The Walking Dead’s Scott Wilson believes in life after Dead

Scott Wilson as Hershel Greene in AMC’s The Walking Dead.

Veteran actor Scott Wilson knows there is life after Dead because he found it.

After starring in The Walking Dead, the 74-year-old actor has become an icon of the horror genre. His fame revived and renewed.

“Never in a million years did I imagine that The Walking Dead would revitalize my career. I don’t think anyone could have guessed it would,” Scott tells me.

Scott, who made his acting debut in 1967 opposite the great Sidney Poitier in the 5-time Oscar-winning film In the Heat of the Night, gained a whole new generation of fans since he landed the role of Hershel Greene in the AMC hit series in 2011.

The Walking Dead, by the way, returns to TV for its 7^th season this fall.

“It’s having a great run,” he comments on the show’s success. “The public’s response is mind blowing and I think it could go about as long as they want it to. It doesn’t seem like the fans are going anywhere.”

Scott, however, did go.

Dear old Hershel was written off The Walking Dead at the halfway point of season four which aired in December of 2013.

“I was definitely sad to leave, it was such a priceless experience. I walked away with a lot though, and these new doors began to open,” he says.

The actor bounced back with a recurring role on the prime-time crime series Bosch and then made his grand return to TV earlier this year co-starring in A&E’s supernatural drama Damien, based on the 1976 classic horror flick The Omen.

Sadly, the network cancelled Damien after its 10-episode run and naturally, Scott was disappointed that the show didn’t work out.

“The series had a great cast with Bradley James as Damien and Barbara Hershey co-starring. Barbara is a wonderful actor whom I’ve worked with on the film The Right Stuff. I enjoyed working on a few episodes with them. It was fun and the show had an interesting premise, seeing see Damien as a 30 year-old, rather than the young kid that he was in The Omen.”

The moment Damien fell through, another opportunity quickly rose. Scott will be seen next in Netflix’s new mysterious original series The OA.

The entertainment streaming empire is being extremely secretive about the project, that’s what makes it mysterious. No plot details have been disclosed, not even an explanation of what OA stands for. So obviously Scott can’t talk.

But what he can reveal is that he plays a character named Abel Johnson, the adoptive father of Prairie Johnson played by Brit Marling, previously seen in The East alongside True Blood sex god Alexander Skarsgard and Canadian sweetheart Ellen Page.

We can also tell you that there has been an order of 8 one-hour episodes and word on the street is there was a bidding war among networks over the series.

“I never thought I’d be doing these shows and have my work so well-received at this point in my life.”

Scott thought his glory days were far behind him. And glorious they were.

“I’ve worked on some wonderful productions and had the opportunity to work with some very talented people,” Scott says referring to the 70+ film and TV credits he has to his name.

Scott has shared the screen with Hollywood’s brightest from legends Robert Redford, Mia Farrow, Anne Bancroft and James Caan to Tom Cruise, Susan Sarandon, Demi Moore, Charlize Theron, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sean Penn, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Kate Beckinsale, Alec Baldwin, Meg Ryan and Ben Stiller.

Along the way Scott picked up a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in The Ninth Configuration.

“I’ve had a charmed life,” he thinks back. And it’s been that way right from the start.

At just 25, he made the cover of LIFE magazine following his outstanding performance in the 1967 movie In Cold Blood.

“An actor is incredibly lucky to get a big break in their career. Just because so many don’t get one.”

Scott is among the rare few who got a second.

“I’ve been really blessed,” Scott says. “And now I’m finding there is life after Dead.”

The OA will premiere on Netflix before the end of 2016. An exact date is yet to be announced.

Posted by Marc Andrew on Nov 2 2016. Filed under Interviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.