Ed is a fictional character in Shaun of the Dead, portrayed by Nick Frost. He is the best friend of Shaun Riley.
History[]
Much like Shaun, little is known about Ed, aside from the fact that he's about Shaun's age and both are best friends. He's known Shaun since they were young and supposedly attended college together alongside their other roommate Pete. Since then however, Ed has grown into a slacker who sells marijuana once in a while and constantly plays videogames practically everyday. Despite this however, he frequents the Winchester Tavern with Shaun on a regular basis. It's also supposed that Ed shot his sister in the leg with an arrow when he was younger.
Shaun of the Dead (2004)[]
Ed is always hanging around Shaun, even on his dates with Liz and her friends David and Dianne. He always leaves the door to their residence open and is constantly playing videogames in the living room, while also dealing drugs once in a while. He also hates Pete enough to not do anything for him, but will for Shaun. He does take the messages from a few people including Shaun's mom and Liz. Eventually, Shaun's plans with Liz fall through, leading Ed and him to tend to the Winchester after Liz dumps Shaun. While Ed convinces Shaun it's not the end of the world, they notice somebody outside banging against the door and even moaning, believing him to be drunk. They return home, oblivious to the fact that several zombies are moving about while on route. They then play records loud, leading to a small altercation with Pete, who was attacked on the way home from work. Not long after, they decided to get some rest and sleep till morning. Ed sleeps on the couch until Shaun returns from the nearby store with an ice cream cone for him. Once Shaun sits down and puts the TV on, Ed finds a girl in the garden. They go out to investigate, to find that the woman is not even alive anymore, after she was impaled. Another zombie also makes its way into their yard, leading them to go back inside.
While watching TV, another zombie enters the opened door, leading to the pair to engage it. Ed breaks a glass ashtray over its head, killing it. They then learn from TV that the creatures are killed by decapitation or severe head trauma. They then take out the zombies in the backyard with the same method, only with a cricket bat and shovel. They then plan to get Liz, David and Dianne, as well as Shaun's mom away from the danger, after learning Shaun's stepfather Phillip has been bitten. They decide to borrow Pete's car, believing he left. Ed drives them both the Barbara's house, where he looks after the car. In that time however, Ed crashes Pete's car to drive Philip's Jaguar. Ed is given the keys, as Philip ends up bitten, leading him to drive to Liz's place. Ed drives around to ensure they aren't ambushed and Shaun comes back with David, Dianne and Liz. They drive off, heading for the Winchester, but when Philip dies in transit, Ed is forced to pull over, but Phillip reanimates forcing them to abandon the car. They find themselves on foot, heading for the pub, meeting up with Yvonne and her group before making their way to a yard across from the Pub. After dealing with a zombie, Shaun decides that they needed to act like zombies to blend in with the horde around them, but this goes south when Ed answers his phone, leading to a brief argument between him and Shaun. It's then they notice the horde watching them, leading Shaun to run off as bait and the others to enter the pub.
Inside, David begins an argument with the others, however Shaun reveals he gave the zombies the slip, giving them sometime to relax. This however doesn't last long, as Shaun finds out the horde he supposedly lost ended up following him back. Ed, having gotten a coin from Liz, plays the pinball machine, winning big, but the noise attracts the horde. It also reveals John, the owner of the pub, has been infected and engages Ed, Shaun and Liz, who fight him with pool cues. Ed goes for the rifle above the bar, tossing it to Shaun who uses it as a blunt weapon. He then asks why he didn't shoot him, leading Shaun to accidentally discharge the weapon, which make them use it and the spare ammo John had on hand. Ed helps with ammo distribution, while Shaun fires, however it's then revealed Barbara was bitten prior to their arrival and David takes up the rifle in hopes of killing Barbara before reanimation. Both Ed and Shaun then point weapons at David until Barbara reanimates and Shaun is forced to kill her. After another altercation with David, zombies break in and tear David to pieces and Dianne having to try saving him. Ed makes molotovs, but almost ends up bitten by several zombies, including a newly-arrived Pete. Ed is then bitten by a couple of zombies, but manages to survive and follow Shaun and Liz into the wine cellar, where Ed is bleeding out. Shaun and Liz make up before finding a lift from the cellar and leaving the gun with Ed. This would be the last time Ed is seen alive. He would later be recovered, but rather put him out of his misery, Ed is placed in the shed with a working TV and playstation, collared to the wall. Liz moved in with Shaun as well and he hangs out with both her and Ed.
Characteristics[]
Physical Appearance[]
Ed is a Caucasian male, likely in his late 20s, with brown hair and eyes. He is heavy set, mostly due to his lazy demeanor. He is always wearing a t-shirt and shorts, complete with socks and sneakers. When he's zombified, this appearance doesn't change much, except for the fact that he now has white eyes.
Personality & Traits[]
Ed is a natural slacker, but he does bring money into the house, thanks to his drug dealing. He speaks rather coarse at times, despite being British and is both a drinker and smoker. He constantly enjoys videogames, as well. When the apocalypse does hit however, Ed is ready to kill zombies alongside his friends. Even after becoming a zombie however, he does find himself still retaining some sentience, as he was able to stop himself when Shaun shouted his name and the fact that he was playing videogames.