‘The Walking Dead’: Tom Payne Has Been Cast As Paul ‘Jesus’ Monroe In Season 6

Finally, we can announce the actor who will be playing Paul “Jesus” Monroe in season 6 of AMC’s The Walking Dead. British actor Tom Payne (of HBO’s Luck fame) will be playing the iconic character from the comic book series the TV show is based on.

WARNING: This article contains potential spoilers about season 6 of AMC’s The Walking Dead as well as comic book spoilers. Please proceed with caution.

Recently, E! Online released an on-set image of season 6 of The Walking Dead that contained Jesus; however, until now, no one knew the actor’s name. Now, news has arrived and we can name Tom Payne as the actor who will play Jesus in season 6 of The Walking Dead.

The Hollywood Reporter broke the news that Tom Payne would be joining the cast of AMC’s The Walking Dead to play Paul “Jesus” Monroe “in a recurring role for season 6 — with an option for season 7.” For fans of the TV series, who haven’t read the comic books The Walking Dead is based on, Jesus is a character who was originally a member of the Alexandria safe zone in which Rick Grimes (played by Andrew Lincoln in the TV series) and his gang joined at the end of season 5. However, after leaving Alexandria, Jesus joins the Hilltop Colony. The Hollywood Reporter describes Jesus as “a rare logical man and skilled adviser with a strong sense of morals and values who is well-adapted to the new world.”

However, for comic book fans, the arrival of Jesus in The Walking Dead also means the potential arrival of the next villain — Negan. According to Entertainment Weekly, Jesus will appear later in season 6 of The Walking Dead and, if the rumor surrounding a casting call for Negan is correct, this will lead to Negan’s arrival in time for the season 6 finale of The Walking Dead.

Andrew Lincoln recently suggested to the Hollywood Reporter that the arrival of Jesus, and then Negan, would lead to conflict. He likened The Walking Dead to a medieval place at this point in time since many of the communities don’t know about each other.

“We’re coming into the sixth season of this show… and it’s the medieval part of The Walking Dead comic, where you realize that there are these isolated communities that don’t really know other ones exist. But they’re all building and forming themselves with their own image. And then there’s a clash of those communities. That, to me, is really interesting and when it gets really exciting with all the action.”

The Walking Dead returns with season 6 ot AMC on Sunday, October 11, 2015.

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[Image credit: UFA Cinema]