DEAD WHISPERER

Samantha Morton’s agents were worried. They knew she’d be great for a meaty new role on one of the world’s biggest dramas, but they weren’t sure the two-time Oscar nominee would go for starring on a show called The Walking Dead, which has two more episodes of Season 9 left (airs Mon. at 2pm; Fox Showcase). “I’m really, really particular about what characters I play, what projects I’m involved with, and why,” says Morton. “So they’re very careful with me.”

What the agents did not know was that Morton spent her childhood watching horror films, and had a particular affinity for the godfather of the zombie genre, George A. Romero. And while Morton says she didn’t know much about TWD – she doesn’t even own a television but had “seen billboards for it on the freeway” – the actress quickly immersed herself in the work and her character of Alpha. Sporting a shaved head and wearing a zombie-skin mask over her face, Alpha is the leader of the Whisperers and is considered one of the most iconic villains from the comic book on which the show is based.

But don’t tell Morton that her character – who got a rare backstory episode earlier this season – is a villain. “I don’t see that I’m playing a villain at all,” she says. “I’m playing somebody with absolute determination and conviction in her beliefs. I see her as an incredibly powerful, awe-inspiring woman, with so much courage and strength – and love, weirdly.” Morton’s love even extends to wearing that super-gross zombie-skin mask. “I was so excited at the thought of wearing a mask and this kind of bald, Zen monk vibe,” she gushes. “I was just thrilled.” And so are her agents.