
In the Netflix horror-comedy series *Santa Clarita Diet*, Gary West is a fictional realtor and murder victim played by Nathan Fillion. He is a minor character who appears in the first season of the show. West is killed by Sheila Hammond, a zombie, who tears open his abdomen and eats his intestines. Joel Hammond, Sheila's husband, helps her dispose of the body. West's murder sets off a chain of events, as his severed finger is discovered by a sheriff, leading to blackmail and more murders. The character of Gary West is created by series developer Victor Fresco and director Ruben Fleischer.
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What You'll Learn

Gary West is a fictional realtor and murder victim
Gary West is a realtor who has recently relocated to Santa Clarita from Sacramento, California. He joins Coby Real Estate as the newest hot-shot realtor and meets his co-worker, Sheila Hammond, whom he instantly becomes enamored with. Sheila, who is struggling with a recent transformation into a zombie, violently vomits in front of prospective buyers while showing a house with her husband, Joel. Gary takes advantage of the situation to swoop in and take up the listing. He visits the Hammonds' home, feigning concern and bringing Sheila a bouquet of get-well flowers.
Sheila plays along and begins licking Gary's fingers. However, as a side effect of her new condition, her licking turns to biting, and she bites off two of his fingers. In pain, Gary screams, "You ate my fingers!", which Sheila mishears as "You hate my fingers". Overpowered by her newfound appetite for human flesh, Sheila attacks Gary fully, tearing open his abdomen and eating his intestines. Joel returns home to find a blood-soaked Sheila devouring Gary's remains.
Joel and Sheila dispose of Gary's body by dumping it into a transparent plastic bin and hauling it out into the desert to bury it. However, their nosy next-door neighbor, Dan Palmer, who happens to be a sheriff, discovers a severed finger and identifies it as belonging to Gary West. Palmer uses this information to blackmail Joel into committing unlawful deeds for him.
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He was killed by Sheila, who was a zombie
Gary West is a fictional realtor and murder victim in the Netflix horror-comedy series Santa Clarita Diet. Played by actor Nathan Fillion, he appeared as a living character in only one episode, the pilot "So Then a Bat or a Monkey". In the episode, he meets Sheila Hammond, a realtor and wife of Joel, who is violently ill while showing a house to prospective buyers. Gary visits Sheila at home with a bouquet of flowers, feigning concern. However, Sheila has recently become a zombie, and her condition has given her a new craving for human flesh.
Sheila begins licking Gary's fingers, and when this turns to biting, she bites off two of his fingers. As Gary screams in pain, Sheila mishears his exclamation that she has eaten his fingers as "You hate my fingers". With her appetite for human flesh now overpowering her, she attacks Gary fully, tearing open his abdomen and eating his intestines. Joel returns home to find a blood-soaked Sheila devouring Gary's remains.
Joel and Sheila then have to dispose of Gary's body. They scoop up what is left of him and dump it into a transparent plastic bin, which they haul out into the desert to bury. However, their nosy next-door neighbour, Dan Palmer, who happens to be a sheriff, later discovers a severed finger, which he identifies as belonging to Gary West. Dan uses this information to blackmail Joel into committing unlawful deeds for him.
Gary West was created by series developer Victor Fresco and director Ruben Fleischer. Although Fillion left the show ahead of season 3, the character of Gary returned in a recast role, now played by Alan Tudyk.
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Gary West was played by Nathan Fillion in the first two seasons
The character of Gary West in Santa Clarita Diet was played by Nathan Fillion in the first two seasons of the show. Fillion's character is a realtor who moves to Santa Clarita and joins Coby Real Estate as Carl Coby's newest realtor. In the show, he meets Sheila Hammond, a co-worker, and is instantly enamoured with her.
Gary West only appears as a living character in the pilot episode of the series, "So Then a Bat or a Monkey". In the episode, he meets Sheila when she and her husband, Joel, are showing a house to prospective buyers. Sheila begins to violently projectile vomit in front of the clients, who then request that she be removed from the listing. Gary then visits the Hammonds' home, bringing Sheila a bouquet of get-well flowers and feigning concern.
Sheila plays along and begins licking Gary's fingers, but her newfound appetite for human flesh gets the better of her, and she bites off two of his fingers. She then attacks him, eating his intestines. Joel returns home to find a blood-soaked Sheila devouring Gary's corpse.
Due to his character's demise, Fillion only appeared as Gary West in the first two seasons of the show. In season 3, the character of Gary was recast, with actor Alan Tudyk taking on the role.
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The character was recast in season 3, with Alan Tudyk taking on the role
The character of Gary West in the Netflix horror-comedy series Santa Clarita Diet was recast in season 3, with Alan Tudyk taking on the role. The actor who previously played Gary, Nathan Fillion, left the show ahead of season 3.
In the series, Gary is a realtor and a murder victim, appearing as a living character in only the pilot episode. Despite his limited screen time, Gary's character is significant to the plot, as his murder sets off a chain of events that impact the show's main characters.
Showrunner Victor Fresco addressed the departure of Fillion and the recasting of Gary, acknowledging the challenge of losing actors due to their talent and busy schedules. Fresco also emphasized the flexibility that comes with a decapitated head, allowing for the easy recasting of Gary's role.
Season 3 of Santa Clarita Diet expands the circle of individuals aware of Sheila's zombie condition, increasing the danger and tension in the show. The season explores how the Hammonds navigate this growing community of people in the know and the threats that arise as a result.
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Gary's head was stored in the basement and later in a storage unit
In the Netflix series Santa Clarita Diet, Gary West is a fictional realtor and murder victim played by Nathan Fillion. He is a minor character who appears in the pilot episode of the series, "So Then a Bat or a Monkey".
Gary meets his untimely demise at the hands of Sheila Hammond, his co-worker at Coby Real Estate. In the show, Sheila becomes a zombie and develops a taste for human flesh. After a romantic overture, Gary becomes her first victim. Sheila and her husband Joel attempt to dispose of Gary's remains by burying them in the desert. However, their plan is complicated when their daughter Abby and neighbour Eric Bemis arrive on the scene, forcing them to reveal Sheila's zombie identity.
In a subsequent development, the location where the Hammonds initially buried Gary is earmarked for construction, necessitating the exhumation of his remains. During this process, it is discovered that Gary has become undead because his brain was left intact. Joel and Sheila decide to keep his head in their basement.
Later, Gary requests that the Hammonds give the deed to his house in Michigan to his niece, Kayla, before they consider killing him. After fulfilling this request, Gary opts to remain undead, and the Hammonds continue to keep his head in their basement until they eventually relocate it to a storage unit.
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Frequently asked questions
For the first two seasons, Gary was played by Nathan Fillion. In season 3, the role was recast, and Alan Tudyk played Gary.
Gary West is a realtor and the first character to be killed by Sheila, who has recently turned into a zombie. After his death, his disembodied head is stored in the basement and later in a storage unit.
Yes, since Gary was killed by a zombie, he becomes one too—at least his head does.
Yes, Gary appears in season 3 of the show. His disembodied head is still around at the end of season 2 and continues to make appearances in season 3.

































