Why Will From Fear The Walking Dead Looks So Familiar
While the Season 7 premiere of "Fear The Walking Dead" focused on Victor Strand (Colman Domingo) and his newfound fortress amidst the nuclear wasteland, the apocalyptic series also introduced a new character: Will.
Will is a young man living under a bridge in a broken-down van. His supplies are limited, and his decontamination protocols are questionable, but things seem to change when Strand's group takes him in. However, when Strand realizes that Will knows Alicia Clark (Alycia Debnam-Carey), tensions arise. Their back-and-forth double-crossings end rather suddenly for Will, who is thrown from the rooftop into a horde of walkers.
Though the character didn't survive the episode, his relationship with Alicia will likely be explored in flashbacks. "Fear The Walking Dead" showrunners explained that this episode highlighted how far gone Strand is while once again linking him to Alicia through Will (via Insider).
The brutally-defeated newcomer Will is portrayed by actor and singer Gus Halper. Here's where you might have seen him before he joined The Walking Dead TV Universe.
Gus Halper mirrored reality on Law & Order True Crime: The Menéndez Murders
Gus Halper is best known for his portrayal of Erik Menéndez in NBC's "Law & Order True Crime: The Menéndez Murders" in 2017. This season was the first entry to the Law & Order franchise's anthology series, which is currently on hiatus.
The eight-episode series covered the infamous murders of José and Kitty Menéndez by their sons, Erik and Lyle. The 1989 killings garnered public interest because of the family's wealth and the disturbing abuse allegations against the parents. Additionally, their trials were publicly broadcast, further igniting the debate over whether or not they were guilty.
While various film and TV adaptations of the Menéndez family's story have been made, "Law & Order True Crime" aimed to offer a more sympathetic approach. Halper admitted that his role as Erik was "mind-bendingly emotionally exhausting" (via Broadway Box).
"Playing a real person is a lot harder for me personally because I feel a lot more responsibility," he said, adding that it was often "surreal" to recreate actual events (via Social News XYZ).
Halper joined another crime family in Happy!
From true crime to a surreal dark comedy, Gus Halper had a recurring role on the Syfy show "Happy!" Based on the comic book series by Grant Morrison and Darick Robertson, the show follows Nick Sax (Christopher Meloni), an ex-detective who leads a sleazy lifestyle filled with drugs, alcohol, and crime. After he suffers a heart attack, he begins to see a flying unicorn named Happy, who clues him in on an international child trafficking ring that has abducted his estranged daughter.
Halper portrayed Disco Mikey, the youngest son of reality star Isabella Scaramucci (Debi Mazar), whose four sons were killed by Sax when he got tangled up in the Scaramucci crime family. After being shot and falling backward through a window to his death, Mikey returns possessed by a demon. Halper isn't the only member of The Walking Dead TV Universe to appear on "Happy!" either. Ritchie Coster, who played Pope on Season 11 of "The Walking Dead," was Mikey Scaramucci's mob boss uncle, Mr. Blue.
Though "Happy!" was canceled after its second season, it maintains a loyal cult following of fans eager to see more of the highly-rated oddball comedy.
Gus Halper's other recent TV ventures
Over the years, Gus Halper has appeared in and landed recurring roles on various TV shows. Most notably, he portrayed Neal in the Cinemax crime drama "Jett" and Joseph Lyman, Lavinia's love interest, in the first season of "Dickinson," an Apple TV+ series about poet Emily Dickinson starring Hailee Steinfeld.
Recently, he appeared as Graham Lucian on the supernatural drama "Evil" and as Danny Two Phones on the anthology series "Love Life." He's also had minor roles on shows like "Power," "Ramy," and "Public Morals." While Halper is best known for his role on "Law & Order True Crime," his passion for acting goes beyond film and TV. He's also a stage actor, most recently starring in a leading role in the musical "Sing Street."
Halper is currently filming "Rustin" alongside Chris Rock and "Fear The Walking Dead" co-star Colman Domingo (via IMDb).