Jon Bernthal stole the show as Shane Walsh on "The Walking Dead." Even though his
time on the series was limited, it had serious ramifications for the rest of his life and career.
Rick and Shane were the first roles to be cast for "The Walking Dead," and when Jon Bernthal
went into his audition, he initially read for Rick's part. Bernthal said that despite
reading for Rick, from very early in the casting process he wanted the role of Shane.
Showrunner Frank Darabont warned Bernthal that "The Walking Dead" comics killed Shane off
early in their run. That wasn't a big concern for Bernthal, who told Entertainment Weekly:
"I know it sounds cheesy, but I want to serve the story, and I always said Shane's got to go,
and if that really services the story, then by all means, I'm down for that."
He was excited when Andrew Lincoln was cast as Rick. The two became best friends, and they still
have a close relationship to this day. When it was time for Bernthal to leave the show, he said,
"It's been the honor of my acting career to act alongside Andrew Lincoln."
Luckily, it wasn't the last time the two got to be on screen with each other.
In the early days of "The Walking Dead," few people thought the show would become
a record-breaking success. AMC picked up the first season for only six episodes,
a sure sign that the network didn't have full confidence in the series.
The ratings in 2010 proved that the zombie apocalypse was a hit with viewers,
but the show didn't become the phenomenon it is today until Season 3, when its ratings doubled.
When Jon Bernthal worked on "The Walking Dead," the series functioned much more like a low-budget
passion project. Speaking about his time on the show with ComicBook.com, Bernthal said:
"When we did Walking Dead, there were no trailers,
there were no craft services. We would just hike out into the woods, it was very humble."
Helping to create "The Walking Dead" taught
Bernthal that with enough hard work and dedication,
a creative team really can take a far-fetched idea and turn it into an unprecedented hit.
Bernthal has said he went a little "method" when it came to playing Shane Walsh. Bernthal did his
best to really get himself into Shane's mindset while portraying the character. The focus comes
through in Shane's unique gait and tendency to scratch at his head. According to Bernthal,
the uneasiness of Shane's physicality shows how he is at constant odds with himself and his actions.
The dedication to his character bled into Bernthal's everyday life. He said that
fighting zombies day in and day out while filming truly made him hate the creatures.
While working on the show, he'd frequently have dreams about fighting zombies in-character. When
he saw fans of the show dressed as zombies at conventions, he joked that he wanted to attack.
Bernthal's method acting on "The Walking Dead" carried over to the rest of his career. In 2016,
he told Jimmy Kimmel that he stayed in character
between takes on the sets of "Daredevil" and "The Punisher."
"Yeah, a little bit."
"Really?"
"Yeah, a little bit."
"So, you punish people?"
Some might credit Shane as being the first villain in "The Walking Dead,"
but the character really is more of a hero than a villain. In the beginning of the show,
he saves Lori and Carl, and he helps lead a whole group of survivors to safety. While
tensions rise between Rick and Shane's leadership styles throughout Season 2,
Shane is still fully committed to doing what he thinks is best for the survival of the group.
Bernthal believes that even in Shane's final moments, he's acting in the interest of the
group. He thinks there's a part of Shane that believes he can no longer be around the others.
By threatening Rick in the episode "Better Angels," he's really forcing his friend to
be the kind of man who can make difficult decisions on behalf of everyone else.
Bernthal thinks Shane is almost sacrificing himself for the betterment of the group.
Of course, the Punisher is Marvel's most famous antihero, and his pursuit of justice
in "Daredevil" certainly has that sort of attitude. The work Bernthal put into crafting
Shane as a sympathetic antihero arguably helped prepare him for his next major role.
The early days of "The Walking Dead" were like a pressure cooker for the team involved
in creating AMC's zombie apocalypse. The project brought everyone close together,
and Bernthal found a family among his co-workers on the show. He grew very
close to Frank Darabont, the show's creator and first showrunner, and to Andrew Lincoln,
who auditioned for the show alongside Bernthal. Speaking to ComicBook.com, Bernthal said:
"Those folks are still some of my best friends in the world. And the bonds that
were formed in the beginning of that show, a family was formed."
He says that Lincoln has become like a brother to him. In Bernthal's opinion,
those close bonds helped to make the show as special as it is. He learned
that genuine connections on set spill onto the screen. They not only make filming a show
more enjoyable, but they also make the series better for its viewers.
Anyone is bound to pick up a few survival tips and tricks while spending years working
on a show about living in a post-apocalyptic world. That's especially true for Bernthal,
since his character has a heightened survival instinct, even when compared to the other
characters on "The Walking Dead." There's nothing that Shane won't do to keep himself
and the people he cares about alive, even if that means abandoning some pre-apocalypse morality.
When asked if starring on the show improved his odds of survival in a real zombie apocalypse,
Bernthal said it had, because he learned a few new tricks. However,
that doesn't mean he thinks that he'd make it in the long run. According to Bernthal,
when the going gets tough, no one will make it out alive. That's a disappointing
prognosis for the state of humanity, but it comes straight from the horse's mouth.
"And I sat there and I weeped. And I felt sorry for myself. And I knew it was over."
Shane's death on "The Walking Dead" was one of the show's most dramatic
moments early in its run. Despite Bernthal saying he is happy for being a part of it
and getting out when he did, his exit was more emotional offscreen than in the series itself.
Shane died in "Better Angels," the second-to-last episode of Season 2. Bernthal shot his final scene
with Andrew Lincoln, and they were joined by the rest of the show's cast. The group spent the
entire night in a field by Hershel's farmhouse, making sure that they got the scene just right.
Even Jeff DeMunn, whose character Dale had died an episode previously,
made sure he was on set for Bernthal's last scene. He flew out to the set in
Georgia from his farm in upstate New York to be there for the sendoff. Bernthal described
shooting his final scene in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. He said:
"And to go out the way I did and go out with who I did -- it was, and still is, very emotional."
The scene finished shooting at 6 a.m., after which the cast quietly walked back to the farm,
where Bernthal gave a teary-eyed speech to close things out.
Bernthal's last shoot wasn't supposed to be his last day on set. "The Walking Dead" still needed
to film the Season 2 finale, and Bernthal was invited out to the set to join the cast
for filming. He hiked out to Hershel's farm with Sarah Wayne Callies, intending to spend
the day with his co-stars, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Bernthal has said
he saw everyone out on the farm, gearing up to film the chaotic conclusion to Season 2,
and he had a sense that the show was theirs now and that it was time to move on.
Instead of joining everyone on set, Bernthal found a place in the woods
to sit back and watch the filming by himself. He later laughed about
what happened on his actual last day, telling Entertainment Weekly:
"I sound like the biggest weirdo in the world, but I didn't say goodbye. I couldn't."
"Do not mess this up.
Before joining "The Walking Dead," Bernthal split his time between
acting for the camera and acting on the stage. Talking about his start in acting,
Bernthal said he was first exposed to the craft when taking a class in college. He credits his
professor with truly making him fall in love with acting. She encouraged him to study in Moscow,
and after that Bernthal attended the ART at Harvard, where he earned his MFA.
Early on, he had no interest in becoming a TV or film star,
and preferred being a theater actor. He spent years acting on the stage and slowly started
taking parts in films and television pilots. When he first read the pilot script for "The
Walking Dead," he told his agent he would even be an extra on the show. Bernthal actually
turned down work offers on the off chance that he got a part in "The Walking Dead."
When he was cast in the show, Bernthal completely dedicated himself to making
it a success. "The Walking Dead" outperformed everyone's expectations,
and Bernthal himself was a major part of that. The role became his breakthrough,
and he's been steadily starring in shows and films ever since.
There always comes a time when an actor stops keeping up with a show after they've left
it. Jon Bernthal revealed that he stopped watching "The Walking Dead" for fairly mundane reasons.
After playing Shane, his career skyrocketed, and his schedule became much busier. On top of that,
Bernthal has a family of his own, including three children and a handful of pit bulls.
While Bernthal said he stopped watching the series, he told Jake's Takes:
"I'm enormously grateful for that show and I'm enormously
grateful for the people I got to make it with."
Despite his busy schedule, Bernthal has found the time to make two guest
appearances on "The Walking Dead" after his departure. The first was in Season 3,
Episode 8, and the second was in Season 9, Episode 5. He also still stays in touch
with the crew behind the series, saying they will always be like family to him.