The Walking Dead has cast Season Nines main villain, Alpha, who will be played by actress Samantha Morton. It comes to no surprise that they go ahead and cast her right hand man, Beta. Ryan Hurst, known mostly for his portrayal as Opie on Sons of Anarchy, has been cast as the titular character, as reported by the Hollywood Reporter.
In the comics, the character of Beta is a large man and all around brute force of nature. What he lacks in dialogue, he makes up with his brutal and physical presence as well as his overwhelming loyalty to his leader Alpha. Hurst has had his fair share of playing the strong and silent type. We have seen this type of character in his roll as Opie, on SOA, where he also played a loyal, right hand to Charlie Hunams character, Jax Teller.
Kirkman has made his love for SOA known, so we can only imagine his absolute excitement over landing Hurst as a prominent character from his comics. Beta plays a very important role in the Whisperer War, something that will loom over in much of Season 9. Beta is known for his mask made of human flesh that covers the upper half of his face. Like many who wear mask, Beta chooses to keep his true identity hidden among his fellow Whisperers and his victims.
The first person to meet Beta in the comics is Negan (played by Jeffery Dean Morgan.) It will be curious to see how the show plays out the character of Beta. In the comics, Beta eventually takes over as leader of the Whisperers and leads the war against Rick Grimes and crew. With Alpha set to play a big role this season and probably another season to come, it would be safe to assume we will probably see Hurst for a couple years on the Walking Dead.
With Andrew Lincoln, Rick Grimes, leaving this season however the show could take a different turn with the character of Beta. The show has delved quite a bit from the comic book source material, so it is up to anyone’s guess as to how the Whisperers will be treated. Leave us your thoughts about the casting choice in the comments below!
