'The Walking Dead' Season 6 Cast News: Xander Berkeley To Play Hilltop Colony Leader
Along with the much-awaited villain Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), Season 6 of AMC's "The Walking Dead" will be returning with a whole slew of new characters - some of whom will be good, but most of whom will be bad. One of the bad ones, the leader of the Hilltop Colony, will be played by "24" alumni Xander Berkeley.
TVLine teased Berkeley's involvement in the second half of Season 6 back in September and now, the website has confirmed that the 60-year-old actor, who has played villainous characters in numerous films and TV series, has been tapped to play Gregory, the underhanded and cowardly bad guy who will become a total nightmare for Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and the rest of the Alexandrians.
The good news is that in the "Walking Dead" comics created by Robert Kirkman, Gregory isn't as evil and menacing as Negan. The bad news is that he's a sly type of bad and is prone to cracking under pressure. Nevertheless, in the comics, he betrays Rick and the others to the powerful and remorseless warlord Negan and pledges his colony's allegiance to Negan and The Saviors against Rick and the survivors in Alexandria. At one point, he also attempts to kill Maggie (Lauren Cohan) by poisoning her drink. Luckily, Paul Monroe (Tom Payne) comes to Maggie's rescue. The attempt on Maggie's life then leads to Gregory's incarceration.
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In addition to starring in "24" as Counter Terror Unit director George Mason, Berkeley has portrayed a wide range of characters in a long list of TV programs, including "M*A*S*H*," "CSI," "The Mentalist," "Nikita," "Medium," "Bones," "ER," "The X-Files," "Miami Vice," "The Twilight Zone," Law & Order," and "Criminal Minds." He has also played various roles in films such as "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," "Apollo 13," "Taken," "Air Force One," and "Shanghai Noon."
"The Walking Dead" resumes its sixth season on Sunday, Feb. 14, on AMC.
