T-Dog (A.K.A. Theodore Douglas) is one of the Atlanta camp survivors. T-Dog is the only African American survivor remaining in the group after Jacqui decided to “opt out” at the CDC when the building exploded. Not much has been explored in the series about T-Dog or his life prior to the outbreak; it is assumed he was a native Georgian, but it is unclear if he was an Atlanta resident.

Although a mostly minor character with little screen time in the first two seasons, he played a vital role in the sub-plot that left Merle Dixon on the department store roof: he dropped the key that ended up being lost down a drain pipe. That key was to the handcuffs that Rick used to secure the out of control Merle. Although he is met with anger and racism by the Dixon brothers in the first season, T-Dog maintained his composure and did not rise to their baiting. T-Dog is definitely a team player, always shown in the background doing his part to help out the group when work needs to be done.

T-Dog is played by American actor IronE Singleton. He is best known for his role as Alton in the critically acclaimed, and Oscar nominated, film The Blind Side. He also played minor characters in the movies Remember the Titans and The Lottery Ticket. He has appeared in guest roles on the television shows One Tree Hill, Single Ladies, and Franklin & Bash.

• Singleton is a native of Atlanta, Georgia.

• His given name is Robert.

• The character of T-Dog does not appear in the graphic novels.

• Although much speculation has been given as to whether T-Dog is modeled after the graphic novel character Tyrese, comic creator Robert Kirkman insists that he is not and was created specifically for the series.

• T-Dog surprised many viewers, and Merle’s brother Daryl, when he offered to return to Atlanta to rescue the stranded man.

• The name IronE refers the “irony” of his life story. About it, he says “IronE stands for an eagle in flight with an unbroken spirit. I coined that term because it is indicative of my life story and the fact that I’m out of the inner city… once I graduated from college, and right before I moved to LA, God just put it in my heart. There was this overwhelming desire to come up with a name that served as an ice-breaker. IronE was it.”

• The odds were definitely stacked against him from the beginning of his life, he lost his mother to AIDS when he was just 19, his brother was imprisoned, and he often sold drugs, carried a gun, and ran the streets as a kid. Yet Singleton overcame this troubled beginning to life and with determination and hard work graduated from the University of Georgia with a double major of Theater and Speech Communications.

• When asked in an interview about the events of his youth, Singleton says “People ask me if I regret those things. I can’t say I regret them because I wouldn’t be who I am, but they do make me sad.”

• Singleton played Defense Back for two years on the UG football team.