We haven’t seen a lot from T-Dog this season. He’s been pretty much in the background. Helping out when needed but not having a primary role. We’ll see how that evolves by season’s end if at all. In the meantime here is a little bit about IronE Singleton’s view on the character and how his real life plays out.
IronE Singleton (a.k.a. T-Dog on AMC’s The Walking Dead) talks about some challenging moments on set this season and explains which character he’d most like to see again.
Q: How is Season 2 different from Season 1 for you?
A: The first thing that comes to mind is our camaraderie. First season, a lot of it took place in town, obviously, and the cast was a bit segregated between those in town and those at the camp. Everybody is there together this season and that right there has brought us a lot closer as a group.
Q: Is there anything you miss about the “town” group?
A: Merle… If Merle returns… that would make for some epic stuff — some serious drama I think people would be talking about for a long time.
Q: What was the most challenging thing you had to do this season?
A: The show is so physically demanding. I would have to say the scene we did with the well walker. We had to catch the water pump from falling in the well — we had to do that so many times. And I was on my backside and I had to kick and claw. The water pump was fake — but it was quite demanding and really tough because we did it over and over again. By the end of the day, I was exhausted — it was scorching hot too.
Q: I understand you do a lot of charity work in Atlanta.
A: As much as I can, though not quite as much these days because I’ve been staying so busy. But normally, it’s my relatives. My lineage is out of poverty. A lot of my relatives — cousins, nieces and nephews — are in that situation. There’s so much depression and poverty within my own family, so I spend a lot of my time with them.
Q: Have you inspired anyone in your family to act? What does your family think of T-Dog?
A: It seems like everybody in my family wants to act now! A lot of friends and family and associates have been coming to me. About T-Dog, they give me some criticism — some may be a little harsh, like “Yeah you look a little fat on screen!” [Laughs]. But I have a 14-year-old, an 11-year-old and an 8-year-old, and none of them are allowed to watch. We gave my 14-year-old the opportunity and she said no.
Q: I read an article that said you were most famous for your role in The Blind Side. Has that changed since you’ve been on The Walking Dead?
A: Oh yeah. Now I’m getting more people that recognize me for The Walking Dead. The cat is out the bag — what can I say?
Q: This season we found out T-Dog is short for Theodore Douglas. Do you have any other nicknames besides IronE?
A: My wife calls me Rob, or Sing-y. I had a name when I was five or six, my mom called me “Ton.” I call my son that now. It reminds me of my days when I still had my innocence. I was four or five and I hadn’t really been exposed to a lot. After that a lot of my innocence was stripped away, but I’ll never forget that that was the most innocent stage in my life.
[via: AMC.]
