2 The Walking Dead Interviews
The actress and actor who play Rick Grimes’ wife and son and bring some really interesting tidbits to the table on the show as well as who they are as individuals. It’s a fun read and as some of it pertains to the show not just fluff pieces. As usual AMC delivers a fun interview that’s worth a read for any fan of the show!
Interview with Sarah Wayne Callies (Lori Grimes)
The Walking Dead’s leading lady discusses her motivations for keeping an apocalyptic “go bag” on hand, explains why she prefers hiking boots to stilettos and describes the make-up regimen required to make Lori look outdoor chic.
Q: When it was announced that you were playing Lori, did any fans of The Walking Dead comic approach you?
A: Actually, I was in a comic book store in Vancouver and I was looking through for the latest issue that had just come out and the owner of the comic book store came up to me and said, “I see you’re checking out The Walking Dead. It’s amazing.” I said, “Yeah, I’m a huge fan.” And he said, “You know they’re making a television show for AMC. It’s supposed to be really good.” I kind of looked at him and I froze. I just went, “I’ll keep an eye out for it.” And I ran out of the store. I mean, what kind of jerk goes, “Yeah, I’m playing Lori.”
Q: Do you do a lot of camping in your real life?
A: Yeah. The rite of passage of learning to build a fire that will burn all night with one match is not an insignificant one in my husband’s family, and I grew up camping and backpacking. I love to camp. I think I’m probably much better at the boots and pocket knife thing than I am at the high heels and martini thing. And thankfully, Lori is so comfortable with it. For all the parts of her that were work, that felt like home.
Q: How much time do you have to spend in make-up to–
A: To look that bad! I’ve had so many journalists who see this thing and go, “Don’t take this the wrong way but you look like s—.” It’s dirty out there. It’s hot. Most of the make-up revolves around sunscreen. They paint dark circles under my eyes. This is not a show that is particularly amenable to vanity.
Q: Lori took her family photo albums when she had to leave town. What would you take if walkers were invading?
A: I’ve got a go bag. It’s a backpack that’s ready in the closet at all times for whatever. So that’s all packed.
Q: Is that something you decided to do after working on the show?
A: My husband’s family is military. Preparation is just, from that family perspective, it’s just a part of what makes sense to do. You buy insurance for your house; you have a go bag. There’s no photo albums in it though. There’s one picture, but photo albums are heavy.
Q: How do you wrap your head around what Lori is going through, especially when her husband appears to come back from the dead?
A: That was an interesting scene. As opposed to most reunion scenes, the first thing that she feels when she sees him is horror, because the only possible explanation is that he’s a walker. Shane said he died. The next thing that goes through her head is a different kind of horror, which is: Shane lied to me. This changes everything. As significant as the apocalypse is in changing her marriage, she only comes to find out after the fact she’s committed infidelity.
Q: What’s the first thought that goes through your head when you see a script like that?
A: Don’t f— it up. [Laughs] It’s food. It’s joy. And I get to do these things with Andy Lincoln and Jon Bernthal, and they are extraordinary men. The love triangle that exists between these people constantly reminds me of Camelot. You have Arthur, Guinevere and Lancelot. Which two of those three love each other more? Arthur and Lancelot may love each other more than either one of them love Guinevere. And they actually love each other so much and so unsustainably that they will destroy each other. There’s no way this ends well. Let’s do that. That’s amazing.
Q: Did you find yourself feeling protective of Chandler Riggs, the actor who plays Carl?
A: I love the kid. But I’m very aware that he is an 11-year-old working with a bunch of adults, and on long days he’s seeing people smoking and swearing and telling stories. I don’t want him to grow up too fast. I love the days when for lunch they’ll order burgers and shakes, and you’ll just see him running around with a chocolate shake bouncing off the walls like a kid. You want to safeguard that as much as possible, partly ’cause that’s his job and partly ’cause this is just TV.
Q: Your Prison Break character had a fan campaign to keep her alive. Do you think fans will be as supportive of Lori?
A: That Prison Break campaign was just one of the greatest honors of my professional life. I don’t think there is an award you could give me that would mean more, because it came from people that I work for. An actor without an audience is rehearsing. That said, they’re going to have to take a bit of a leap of faith on Lori. They’re not going to like me for a while, or at least they may not, and I don’t blame them. It’s part of what I loved about the character. You meet her neck deep in some very questionable decisions that she spends the rest of the series paying for, negotiating and trying to figure out.
[via: AMC.]
Interview with Chandler Riggs (Carl Grimes)
The Atlanta native shares his strategies for crying on cue, describes the “decontamination dance” he helped create and predicts what he’d miss most in the event of a zombie apocalypse.
Q: Since you’re from Atlanta, did you counsel the rest of cast and crew on how to cope with the summer heat?
A: Yeah, we actually did. I invited some of the cast to our neighborhood pool on some of the off days. And on the set, the crew kept us cool with water breaks and wet, cool towels. So it was pretty nice.
Q: How hot did it get?
A: Golly, one day it was a hundred and five. It was crazy. That’s a lot hotter than we’re used to. They were like, “Is it like this every year?” I was like, “It’s never been this hot, ever.”
Q: Were you scared to work on a show about zombies?
A: Not really. As long as you know that it’s fake and you see them do all the make-up, it’s not that scary.
Q: What’s your favorite monster?
A: Probably Jason. We were watching The Walking Dead previews on AMC and that Jason thing was on. Saw the whole thing. I love how he’s invincible and when they try to shoot him he won’t die. It is pretty scary. A guy is sticking a pole into his dead body and lighting strikes that pole and he comes back to life.
Q: He sounds kind of like a walker.
A: Yeah, basically. [Laughs]
Q: So which grown-up in the cast acts the most like a kid?
A: Definitely, Norman Reedus. Me, Maddie and him did this decontamination dance. Maddie plays Sophia. He plays Daryl. Maddie came up with the dance and then I came up with the song. And then Norman was just like a back-up dancer. [Laughs] He just saw us doing it and he joined in.
Q: Have you ever really tried to catch a frog?
A: I have actually. At our neighborhood pool. I guess that counts. When I was like four or something. There was a frog sitting next to our pool. It might have been asleep. It jumped away from me once and then it just sat there the next time. I got it, brought it home and had to let it go. I was really mad.
Q: Have you eaten frog legs?
A: No I haven’t. And I don’t plan on it.
Q: Rumor has it you really liked the food on the set.
A: Oh golly, you mean the catering? That was the best food we have ever tasted. They had the desserts — chocolate chip cookies and chocolate cake. It was so good. All for free, too. It was amazing.
Q: How did you stop yourself from overdoing it with the sweets?
A: I ate salad. Kind of even it out a little bit.
Q: Was Lori actually cutting your hair in Episode 3?
A: It was an extension. When I was in the make-up — or hair trailer, my bad — they would attach the extension. It put a lot more weight on my hair so it was pulling on my hair the whole time. It was literally like a mullet. I had it down to below my shoulders. But they cut a lot of it off.
Q: Has your mom ever cut your hair?
A: No but my dad did when I was little. I barely remember it, but I knew that I did not like it. I’m pretty sure. My dad said I liked it. I don’t know. I’ve never had a haircut where I’ve gone to a hair cutting place and they gave me an in incorrect haircut. So I’ve been pretty lucky.
Q: Do you enjoy camping in real life?
A: We’re not much of a camping family. When I was in Cub Scouts we went camping once and my dad snored the whole time and kept me up. It wasn’t that fun.
Q: What’s your favorite thing about playing Carl?
A: Oh man, there so many good parts about being Carl. I’m a lot like Carl — his personality, and of course I look like him. I’m like a clear picture out of the book. I’ve heard a lot of people say that.
Q: What was the hardest part?
A: When Rick finds Lori and Carl. I had to just cry that whole scene and they did it over and over and over again. When I got home I felt terrible. It’s just so much emotion that I had to bring.
Q: How do you do that?
A: I just think of my dog dead. I’ve lived with him my whole life and I think it’s a pretty good strategy.
Q: If there really was a Zombie Apocalypse, what would you miss the most?
A: Definitely, video games. I love video games.
[via: AMC.]
