Fans of AMC’s hit zombie series, “The Walking Dead,” have seen their fair share of antagonists (a micromanaging ex-cop in a hospital ward? check; cannibals? check). Out of all of them, though, the eye-patch wearing Governor stands out as the villain everyone loved to hate.

David Morrissey as the Governor on 'The Walking Dead' AMC

And while the charming but deadly leader departed in season 4, the actor who played him, David Morrissey, has taken on a decidedly different role in real life: this time, finding sanctuary for refugees not in post-apocalyptic Georgia, but in southern Europe.

“The problem is just escalating so quickly,” Morrissey told NBC News after a trip to the Greek island of Lesvos with the United Nations' Refugee Agency.

'Walking Dead' actor David Morrissey helped to save boat refugees. NBC News

“As a father yourself, you do carry that with you everywhere,” he said. “I was rescuing people, you know, helping the coast guard to get people out of boats, and they were there with their young babies, and that really puts it in perspective.”

About 60 percent of the refugees arriving to Greece come from war-torn Syria.

“We’ve seen the photographs of what’s happening in Syria,” he said. “We have to respond to this collectively and wake up to this responsibility.”