Why The Comms Officer From The Mandalorian Looks So Familiar

After a string of small roles on shows like The Walking Dead (she played Katy and "Savior POW #1") and How to Get Away with Murder (she portrayed "Cashier Girl"), O'Brian landed her first significant part through Z Nation, Syfy's take on the zombie apocalypse genre. 

She joined the cast in the fifth and final season, playing Georgia "George" St. Clair. George is the capable leader of a group of survivors trying to start a new and more fair society, but as many visionaries in the apocalypse learn, even things like "safety" and "not dying" are hard sells on a citizenry shellshocked by disaster.

For O'Brian, the role was a natural fit. During an interview with Occhi Magazine, she explained, "I felt very connected to George as a character, so it was easy to pull from my past and what I see in the world today to help me relate to her. [...] I was very much an idealist. As I experienced more in life, I realized, much like George, that one has to be able to balance their ideology with the reality of the world around them."

Once Z Nation ended, O'Brian continued to work in genre TV. However, the roles she played changed from idealistic leaders to hardened bad gals.