12 actors who got their big break on 'The Walking Dead'

Glenn saved Rick Grimes from a certain death and became one his core allies for six seasons until he was brutally killed off the show in a controversial moment.

Yeun has voiced characters on Netflix's "Voltron," "Trollhunters," and "Okja." Most recently, was nominated for his first Oscar for "Minari."

Next, he'll be voicing the lead character in another Robert Kirkman adaptation, Amazon's "Invincible," which reunites him with several of his former "TWD" costars.

Gurira's largest role before the AMC series was on "Treme."

Gurira plays another fierce warrior in "Black Panther." She reprised her role in "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Avengers: Endgame."

Gurira is set to return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2022's "Black Panther" sequel.

Taylor had some small roles before he appeared on seasons four and five of "The Walking Dead" briefly.

Rick let Sam borrow his watch on season four and it was lost until he met him again at Terminus. Sam was killed by the Cannibals at the start of season five shortly after he was reunited with Rick.

Though the show is about a young Batman growing up, Taylor was one of the main characters on the show during its run on Fox.

More recently, he appeared in "John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum" and "You."

Mika had potential to become a strong female warrior on the show, but her life was cut short by her older sister, Lizzie.

Kenedy appeared on ABC's "Speechless" until it ended its run in 2019. She now stars on NBC's "Mr. Mayor."

Merle Dixon was on "The Walking Dead" until season three when he sacrificed himself going up against the Governor.

The antihero became a fan favorite after redeeming himself in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2." and becoming a pseudo father to Peter Quill.

After the movie, his character has become part of a pretty popular "Mary Poppins" meme.

This year, Rooker will be in the long-awaited "F9," "The Suicide Squad," and will reprise his role as Yondu in Marvel's animated "What If...?"

The show mishandled Heath, cementing the comic mainstay as nothing more than a glorified background character. After a season and a half on "The Walking Dead," the actor showed up on a total of five episodes.

When Heath mysteriously went missing during the middle of season seven, no one went searching for him or even asked what happened to him. Rick's group never would have turned a blind eye if one of its core members like Michonne or Daryl went MIA.

You can read more about how the show has handled Heath on the show here.

He was the star on "24: Legacy" and was in the King Kong movie, "Kong: Skull Island."

Hawkins also starred in "Straight Outta Compton" as Dr. Dre. This year, Hawkins will appear in "In the Heights."

"TWD" chief content officer Scott Gimple told Insider in November 2020 that he'd love to get Hawkins back at some point to complete his story.

Carl went from the curious kid who refused to stay indoors during the zombie apocalypse to a selfless leader whose last words helped end a senseless war with Negan.

Riggs also finished up two films, "Inherit the Viper" and "Only."

"I did one in December where I had a mullet. It was really, really gross, but it was called, 'Inherit the Viper,' and I play this white-trash, redneck kind of kid," Riggs told press on a conference call for "The Walking Dead" after he was killed off the show. "The other movie that I did, it's called 'Only,' I get to play this psychopath, deadly, murderous kind of kid. I'm really, really excited for people to see that one because it's really cool. It was really fun to shoot."

Riggs also produces electronic music under the alias Eclipse. You can listen to some of his work here.

Jared was responsible for the death of Henry's big brother Benjamin. He was brutally eaten by several zombies as Morgan watched.

He appeared in Warner Bros.' "Game Night" and heckled Margot Robbie in "I, Tonya."

Mikel has shown up in superhero universes as well. He was on an episode of The CW's superhero show "Black Lightning" and was in Marvel's "Ant-Man and the Wasp." Mikel also played a character named "imaginary Jesus" on "Doom Patrol."

Payne appeared on "Luck" before he joined "TWD," but fans fell in love with his portrayal of Paul Rovio aka Jesus from the comics.

Payne told Insider he parted ways with the series after he was frustrated and bored with what he was given to do on the show. In the comics, Jesus is knowing for his fighting skills, which were barely seen on screen.

"If I wasn't being given anything, I was kind of ready to go. And then when [showrunner] Angela [Kang] called me, I was quite chill about it. I was like, 'Oh, OK. Great. Cool,'" Payne told Insider in November 2018.

Payne asked that Jesus be killed off the show in a cool way and he got exactly that. Jesus' death marked the introduction of a new, scarier group, The Whisperers.

Payne told Insider he would only cut his hair if the right role came around. Then, he got the lead role in "Prodigal Son."

"It's really about Malcolm's search for himself and his place in his family and his place in the world," Payne told Insider in 2019.

Beth was accidentally shot the moment when Rick and Daryl found her after she went missing on season four.

She has been on "The Flash," "Masters of Sex," and "Arrow." She most recently appeared on "Messiah."

Amelio landed the role of one of Negan's top men, Dwight, right after he wrapped up Richard Linklater's "Everybody Wants Some!." He told Insider in 2016 he had never seen the AMC show at the time, because he didn't own a television.

"I really had no idea about the show or Dwight or who I got cast as," said Amelio. "I thought I was just going to go down there and shoot an episode and that was going to be it."

Amelio now heads up the series' spin-off, "Fear TWD." Last year, he appeared in two films, 'Holler" and "No Future."

After a horde of zombies approached Rick's group, Sophia was lost in the shuffle. The next time she was found, she was locked in the Greene family barn as a zombie.

Lintz is also working on an untitled "Bosch" spin-off.