The Walking Dead death that made David Morrissey “really upset”

Over the years, The Walking Dead has never been shy delivering some of the most brutal and shocking scenes in television history. It’s right there next to Game of Thrones among shows that aren’t for the faint-hearted. There are numerous deaths that have left a lasting impact on viewers, as well as the actors. Take the Governor actor David Morrissey, who is still smarting from having to kill off fan-favorite character Hershel almost a decade ago.

Played by Scott Wilson, who sadly passed away from leukemia in 2018, Hershel was one of the most beloved characters on the show. He was a father figure for the group and a wise, much-needed moral compass in the world ruled by the dead. Hershel was ultimately murdered by the Governor using Michonne’s katana way back in season 4. The Governor’s chilling utterance of “liar” is still enough to send shivers down fans’ spines…

“We’re all upset [when we’re killed off]. The thing I was really upset about was killing Hershel,” Morrissey said at Fandemic Dead 2022, adding that Wilson was “one of the greatest men I’ve ever worked with or known.”

The Walking Dead crew pays homage to characters as they’re killed off

Since the show has a reputation of killing characters out of nowhere, Morrissey explained that the stars had taken to reading the scrips back-to-front for peace of mind that they would still be in a job by the end of it:

"You’d read [the script], you’d turn it backwards to make sure you were still alive [laughs]. As the season is going on you think, ‘Someone is going to go.’ I got to the trailer, looked at [the script], and then I saw I killed Scott. I just couldn’t believe it. I was like, ‘Oh no, I’m never going to be able to walk down the street again. This is going to kill me,’. So it was really tough."

It turns out that, on the day of shooting Hershel’s final episode, the crew paid tribute to Hershel with their outfits. “All the crew turned up in their suspenders because Hershel wore the suspenders, and on the day I died, they all came in with eyepatches,” Morrissey revealed. “But you have to get on with the work. You have the sentiment and you’re upset because you’re not going to see your mates again, but you’re there to do a job and you have to do it.”

Readers of Robert Kiriman’s comic book may have seen Hershel’s death coming, but casual viewers had absolutely no idea. The show has continued to take everyone by surprise by killing off many of its most important characters; namely, Carl (Chandler Riggs) died in season 8. His father Rick (Andrew Lincoln) left the series a season later, although he’s slated to return for some movies. The remaining episodes of season 11 undoubtedly have many more surprises in store.

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