Why 406 From Zombieland Looks So Familiar

You don't have to be a horror movie fan to enjoy "Zombieland." The adventure flick is more comedy than horror, with some perfectly adequate advice for surviving a zombie apocalypse sprinkled throughout. "Zombieland" takes place in a world that's been overcome with a disease that turns people into violent zombies. Survivors go by the names of the cities they were born in, and thus our awkward and dorky protagonist is named Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg). As Columbus attempts to reach his hometown to see if his family is still alive, he meets the rough and tough Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), who reluctantly joins Columbus on his journey. The pair eventually meet the con-artist sisters Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin), and the group reroutes and heads to California after Columbus realizes his family is likely dead.

Aside from the big-name talent like Harrelson and Stone, there's another notable star with a brief appearance in "Zombieland." At the beginning of the movie, Columbus lets his neighbor (whom he only knows as 406) into his apartment before realizing she's been bitten by a zombie and is slowly turning into one. Though the actress playing 406 wasn't quite a household name at the time, she's since had plenty of time in the public eye. Here's where you may have seen her before.

The controversial actress Amber Heard started out in independent films, and her first leading role was in the slasher film "All the Boys Love Mandy Lane." Though the movie wasn't released to the U.S. public until 2013, Heard's role was described by The Washington Post as "psychologically interesting." In an interview with Rotten Tomatoes, she explained that she became interested in the film for its subversion of typical slasher stereotypes, saying "That's what's really brilliant about it, it kind-of mocks you a little bit and your expectations. It plays into, 'Oh, you wanted to see a teen slasher film with the hot blonde,' and it mocks you for that in a sense."

Over the years, Heard has had varying success in other horror movie roles, including "SideFX" as Shay, "The Stepfather" as Kelly Porter, and "The Ward" as Kristen. She's also been in several crime drama and thriller projects like "Alpha Dog" as Alma and "Paranoia" as Emma Jennings, showing her talent for portraying mysterious and complex characters.

One of Heard's earliest and most recognizable roles was as Angie Anderson in the stoner comedy "Pineapple Express." She portrayed pothead Dale Denton (Seth Rogen)'s high-school-aged girlfriend who often berated him for being immature and needing to get his life together. Heard described her role in the comedy to Rotten Tomatoes, explaining "I play his girlfriend, a slightly neurotic girl that he happens to be dating. You're wondering why, on both of our ends."

While the comedy has since become a cult classic, it did receive some backlash for the aforementioned relationship — yet Heard didn't see any issues with the pairing. When asked how she would've reacted in high school if one of her friends were dating someone like Rogen, Heard laughed it off. "It's kind of funny because you don't feel like one character has the advantage [over] the other, or one's taking advantage of the other," she said, via JoBlo. "It's really ... that's what's funny about it, is it looks like it's pretty fair game."

In 2009, Heard was in "The Joneses," which centers on a team of stealth marketers who pose as a normal family so they can shill products to their unsuspecting community. Heard played the role of Jenn Jones, the "daughter" of the family who happens to have a sex addiction. Variety noted that Heard "more or less steals the show, mixing sexiness with a caustic attitude that personifies, even better than [Demi] Moore, the kind of personality that might become one of 'The Joneses” merchandising terrorists."

Heard played the role of Zoe, Michael "Magic Mike" Lane (Channing Tatum)'s love interest, in the comedy-drama "Magic Mike XXL." Heard explained that it was nice to see the gender roles reversed in the film since the men in the "Magic Mike" franchise, as opposed to the women, are the ones who are sexualized. She told Glamour that "it was really interesting for once to have the women in the lunch line eating whatever they wanted [...] and the men were the ones who had to suffer through a diet and the spray tans. It was quite nice to see them subjected to some of the unrealistic and super high-pressured regimes that we, as women, are expected to undergo for just being a character."

In 2011, Heard starred in "The Rum Diary," based on Hunter S. Thompson's novel by the same name. It centers on author Paul Kemp (Johnny Depp) who works for a local Pueto Rican newspaper during the '60s. Eventually, Heard's character Chenault draws Kemp's attention, and the two begin a relationship. "The Rum Diary" received mixed reviews, with NPR noting that Chenault was an underdeveloped character. But apart from the movie's reception, Heard and Depp had a positive takeaway from the film — at least for a few years.

Shortly after meeting on the set of "The Rum Diary," Heard and Depp began dating in real life and were married a few years later. If you've been keeping up with entertainment news, you likely know the pairing has not ended well. There have been numerous accusations of domestic assault from both sides, and there are still pending court cases awaiting trial. The tumultuous relationship undoubtedly harmed both actors' careers due to the extensive news coverage.

As a seasoned professional in the action genre, Heard was cast in the superhero film "Justice League" as Mera, queen of the sea. She reprised her role in 2018's "Aquaman" alongside Jason Momoa, who played the titular character. As an activist for gender equality, Heard explained to The Hollywood Reporter that it's important for her to pick empowering roles, and expressed her reaction to producer Zack Snyder's description of Mera as "a warrior queen, with a crown and a sword. A strong, independent, self-possessed superhero in her own right. I was like, 'That's the kind of character I can get behind.'"

Amidst the controversy of her toxic relationship with Depp, fans weren't sure Heard would further reprise her role in the "Aquaman" sequel. However, she confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that she's definitely returning: "I'm super excited about the amount of fan love and the amount of fan appreciation that Aquaman has acquired and that it has garnered so much excitement for Aquaman and Mera that it means we'll be coming back," she said. "I'm so excited to film that."

"Aquaman 2" is scheduled to premiere on December 12, 2022, and we're excited to see how the DC stars continue their adventures.