, but fans have been wondering how much of the Governor arc can be aired on AMC since the TV series was announced.
The character will appear in the 16-episode third season of “The Walking Dead,” which will begin production later this spring.
Casting rumors involving The Governor have long run rampant, building to a crescendo last month when makeup guru Tom Savini publicly lobbied for the role himself, but added he didn’t expect to get it because the network wanted John Hawkes.
Instead, the role went to 47-year-old British thespian Morrissey, whose British TV resume includes “State of Play,” “Meadowlands,” “The Deal” and “Blackpool.” It’s disturbing, but possible, that Morrissey is best known to American audiences as the male lead in “Basic Instinct 2.”