'The Walking Dead': Zombie killers before the fame

Before the stars of the hit horror TV show ran across our living room screens trying to escape shuffling zombies, they could be spotted in a variety of smaller movie and TV roles, paying the bills before hitting it big with “The Walking Dead.”

With season three now underway, our friends at Snakkle.com take a look at where you may have seen the stars before they wandered the wastelands of Atlanta hunting down Wolf Blitzer. Oops. We mean zombies. Sorry Wolf!

Andrew Lincoln: Then

Lincoln is a well-known TV star in his native England, having appeared on several hit British series. The seventeen people who saw it may remember him from the Hugh Grant film “Love Actually,” in which his character is hopelessly in love with his best friend’s wife, played by Keira Knightley.

(Add: It turns out 'Love Actually' actually grossed almost $60 million in the U.S. and $260 million worldwide! Weird.)

Andrew Lincoln: Now

As Sheriff Rick Grimes, Lincoln leads the survivors against the zombies taking over the United States. Grimes has to face multiple challenges: the changing dynamics of the group, outrunning the walkers, and (oh, yeah) finding out his wife was sleeping with his best friend when they both thought he was dead.

Oops.

While at the CDC, Dr. Jenner whispers something into Grimes’s ear before dying. We wonder if we’ll find out what he said — and if it’s the key to survival.

See all 9 zombie-killing stars before the fame at Snakkle.com.

Jon Bernthal: Then

Prior to his role on “The Walking Dead,” Bernthal was a regular on the TV shows “The Class” and “Eastwick.” You may also have seen him as Al Capone in “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian.”

(Fun fact: Bernthal earned his M.F.A. from Harvard after a short stint playing professional baseball in Europe. They have professional baseball teams in Europe?)

Jon Bernthal: Now

As Shane Walsh, Bernthal seduced and fell in love with Lori [see below], the wife of his best friend Rick Grimes [see above], who was missing and presumed dead.

Things became complicated for all when Grimes returned, and Bernthal’s Walsh found himself struggling with his friend’s leadership and his feelings for Lori.

And he thought hunting zombies was a problem.

See all 18 photos in the before the fame gallery at Snakkle.com.

Sarah Wayne Callies: Then

Although she appeared on multiple TV shows early in her career, Callies got her real breakout role playing Dr. Sara Tancredi on the huge Fox hit “Prison Break.” As the love interest of prisoner Michael Scofield, Tancredi had a dark secret herself. The actress was written out of “Prison Break” due to her real-life pregnancy, but later returned.

Sarah Wayne Callies: Now

Callies now shines as the adulterous Lori Grimes, who is trying to balance her love for her husband and son, her role as the emotional center of the group of survivors, and the uncertainty of living in a world of death and fear.

That's a lot to balance.