Former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward is showing that he is pursuing other avenues since retiring from the NFL: working in front of the television camera.
Ward is currently a in-studio analyst for NBC's "Football Night in America"; however, that wasn't his first stint in front of a television camera.
With his dance partner Kym Johnson, Ward won the 12th season of Dancing with the Stars, becoming the second NFL player to win the competition.
Hall of Fame great Emmitt Smith won the third season and Green Bay Packers wide receiver Donald Driver won the show's 14th season.
Ward also made his motion picture debut as a wide receiver for the fictional football team the Gotham Rogues in the Warner Bros. movie The Dark Knight Rises. He ran back the opening kickoff (as the football field imploded behind him) for a touchdown.
Now, he will take on a completely different role, as a zombie on a upcoming episode of AMC's The Walking Dead.
Ward was able to score the role as a wandering zombie extra with a little help from a former college teammate that appears on the highly successful television show, per Yahoo! Sports.com.
While playing for the University of Georgia, Ward befriended IronE Singleton, whose recurring character T-Dog was killed during a zombie attack during the first half of the show's third season.
According to an interview that Ward gave to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, he said,
Just being in makeup preparing me for my role was cool. I actually scared myself when I looked in the mirror for the first time after.
You're probably not going to look your best when you have decomposing flesh hanging off your face, but in the grand scheme of things it would probably be a lot of fun!
So, what will become of Hines Ward's zombie character?
You will have to watch and find out!
The second half on The Walking Dead's third season will begin airing Sunday, Feb. 9. The date of Ward's appearance has yet to be announced.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1505956-hines-ward-making-an-appearance-as-a-zombie-in-an-episode-of-the-walking-dead
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