The Walking Dead: Actors give their characters advice
By Adam Carlson
The characters on AMC’s The Walking Dead have come a long way. While many of the individuals we met at the beginning of the show have since fallen victim to either the undead or rival groups of humans, the remaining survivors are now much older and wiser than they were at the start of their journey.
That brings up an interesting question. What if these characters knew at the beginning what they know now? Thankfully, the actors from the hit zombie survival drama were asked the following question in a recent YouTube video:
"“What advice would your season 6 character give your first season character?”"
Here is how they replied.
In case you can’t watch the above video, here is the advice that the actors would have their characters pass on to their younger selves.
- Norman Reedus would have Daryl Dixon tell himself that “It’s okay to be you. You can be a dirty angry redneck with a heart of gold. It’s okay.”
- Lauren Cohan has Maggie explaining “Don’t think about it. Just do it. Trust your gut.”
- Danai Gurira would have Michonne “Start the healing process. Stop fighting it.”
- Sonequa Martin-Green says Sasha should “Open up to people NOW. Don’t do it later because it’s going to come to bite you.”
- Andrew Lincoln’s advice for Rick Grimes was simple. “Deal with it. Get your S**t together, Grimes.”
For the sake of the question, I’ll interpret the term “first season” to mean the season where the character made their first appearance. The reason for that is only two of the individuals featured in the video were a part of The Walking Dead’s first season (Norman Reedus and Andrew Lincoln).
Past that, I think that the advice that the actors had for their characters was great. Be yourself. Trust your gut. Learn forgiveness. Open up to others. And get your stuff together. When you add those pieces together, you get the traits of a fantastic survivor in the zombie apocalypse.
After watching five seasons of The Walking Dead, what advice would you have for characters near the beginning of the outbreak? Let me know in the comments below.
Next: The Walking Dead: Top 15 reader-chosen dramatic moments from season 5