Where are they now? Featuring Sonequa Martin-Green

Former TWD star Sonequa Martin-Green has left Sasha long behind.

When an actor appears in an iconic role in The Walking Dead, there’s always a chance that role will be the one they are always best known for. It takes a strong actor to break free from that and become iconic in another part, and Sonequa Martin-Green is one of the stars who has done just that.

Like Chad Coleman, who played her on-screen brother Tyreese, Sonequa Martin-Green was no stranger to television audiences when she took on the role of Sasha Williams in season 3 of The Walking Dead.

Martin-Green had already appeared in the popular Army Wives series for several episodes and had a recurring role in The Good Wife as aspiring paralegal Courtney Wells.

Even when she already appeared on screen as Sasha, she was doing double duty, also appearing as Tamara, a non-magical character, in the fairy-tale drama Once Upon a Time. However, Tamara was killed off in the first episode of season 3 for Martin-Green to devote her time to The Walking Dead.

Early on, Sasha proved to be a popular character on the show, with an engaging mix of power and vulnerability, warmth and skill. Having no comic counterpart allowed the character, and thus Martin-Green portraying her, to have flexibility in finely tuning just exactly who Sasha was.

From her early brief romance with optimistic Bob to her depression and lack of direction following her second boyfriend Abe’s death, Martin-Green infused Sasha with a depth of humanity and finesse that showcased her talent level.

Working through her first real-life pregnancy, whilst filming season 5 in the Georgia heat, Martin-Green also showed her endurance and adaptability. She returned to film season 6 just a few short months after the birth of her son, Kenric Justin.

In the final episode of season 7, Sasha – having been captured by Negan – decides to take fate into her own hands and swallows a suicide pill give to her by Eugene, turning her from a bargaining chip to a walker weapon against Negan.

Her death provided a real spotlight on Martin-Green’s talents as we saw Sasha’s hallucinations or moments of death played out onscreen, revisiting her touching, chemistry-filled on-screen partnerships with Maggie and Abe.

Despite the timing of Martin-Green’s next big casting, making it seem that way, Martin-Green didn’t choose to leave TWD to take up a “better” offer. In an interview with EW in 2017, she clarified that her opportunity to join the Star Trek universe came perfectly timed after Sasha was killed off.

In December 2016, it was announced that Martin-Green had landed the much sought after lead role in the new Star Trek series Discovery. Playing Michael Burnham, Martin-Green was paving the way and creating many firsts, including the first lead character who wasn’t a captain and the first female lead character of color.

Season 3 of Discovery began streaming in October 2020 and continued the show’s run of critical and audience praise, with Martin-Green consistently receiving plaudits and being compared favorably to other Star Trek greats such as Sir Patrick Stewart and Chris Pine.

The fourth season of Discovery has already been ordered, but it certainly isn’t the only thing on Martin-Green’s schedule. She had also managed to star in Netflix’s romantic holiday movie Holiday Rush, alongside Romany Malco, and The Outside Story – a comedy-drama that was scheduled to appear at the Tribeca Film Festival before COVID struck.

Amongst all this on-screen work, she also somehow managed to fit in the small matter of giving birth to her second child, a daughter named Saraiyah Chaunté, in July 2020. As well as devoting a large amount of time to her role as an ambassador for cancer charity SU2C since 2016.

Martin-Green’s entire career has marked her out for greatness not just now but in the future – be it fictional in Star Trek or her real life. Her interviews show a considered, articulate woman who brings huge emotional and intelligent input into her roles and is comfortable speaking about both her craft and the importance of diversity and representation.

Wherever her career takes her, Martin-Green will always love her TWD family, especially because her husband Kenric still appears on the show as Alexandria resident, Scott. She returned for a cameo in Rick’s final episode in season 9. Nest, she will be starring alongside fellow TWD alums Steven Yeun and Khary Payton as a voice in Robert Kirkman’s animated series Invincible. Thus ensuring that though Martin-Green has moved on, her impact on the TWD universe remains.