Melissa McBride

There are times when people go from one side of a career path to another. A journalist may decide to go into public relations, for example. Melissa McBride did something along those lines when she went from being a casting director to being an actress. Instead of deciding who would appear in a certain show or movie, she was now at the whim of those who were once in her seat. The shift began when Frank Darabont cast her in a secondary role -- her character was merely known as 'Woman With Kids At Home' -- in his horror movie based on a Stephen King short story, "The Mist" (2007). That led to her getting a recurring role as Carol Peletier on Darabont's smash hit show about a zombie apocalypse "The Walking Dead" (AMC 2010-), where she eventually became a series regular. McBride, who was born in Lexington, Kentucky, had done some prior acting, with roles on Andy Griffith's legal drama "Matlock" (NBC 1986-92, ABC 1992-95) and Carroll O'Connor's police drama "In the Heat of the Night" (NBC 1988-92, CBS 1992-95). Though she landed other roles during the '90s, including episodes of the Chuck Norris action favorite "Walker Texas Ranger" (CBS 1993-2001) and teen soap sensation "Dawson's Creek" (WB 1998-2003), she turned her attention to her behind the scenes work as a casting director. After director Frank Darabont cast her in his horror film "The Mist" (2007), McBride played two small voice roles in the animated fantasy "Delgo" (2008) before joining Darabont's new series "The Walking Dead" (AMC 2010-). Her next big-screen role came in the science fiction thriller "The Reconstruction of William Zero" (2014).