Many Walking Dead viewers consider the early seasons as some of the best. The third season was an interesting one as Rick and the group sheltered in an abandoned prison. It was the perfect spot to keep everyone safe, and others thought the same. Tyreese Williams, his sister Sasha, and their traveling companions came upon the prison and had the same idea as Rick.
Tyreese was compassionate and protective man who also possessed much strength physically and in his choice to maintain his morality. He was fiercely protective of his sister Sasha, played by Sonequa Martin-Green, and anyone else he held dear.
Actor Chad L. Coleman portrayed Tyreese beginning with his introduction in season 3 until his death in season 5.
Tyreese and his group first tried to join Rick at the prison, but that was when Rick was still reeling over the death of his wife, Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies). They instead joined Woodbury and hoped to make a home there. When they discover the true nature of the Governor (David Morrissey), they, along with many other Woodbury residents, leave to join the prison group.
Tyreese becomes a productive member of the group and even begins a relationship with a woman named Karen (Melissa Ponzio). This ends in tragedy when she and David (Brandon Carroll) are burned to death during a flu outbreak. Tyreese later learns it was Carol (Melissa McBride) who, believing she was protecting the others, chose to burn them to stop the spread of the infection. This greatly affected him, but being a survivor, he pressed on.
During the fall of the prison, Tyreese was instrumental in saving Mika (Kyla Kennedy), Lizzie (Brighton Sharbino), and baby Judith. He would eventually encounter Carol; together, they cared for the girls. This leads to the episode "The Grove," which ends with the deaths of Mika and Lizzie.
Tyreese met his end in the season 5 episode, "What Happened and What's Going on," when the group took a newcomer, Noah (Tyler James Williams), to locate his family. Tyreese was bitten and, due to extensive blood loss, began to hallucinate visits from several people, including the Governor, Mika, Lizzie, and Beth (Emily Kinney).
Michonne (Danai Gurira) amputated Tyreese's bitten arm, as this proved successful in the past, but sadly it was too late for him.
Chad L. Coleman - other roles
Most recently, Coleman appeared in Superman and Lois as Bruno Mannheim, along with fellow TWD alum Michael Cudlitz, who portrays Lex Luther. The series closed out its fourth and final season in Dec. 2024.
Coleman is well known for his roles in The Wire, Copshop, The Green Hornet and more. He also made appearances in Girls5eva, Three Women, and The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster.
He portrayed Kylden in the sci-fi comedy, The Orville. The series, created by Seth MacFarlane, ran for two seasons on Fox and then moved to Hulu where all three seasons can be streamed. Coleman also starred in the Syfy network series, The Expanse as Col. Frederick Lucius Johnson. The series ran for three seasons on Syfy before moving to Prime Video for the final two seasons.
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