Hines Ward is one of the greatest living receivers to ever play for the Pittsburgh Steelers and now it appears that the NBC broadcaster has found himself a new career--as the undead.
According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Ward will appear as a zombie extra on the AMC hit series "The Walking Dead" when the show returns on Feb. 10 for the midseason premiere. The episode is titled "The Suicide King" and will pick up right where the show left off in the fall, with Rick and the survivors gearing up for a showdown with the Governor.
"It was an amazing experience," Ward told the Post-Gazette. "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."
The role came together for Ward through a connection from an old college teammate at Georgia, IronE Singleton, the actor who played the character T-Dog before he (spoiler alert) died while saving his friends in the first past of season three. Singleton attended the University of Georgia with Ward on academic and football scholarships.
"A former Georgia teammate of mine is one of the stars of the show, and my agent thought it would be something fun and different for me to do," Mr. Ward said.
The show has been a huge success for AMC, earning record ratings as the top basic cable program in terms of total viewers, as well as adults ages 18-49.
"The show is so popular, and I thought it would be cool, so I agreed," Mr. Ward said. "And I had a blast doing it."
The role on "The Walking Dead" isn't the first acting experience for Ward, as he also had a small part in the summer blockbuster "The Dark Knight Rises." In a scene in that film, Ward portrays a football player returning a kick for a touchdown as the terrorist Bane creates and explosion that demolishes the field behind him. As he scores, Ward turns around to survey the damage.
Ward has spent a lot of time on television after his playing career and now is featured as a commentator on NBC. He also appeared on "Dancing With the Stars."
During his professional career he posted 1,000 receptions for 12,083 receiving yards and 86 touchdowns while playing on two Super Bowl teams. He also was the MVP of Super Bowl XL.
Ward spoke recently about his final years in the league with the Steelers and said he was disappointed with the way things turned out.
"I'm a little disappointed how it ended because it wasn't my idea how to end things," Ward told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "But that's part of the business. I still think about how it went down, and I look at Ray Lewis having the opportunity to walk off the field in Baltimore. I never had that opportunity. But this city still loves me and supports me, so regardless what I do, I always have a home back in Pittsburgh."
According to NFL.com, Ward was interested in returning to the Steelers prior to the season, but it didn't work out. The team eventually had injuries at the position, but went just 8-8 and missed the playoffs.
Ward was once voted the NFL's dirtiest player, now he can be the NFL's most undead player.
CLICK here for PHOTOS and a VIDEO of Ward on the Walking Dead.
