On The Walking Dead, actors never know when they are out of a job

The main cast of hit zombie series The Walking Dead is spared the discomfort of having to wear ghoulish prosthetic make-up for hours - something the extras have to endure even between takes, while queuing at the salad bar during lunchtime or checking their iPhones while on a smoke break.

But the torture the key actors go through is not knowing when they will be out of a job on the critically acclaimed show, which has distinguished itself partly because of its willingness to kill off central characters.

The lack of job security is something the actors have come to terms with, as they told Life! and other reporters during a visit last month to Raleigh Studios, Georgia, where they were filming the third season of the series about a ragtag band of survivors as they navigate a world overrun by zombies.

The cast even have a ritual to cope with the sudden loss of a job - they throw "death dinners" for co-stars whose characters are scrubbed out.