For two whole seasons, Shane Walsh was a fixture of The Walking Dead, introduced as an ally and loyal friend to Rick Grimes before descending into villainy.
Brought to life with a fierce intensity by Jon Bernthal (Fury, Baby Driver), Shane was arguably the show’s first true antagonist – aside from those reanimated Walkers, of course – and his absence was strongly felt during The Walking Dead‘s third season, during which time Andrew Lincoln’s Rick was forced to come to terms with the fact that he killed his best friend on Hershel’s farm.
But as Jon Bernthal revealed in a candid interview with Den of Geek, he was still able to draw a lot of positives from his brief spell on AMC’s flagship, and it’s that learning experience that helped spearhead his career across screens big and small. On the topic of bonding with his co-stars, here’s what the actor had to say:
It’s interesting, it was probably the most innocent and rewarding experience that I’ve ever had, I was surrounded by a cast and a crew and a writer – everybody was making a show for one hundred percent, totally the right reasons, everybody just believed in the material and everybody willingly gave everything that they had for it. The only way I can sort of answer the question is, there is a reason why I’m bonded to those people, unlike any group of artists I’ve ever been bonded to and we’ll be bonded forever.
Switching gears from the past to the future, Bernthal then touched base on his particular interpretation of Frank Castle, and how it’s resonated with those viewers who’ve served time in the military or other law enforcement. It’s not a role that Jon Bernthal is taking lightly, that’s for sure.
It’s huge for me and I know how much the character resonates with members of law enforcement, members of the military and it was something that I really, really wanted. And I had also known that there was a stigma to the role and people question some of the previous iterations. I got really lucky to get this part and I got really lucky to be able to tell Frank’s story over a thirteen episode arc and now that we’ve shot season one of The Punisher series, I’m just very nervous, I really just hope people like it. You know we’ve worked really hard and I really, really want people to continue to dig this version of Frank and I care about his audience deeply.
The Walking Dead returns for its eighth season on October 22nd, while The Punisher is expected to debut via Netflix sometime in November. Frank Castle’s name was mentioned numerous times throughout Marvel’s SDCC showcase, though the company will likely wait until after August 18th (read: The Defenders) before disclosing any further details on Frank’s 13-episode spinoff series.
