In an interview with AMC TV.com, Jon Bernthal stated that he feels that Shane shares traits with three characters from Shakespeare's Othello. He has Iago's villainy, Cassio's nobility, and Othello's jealousy."
For those of you that don't know, the works of William Shakespeare have a huge influence on Western culture. Shakespeare's complex characters have a depth of emotion similar to those found in people you'd meet in real life. The Walking Dead's Shane Walsh is, like a Shakespeare villain, a very complex character with a deep seated fear that drives every single choice he makes; whether it is pre-meditated or not.
