The Walking Dead has been home to rising stars like Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus and Lauren Cohan for its 11 seasons on AMC. But those 11 seasons have also featured some famous — and sometimes zombified — faces.
While the show has been a must on many actors' bucket lists since Season 1, only a few have had the chance to experience the apocalypse. From a beloved Hocus Pocus actress, to a Hallmark Channel starlet, to two Terminator stars, TWD has had several guest appearances from well-known actors over the years who either joined Rick's group, or threatened to end it.
Thora Birch as Mary
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Thors Birch is best known for her role as Dani Dennison in Hocus Pocus, leaving fans of the Haloween-time classic saddened when she revealed she has no plans of returning to the film's long-awaited sequel Hocus Pocus 2.
But the actress hasn't left the spooky vibes behind her, appearing in The Walking Dead as a Whisperer named Mary for 10 episodes in Season 10 until the character's death in the season finale.
Robert Patrick as Mays
Robert Patrick has always been known for portraying villains, most notably T-1000 in Terminator 2: Judgement Day. But the actor also joined the long list of Terminator actors to appear on The Walking Dead with his Season 11 guest appearance.
Patrick pulled double-duty for this guest role, playing both a villain named Mays and a character who's credited as Mays' Brother in an episode centered around Aaron and Gabriel's friendship.
Alicia Witt as Paula
Viewers tend to expect this Hallmark Channel actress to play the part of a hopeless romantic in a small town at Christmastime, so it may have come as a shock when Alicia Witt appeared on The Walking Dead as a villainess.
While she only appeared for two episodes in Season 6, Witt played Paula, a member of The Saviors who holds Carol and Maggie hostage for the majority of her time on the show before succumbing to a walker bite.
Ethan Embry as Carter
Despite originally auditioning for the parts of Rick Grimes and Shane Walsh, Ethan Embry did eventually make his way to the apocalypse in Season 6.
In the sixth season premiere, Embry played Carter, a member of Alexandria who helps build a wall to keep a herd of walkers away and eventually loses the fight to a stray walker and gets put down by Rick.
Sam Witwer as Tank Soldier
Sam Witwer's appearance in the first two episodes of The Walking Dead may be easy to miss due to how quick and hidden it was.
When Rick finds himself trapped in a tank with a herd of walkers surrounding it outside, he comes across a fallen soldier inside with him. To Rick's surprise, the character credited as Tank Soldier wakes up as a walker and Rick shoots him.
Max Calder as a Walker
Max Calder has been a stuntman for works like Stranger Things, Jungle Cruise, Blacki-ish — as well as other shows in the TWD universe, Fear the Walking Dead and The Walking Dead: World Beyond — but Calder has most notably portrayed a walker in five episodes of The Walking Dead, including the show's pilot episode.
While none of his work has been credited on the show, Calder has done stunts as walkers since the show's premiere and was titled as Fall Walker 1 for the Season 6 episode "Twice as Far."
Michael Biehn as Ian
Best known for his portrayal of Kyle Reese in The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgement Day, actor Michael Biehn is also remembered for his appearance on Season 11 of The Walking Dead.
Biehn played a warlord named Ian, the leader of a group called Riverbend who threatens Aaron and Gabriel's lives when he tells him that the skulls of his enemies are displayed on the wall in his office.
Johnny Depp's Likeness as a Severed Head
Out of all of Johnny Depp's renowned works — from Pirates of the Caribbean to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them to A Nightmare on Elm Street — the one fans probably don't have any recollection of is his cameo on The Walking Dead.
That's because Depp didn't actually appear live and in-person on the show, but his likeness did. In a Season 6 episode involving zombified severed heads, executive producer Greg Nicotero decided to model one of the prop heads after Johnny Depp, which is said to now be kept as a memento by Norman Reedus.
Greg Nicotero as Walkers
Aside from being the show's executive producer and makeup artist, Greg Nicotero has also had the opportunity to throw himself into the apocalypse with zombified cameos in a few episodes.
Nicotero has been popping up on the show as a walker for years, and his undead characters have even been killed by Laurie Holden's Andrea three times.
Chris Hardwick As A Walker
After hosting The Walking Dead aftershow Talking Dead for over a decade, it was only right that Chris Hardwick made his TWD debut in a Season 9.
Despite declining the opportunity several times before, Hardwick finally took the plunge when he played a walker who tries to attack Cailey Fleming's Judith in the episode titled "Scars."