Fear the Walking Dead Q&A — Danay Garcia (Luciana)

Danay Garcia, who plays Luciana on AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead, talks about returning to the show and Luciana’s devastating loss in Episode 3. 

Q: What was it like to be reunited with your co-stars this season after spending some time apart?

A: I was so excited! I knew in my heart that I still had so much to tell and that this character still had so much to say. I was like, “Please! I’m not done yet!”… I had so much to tell Nick! [Laughs]… I’m exploring everything I wanted to explore as an actor. I’m really living the dream. I’m very happy that we’re going in this direction… The audience is going to have a great time.

Q: What was it like working with so many new faces?

A: I’m working with so many people I didn’t work with before, like Colman [Domingo]. It was so exciting to work with him and get to know him more. I got to work with Lennie James and the new characters [played by] Jenna Elfman and Garret Dillahunt. It’s great to be a part of this new point of view on the show and this new chapter.

Q: What’s it like for Luciana to be in a new community after fleeing Broke Jaw Ranch?

A: Coming to this new community, all of us have to adjust together at the same time – the entire cast and the characters. We got to do it together and that really made us a tighter unit and a family. We had to learn how to be in a different environment and how to deal with new people. Story-wise, it’s challenging because we’re trying to learn from the past. We know each other’s pasts really well so anytime somebody tries to do something wrong, we have to be like, “No. That did not work before.” That was really fun to do. It’s great to have the time jumps and play with that as an actor.

Q: How does the loss of Nick impact Luciana, especially because they only recently reunited?

A: He’s the reason why she got out of the hole when the entire Colonia died. He said, “I will never leave you” and now he’s gone. Nick is the heart and one of the huge pieces of the story… This season has been really difficult, emotionally. It’s usually demanding, emotionally, but this is something nobody is ready for.

Q: How did it impact you, as an actor? What was the energy like on set?

A: It was something I kept telling myself wouldn’t happen. You just don’t want to confront that day you’re going to shoot it. You just don’t want to deal with it. You act like everything is great. Even on that day, I was like, “This is going to be an easy day!”…I knew it was going to be a ride, I could feel my body getting ready for that. It was difficult going through it. I couldn’t think of Nick not being there anymore. It was back and forth emotions for us… It was a journey and I gave as much as I had to honor that loss and that story. It was something that moved me for days and not just me but the entire cast and crew.

Q: Nick was on a mission to help Charlie. How does Luciana make sense of the threat that a child poses?

A: I think that’s part of her journey… A child is supposed to be an innocent human who doesn’t know any better. You forgive a lot, but you have to know what kind of child this is. He [Nick] was so into trying to save this kid and, in a way, he’s trying to save himself and the little child inside him… When Luciana was like little Charlie in La Colonia – where everything was a lie and Alejandro was lying about being immune – Nick saves her and says, “If you don’t leave now, you’re going to die.” She didn’t believe him, but he was right. He got me out of that place. He always tells the truth.

Fear the Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9/8c.

Via: AMC.