Walking Dead finds its Guvnor…er…Governor

I watched The Walking Dead since it started then read some early issues of the comic.  One well-known character from the series is only known as ‘The Governor”.  He’s a sadistic leader, rules with an iron fist, and can make a survivor wish for an old-fashioned zombie sighting.  Ever since season one, people wondered who will get to play this character.  While I enjoy The Walking Dead, the vamps over at True Blood usually get my attention regarding casting.

Until today…

Playing the role of The Governor is actor David Morrissey.  If the name does not ring a bell, how about a face:

Wait, I hear people thinking, isn’t he Colonel Brandon in Sense & Sensibility?  (Yes, the 2008 television version.)  Hey!  Didn’t I see him opposite David Tennant in something else.  (Yup, in Blackpool.)  Didn’t he play the Ben Affleck part in State of Play? (Let’s be honest.  It’s more like Ben Affleck played David Morrissey’s part in the movie State of Play and couldn’t come close.  If you haven’t seen the original mini-series from the BBC, please get it from your library.)  Robert Kirkman, the writer of the comic and Executive Producer of the Walking Dead, discussed Morrissey’s casting in the pivotal role.

Getting such a part, especially one discussed by fans of the comic series, can come with its own set of problems.  People will feel a little outraged, more along the lines of that’s not how I pictured the character.  Some people on message boards can get downright nasty about it.  In David Morrissey’s case, nothing will seem so bad after  his experience with the critical reaction to Basic Instinct II.  (Yup, he played the male lead in that movie. He nearly left acting after critics roasted him in reviews for that movie.)  People already started to pick him a part of not looking like the character.

Really?

I understand people have a certain vision, especially one provided in a comic, of a certain character.  Even reading a book, people’s idea of a character looks different from person to person.  Actually Colonel Brandon is a great example of people’s idea of a character.  In the movie, Alan Rickman played the part of Colonel Brandon.  People may think well, I don’t think he looked like that.  Some people probably didn’t think Rickman looked like Severus Snap either, but embodied the role so much nobody else could come close.  I have seen enough of David Morrissey to know he can play a character people feared, yet imbue enough humanity to not make the part a caricature.  It’s what I saw as Ripley Holden in Blackpool and from what I read of his portrayal as Gordon Brown in The Deal.

For now The Walking Dead has three episodes left, and my mind is trying to scrub out the massive spoiler leaked on the internet.  We will see how this will play out once season three starts with 16 episodes rather than the traditional 12 in cable network shows.  At least Mad Men will be back and I can relax from all the apocalyptic, survival horror with some nice drinking and smoking with the men and women of Sterling, Cooper, Draper,and Pryce Advertising Agency.