The Walking Dead’s Nadia Hilker compares Alpha to Hannibal Lecter

Newcomer to The Walking Dead Nadia Hilker says that Samantha Morton’s Alpha is the “scariest character TV has to offer” in case TWD fans weren’t already scared of Alpha.

When The Walking Dead returns in just a couple of weeks it will usher in a new era for the survivors – the era of the Whisperers. By themselves the Whisperers are fairly terrifying. Their hideous masks of dead skin are next level creepy and there’s just something viscerally unsettling about watching them move like walkers.

The scariest Whisperer of all, of course, is Alpha. Alpha is the leader and presumably the strongest in the pack since she managed to fight her way into the leadership role. Andrew Lincoln once said that Samantha Morton, who plays Alpha, was “terrifying” in the role. At least one current cast member agrees.

In an interview with Metro  Nadia Hilker, who plays newcomer Magna, said that Samantha Morton’s performance as Alpha is absolutely chilling. Talking about Alpha she said:

"“But Alpha to me, oh man, she’s probably one of the scariest characters television has to offer. She is super scary. [It] kind of reminds me of Silence Of The Lambs in a way, Anthony Hopkins. When [Samantha Morton] goes into character you just want to leave. You want to run away as fast as you can and as far away as you can. There’s something about her, there’s a button. She just becomes a very different person and her energy – you feel like you can’t breathe and that’s very powerful. But at the same time she’s the nicest, smartest, sweetest person on the planet, so even more so I’m impressed by her acting skills and how you can transform so fast into something so different. She’s fantastic.”"

So far Alpha has been seen in teasers for The Walking Dead season 9B but she hasn’t appeared fully or been heard speaking. In one teaser Alpha raises a shotgun at someone, in a moment that is copied straight from the comic, and that alone is scary. Fans are both excited and dreading seeing how scary Alpha will really be.

The Whisperers Body Count

In The Walking Dead comic the Whisperers end up racking up quite a body count. There’s no telling how closely the show will follow the comic when it comes to the Whisperers but they have already claimed their first victim.

Jesus was killed by a Whisperer in the mid-season finale. When the mid-season premiere picks up the aftermath of Jesus’ death is sure to send a shockwave through the Hilltop and through the other communities too.

While no one knows what happened during the six year time jump it seems like it’s been awhile since the groups have faced a truly dangerous villain. Negan was a threat and he certainly had no issues exacting extreme punishment from the survivors in order to make a point his leadership he was nowhere near as ruthless, cunning, or cruel as Alpha.

Based on the descriptions of Samantha Morton’s performance as Alpha so far it seems like The Walking Dead fans better plan on some unsettling nights ahead when The Walking Dead returns on February 10th.