Season 4 of AMC's The Walking Dead debuts tonight with "30 Days Without an Accident" at 9 PM ET, and today we have news about two more cast members. Michael Cudlitz (Southland) has joined the cast as Army Sergeant Abraham Ford, with Josh McDermitt (Retired at 35) signing on to play Eugene. Take a look at the first photo of Michael Cudlitz as Abraham Ford, then read on for more information about these characters.

Abraham Ford is introduced in Issue 53 of Robert Kirkman's comic book series, a dedicated soldier who becomes Rick's right-hand man. The actor has been shooting scenes on the Georgia set for the past few weeks. He was approached this spring after wrapping on Southland. However, news of his casting has been kept under wraps until now. Here's what he had to say about his secretive casting.

"I was laying low because [Abraham has] a very iconic look. It would be very easy for somebody to put the pieces together if they saw me strolling around [near the show's set.] So I was staying very close to the hotel. And I didn't hang out with any of the other cast members. Abraham is someone who comes with a lot of emotional baggage. And he's on a mission."

It isn't known when exactly the character will debut, but there is speculation that he will first appear around midseason. Although he will start off as a series regular, the actor revealed that he doesn't know how long he'll be on board for.

"There's no guarantee of how long or how short it will be, which is one of the things I actually find pretty exciting about the job after being locked into Southland for so many years. But [Abraham] is very important in the comic, so I imagine even if it IS short, it'll be bright."

As for Josh McDermitt's Eugene, he was a science teacher before the zombie invasion, who has been traveling with Abraham Ford and Rosita, played by Christian Serratos, who joined the cast last month. He also claims to know the secret origin of the zombie apocalypse. It isn't known when he will debut.