The Walking Dead fandom received sad news this week with the death of another member of the TWD family. Jansen Panettiere, younger brother of actress Hayden Panettiere, died at the tender age of 28. Panettiere played many roles during his lifetime, impersonating Casper on The Walking Dead in season 9.
In Season 9 of The Walking Dead, Casper was a member of the Hilltop Colony. “The Calm Before” would feature the kingdom’s faire that brought all the communities together and would end in tragedy with Alpha’s (Samantha Morton) pike victims.
Casper drives to the county fair in a horse-drawn carriage with Hilde (Caroline Duncan), Miles (Brian Sheppard) and Martin (Josh Ventura), who are all in high spirits. They are then ambushed by the Whisperer’s leader, Alpha. Alpha would sneak into the fair using Hilde’s dress, hat, and hair.
Casper was later seen as a walker and was knocked out by Yumiko (Eleanor Matsuura).
What else is Jansen Panettiere in?
Like his sister Hayden Panettiere, Jansen began his acting career at a young age. At age six, he starred alongside his sister and Bill Pullman in Even Stevens, Blue’s Clues and Tiger Cruise, the original Disney film.
He also starred in Everybody Hates Chris with fellow actor Tyler James Williams. Other roles he is known for include The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry, The Perfect Game, Racing Stripes, Robots, Ice Age: Meltdown, The X’s and MTV’s How High 2.
Panettiere was also an artist and featured his work on Instagram.
Our deepest condolences to the entire Panettiere family on the tragic loss of Jansen.
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