The Walking Dead featured many terrifying villains during its eleven-season run. One of those is Alpha, the flesh-wearing leader of the Whisperers, a group of hostile survivors.
Alpha was first introduced in the season 9 episode "Adaptation." This episode opened where the previous one left off after the Whisperers attacked our survivors and killed Jesus (Tom Payne). Lydia (Cassady McClincy Zhang), the daughter of Alpha, was also introduced during this episode.
Alpha's story was fleshed in flashbacks with her family soon after the outbreak and later follows Alpha and Lydia after the death of her husband. Just when viewers thought they knew all about Alpha, the spinoff Tales of the Walking Dead reopened her backstory at a time when she was known as Dee.
In the third episode of the spinoff, "Dee," Alpha's story took a turn no one expected. It was always assumed that the Whisperers were formed by Alpha's twisted mind. But in Tales of TWD, it was revealed that the Whisperers found Dee and Lydia and welcomed them into their group. No clues were given to how she eventually became the leader.
Samantha Morton as Alpha
In July 2018, BAFTA award-winning Samantha Morton was announced for the role of Alpha. She took the role very seriously as she shaved her head to complete the look of her comic book counterpart. She did an incredible job bringing this character to life.
Morton is well known for numerous other roles including Harlots, Rillington Place, The Last Panthers, and Save the Cinema. Many may not be aware that she is also the voice of Ruby in the Max and Ruby animated series that aired on Nickelodeon's Nick Jr.
Some of her more recent roles include the ex-wife of Brendan Fraser's Charlie in The Whale. She also played Zelda Perkins, 1990s Miramax London assistant and abuse victim, in She Said, the movie which follows the New York Times investigation of Harvey Weinstein's sexual misconduct.
In 2022 she began the role of Catherine de' Medici in Starz period drama The Serpent Queen that aired for two seasons. She also starred with Ruby Stokes in the Paramount+ series The Burning Girls.
One of Morton's newest projects is Neon's 2073, a mockumentary set in a dystopian future. Next, she will star in Anemone, a movie directed by Ronan Day-Lewis, who co-wrote the story with her father, Daniel Day-Lewis, who stars in the film. The drama also stars Sean Bean, Samuel Bottomley, and Safia Oakley-Green.
