‘The Walking Dead’: Meet Samantha Morton, AKA Alpha
The Whisperers are coming! A plot line fans of The Walking Dead have been waiting on is finally upon us. With not only the external but internal enemies that our favorite group of survivors have had to face; Shane Walsh, the Governor, Gareth and his merry band of cannibals and of course Negan, you could take all of those “baddies” and roll them together and you still would not equal the amount of raw horror that comes with this new big-bad threat, The Whisperers. However, instead of talking about this group as a whole we are just going to talk about their leader, Alpha. Alpha is the leader of this feral group who rarely, if ever, shows any remorse or emotion behind decisions she makes. She makes no apologies and does whatever is needed to survive and with this type of character being translated onto the screen, you really need to find that strong personality in an actress who is ready to be raw and unforgiving and here is where we enter Samantha Morton.
Samantha Morton is a very talented English actress, director and screenwriter who you have probably seen more than once and don’t even realize it. With a resume longer than I can list, Samantha is no stranger to playing not only parts out of the norm but also very strong willed not afraid to flex her muscles. Out of all of her roles for me personally, Samantha first caught my attention in the 2002 movie Minority Report starring Tom Cruise. Playing pre-cognitive Agatha, a role that coincidentally required that Morton have a shaved head, was a great role and one of Samantha’s that is the most memorable to myself.
More recently, you can find Samantha in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and the Hulu Original Show Harlots. In role in the show Harlots, Samantha plays not only a mother but also the Madame of an 18th century London brothel named Margaret Wells. The character of Margaret Wells would probably be the closest thing I personally can see Samantha getting toward the character of Alpha. Margaret not only runs the brothel but employs her daughters as ladies of the night in her brothel as well. Margaret is very fierce, unforgiving and yet still has a maternal instinct that shows itself but only when absolutely needed. Having had a binge watch of Harlots myself, I am interested to see the dynamic that Samantha pulls off between that show and her new big-bad role on The Walking Dead, as Samantha is such a talent to watch work.
I for one am looking forward to the new story arch with The Whisperers and am very excited to see the on-screen chemistry between Samantha as Alpha and Ryan Hurst as Beta. The Walking Dead fan-family has welcomed every new character, even the villains, with nothing but open arms and love and here, I see no difference in that happening with the addition of Samantha Morton. With so many other credits to her name, I could go on and on about Samantha however, I think that just a little introduction and Samantha making her own entrance into The Walking Dead universe will be all that needs to be said and done.
Covering superheroes, anything dark, horror, and more! Lead writer for Fan Fest
