She landed her biggest role to date in 2013 in “The Walking Dead” as Tara.
Let’s take a look at Masterson’s journey so far.
Her parents were Joe Reaiche and Carole Masterson.
Carole had two children from a previous marriage, Danny and Christopher.
The pair had another two boys, Jordan and Will, Alanna’s older brothers.
Soon enough, Alanna was auditioning, too.
“I was also extremely dramatic as a child, so it was technically my only option.”
As Masterson later recalled toInterview Magazine, she got the role when she was about six years old.
“I actually remember, vividly, the audition,” she said.
“I walked in, and they were like, ‘Can you cry?’
And I was like, ‘Sure,’ and I just started crying.”
No wonder she got the part!
“I remember being like, ‘Oh, this is what acting is!
People don’t show up,'” she said.
Instead, she dreamed of being a dancer.
Masterson was even given a spot at North Carolina Ballet’s summer program as a child.
However, her dreams were crushed when her body began to change.
It sounds like Masterson’s pivot to acting was really a blessing in disguise!
Her half-brother, Christopher Masterson, was starring in the show at the time.
A few years later, she played Alanna in “Greek,” a show about college freshmen.
She even went to film school, studying directing and cinematography.
She also briefly had a band called the Gene Jackets.
“I mean I could play 20 songs,” she toldFiller Magazine.
I feel like we accomplished that."
However, in 2004, Masterson’s father, Joe Reaiche, lost touch with the whole family.
It happened after Masterson’s mother, Carole, reported her ex-husband to the Church of Scientology.
“I was accused of helping my son, sorting him out using my methodology.
So I was accused of altering the trademarks and symbols of Scientology,” he told theDaily Mail.
“I called probably 20 times, no answer.”
Apparently, Reaiche still believes that his children, including Alanna, would refuse to speak to him.
“They’re good kids but they’re ill-informed and they’re brainwashed,” he said.
As she toldInterview Magazine, she went to plenty of auditions but was often rejected.
“Couldn’t book a job,” she recalled.
Casting directors would tell her, ‘You’re not skinny enough, you’re not pretty enough.'"
Masterson didn’t let that stop her.
“I was just like, ‘F*** that!’
I’m going to continue to work hard.”
Instead of waiting to land a big role, she made her own work.
“I think the criteria for me is someone who gives back just as much as I do.”
She added, “Also someone who makes me laugh.”
For Masterson, her female friendships have always meant a lot to her.
When Masterson auditioned for the role, she didn’t actually know what the project was.
“I think my name was, like, Heather or something.”
She also explained toSkyboundthat the character was originally only meant to appear in one episode.
She found out she’d got the part on her 25th birthday.
Although Masterson was bummed to leave the show, she accepted her character’s fate.
“Tara has been extremely fun to bring to life.”
She added, “I will miss the heat, the hours, and the challenges.”
And who knows, with so many “Walking Dead” spin-offs, maybe we’ll see Tara again.
In fact, in 2023, Masterson even said she would be more than willing to reprise the role!
“I hope that Marlowe can look at me and admire me for that.”
At the time, Stowell was still around to help Masterson continue working on “The Walking Dead.”
“I hope that you don’t have children.”
Masterson went on to write about the importance of teaching children kindness.
Masterson even temporarily deactivated her Instagram after all of the trolling.
Good for her for speaking up!
Masterson also appeared in a number of films while starring in “The Walking Dead.”
In fact, there are already six spin-offs in the works that feature characters from the show.
She added that another option would be to do a spin-off set in an entirely different universe.
“Somebody works in HR.
We’re all fighting.
I think it would be hysterical.”
During the trial, Alanna and her family stood by Danny and appeared in court each day.
Alanna was also accused of intimidating a witness.
“Yasss queen of witness intimidation??”
wrote one and “Wow, friends with someone who intimidated her brother’s rape victim.
