When you have a show like The Walking Dead that has lasted for some time, and the franchise has gone on so long it’s spun off into spinoff territory, there are bound to be some actors who have truly made it.
Several actors from the franchise have escalated in popularity after finding success on the show. Norman Reedus is easily one of them. Andrew Lincoln is another. Even Shane’s actor, Jon Bernthal, has had an incredible run over the last few years. This year, in particular, he's had huge box-office success with The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
But there’s one actor from the show I often forgot was on it in the first place—one I think many of you might not remember either—who has popped off over the last few years.
And that’s Austin Abrams.
Austin Abrams was on seasons 5 and 6 of The Walking Dead
If you don’t recall who Austin Abrams was, you might remember that he’s the reason Carl (Chandler Riggs) was missing an eye long before he died. That’s right, Abrams played Ron Anderson, the son of Jessie Anderson, who at one point in the series might have ended up being Carl’s stepbrother if that whole family wasn’t, well, you know… annihilated by walkers.
Anyway, Ron was a character who was there for a time. He served more as a secondary antagonist during season 6, but he was never the main one. He was nice and welcoming when the group first arrived in Alexandria, but after Rick killed Ron’s father, everything changed.
Which, honestly, is not surprising.
His hatred of Rick and his family, including Carl, led to him having a gun during the herd, but after his mother and brother were killed, he tried to shoot Rick, blaming him for his family’s deaths. But Michonne (Danai Gurira) stabs him before he gets to do so. Even so, he’s still able to pull the trigger, and the shot goes right into Carl’s eye.
The actor's time on the show was short-lived and, in the grand scheme of this series' episodes, forgettable. But these last few years? Abrams hasn’t just come back into horror—he's really turned into a mini horror king.
Abrams' appearances in horror films have cemented his amazing acting abilities
Honestly, I didn’t even realize Abrams did so much horror until I started watching some of the most recent popular films in the genre. I always knew him as Ethan Daley in HBO’s Euphoria for a time (because everyone was watching that show). But ever since he stepped away from that series (for good reason), he’s been in a few really good horror roles.
I mean, he had already stepped a little into the genre with his role in Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, but these last two years specifically, it’s like he’s wanted to go all in on horror. He had a memorable role in the Zach Cregger-directed film Weapons, where he played James, a homeless drug addict who has some of the creepiest but funniest moments of the movie.
Then, in 2026, Abrams continued to impress with two new films. One is also from Zach Cregger: the new Resident Evil film, where Abrams is the star and plays Bryan, a medical courier who must survive a world inhabited by monsters during an outbreak. The film is, of course, based on the Resident Evil games, but just from the first looks we’ve gotten, it looks sick—Abrams looks great.
The film will release soon, on Sept. 18, 2026. Check out the trailer below:
The second is another film that hasn’t been released yet, but it also looks wild: Whalefall. This movie also stars Abrams as a scuba diver who gets swallowed by a sperm whale. He only has an hour left to live and must somehow find a way out, which is a freaking wild concept. The movie comes out on Oct. 16, 2026. Here is a trailer for that:
These two films are some of the wildest-looking horror movies I have seen in the last few years. And truthfully? I am so happy that Abrams is going to be the star of them. I always thought he was a great child actor, but seeing him become a big-time horror actor and star in these films is fantastic.
I, for one, can’t wait to see what he does next, and I have a feeling it will involve a lot more scary, terrifying things. I’ll need another incredible horror movie very soon.
If you want to rewatch Abrams on The Walking Dead, you can check out all eleven seasons on Netflix.
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