Exclusive: New 'Walking Dead' Cast Member Announced
While at this week's Dallas International Film Festival, our roving reporter Todd Gilchrist sat down with Dallas Star Award recipient Frank Darabont, who shared the latest bit of casting news for his highly anticipated AMC TV adaptation of Robert Kirkman's zombie comic book epic The Walking Dead. Find out who Darabont told us is joining his cast after the jump.
Jeffrey DeMunn (pictured above) will be part of The Walking Dead cast when the show debuts this October. DeMunn is a Darabont regular, having appeared in The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, The Majestic, and The Mist, as well as the Darabont-scripted 1988 remake of The Blob. DeMunn's also known to horror fans as a star of the cult classic You Better Watch Out (a.k.a. Christmas Evil) and Stephen King's Storm of the Century.
Here's what Darabont told us about his latest casting decision: "We are right now looking to cast the two female roles in the ensemble. We've also just gotten Jeff DeMunn. I've always said Jeff DeMunn is my good luck charm, and I can't make a film without him. We've just gotten him on board as one of the ensemble members, which is a great joy for me. One of the great pleasures of doing anything is to be able to reconvene with those colleagues who have the talent and provide you with the comfort zone of great collaborative, positive energy. Not to sound like Andy Hardy here, but if you're going to go do a show in a barn, do it with people who have really got the talent and are great to
work with, and so far that's all coming together."
Darabont didn't tell us exactly who DeMunn will play in The Walking Dead series, but, hey, guessing is part of the fun, right? Right now, based on the actor's age, we're betting he'll take on the role of Dale, the RV-owning car salesman turned cradle-robbing survivalist introduced in issue 3 of the comic book (pictured below).
Of course, DeMunn could instead wind up playing another character, maybe even a new character created for the TV series. Time will tell. But one thing's certain -- we'll have our full exclusive interview with Darabont up in a couple of days. So check back soon for more Walking Dead goodness. right now, so read it here.
Note: Thanks to FEARnet's Chris Connors for sharing his Walking Dead theories with us for this article.
