The Walking Dead Casts Sons of Anarchy Favorite Ryan Hurst

The Walking Deadhas officially found the Beta to Samantha Morton's Alpha!

The Wrap reports that Sons of Anarchy favorite Ryan Hurst has been cast in the recurring role of Beta, the second-in-command of the Whisperers, a terrifying new group from the comics that we first glimpsed in the Season 9 trailer. The Whisperers wear walker skin suits to move around among the dead, whispering to each other in order to remain undetected.

After everything that went down with Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), a group like this wouldn't sound so tough, but we know The Walking Dead will jump forward this season to a time when bullets and gasoline have pretty much all run out and our heroes are basically living in medieval times. With weapons and transportation in such short supply, these Whisperers suddenly feel a lot more malevolent.

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Hurst is perhaps best known for playing Opie Winston, Jax's (Charlie Hunnam) lifelong best friend, on the FX drama Sons of Anarchy, where he was a fan favorite until his character's gruesome and untimely demise in Season 5. Much like Opie, Beta's got some unshakeable loyalty to his group and his leader, and if his on-screen character is anything like the Beta from the comics, Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and the gang are gearing up to go head to head with a pretty brutal new antagonist.

The Walking Dead Season 9 premieres Sunday, Oct. 7 at 9/8c on AMC.