The Walking Dead’s Chad Coleman: ‘I aspire to be Tyreese in my own life’
By Adam Carlson
Chad Coleman looks back fondly upon his time on The Walking Dead as Tyreese and hopes that he can be more like the character in his own personal life.
When it comes to complicated characters on The Walking Dead, there might not be one up to the level of Tyreese. The character played by Chad Coleman seemed like a contradiction at times, but always held onto his values.
It was interesting to watch an individual with the size and power of Coleman play a character like Tyreese, who frowned upon any kind of violence unless it was absolutely necessary. Sadly, Tyreese met his demise in season 5 of AMC’s zombie survival drama, but he did leave a lasting impression upon viewers.
Recently, Blastr’s SyfyWire sat down to speak with Coleman about season 2 of The Expanse, but couldn’t help but ask him about his role on The Walking Dead. He spoke about why he found the character to be so interesting.
"“Tyreese is like an anti-hero, an everyday man, and there’s no superhero-ness to him. He’s very human and that humanity sits up front so when viewers experience it, they think, “yeah, that’s how I would be, I’m scared as hell, I don’t care what my size is and I’m afraid and I don’t want to kill people.” And I think the average person would have that kind of response and then have to push through and find a way to make it happen.”"
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Tyreese was a polarizing figure for a lot of fans. While some couldn’t understand why he wasn’t willing to kill at will, others commended the show for having a non-violent character to help offset how violent some of the others on the show had become.
A mindset of violence as a desperation move is something that strikes Coleman as true, and he hopes that the kine of generosity and kindness Tyreese showed on the show can be a part of his everyday life.
"“I aspire to be Tyreese in my own life. I grew up in a community where it was important to take care of the person next door. It was important to be kind and violence was not something that was applauded or celebrated. It was frowned upon. That’s your last resort. Know how to talk to people and try to build bridges and not walls.”"
Next: Chad Coleman on the death of Tyreese
Fans of Chad Coleman’s work on The Walking Dead can catch him in season 2 of The Expanse as Col. Frederick Lucius Johnson on Syfy as well as The CW’s Arrow as Tobias Church and Hulu’s Freakish. Also, if you haven’t seen his work on the iconic show The Wire, that is definitely worth checking out.