Interview with Fear the Walking Dead’s Danay Garcia

In an exclusive interview with Undead Walking, Fear the Walking Dead’s Danay Garcia talks about an international cast, the border, and what’s next for Luciana.

Danay Garcia brings Luciana to life on Fear the Walking Dead. Her enthusiasm for the show, cast and crew are infectious and make for a very fun interview. In looking ahead to the show’s third season, there is a lot to look forward to, but first Luciana and Nick have to escape the border. Fear the Walking Dead returns June 4 and we had a chance to talk to her ahead of the season premiere.

Garcia, who is a native to Cuba, touched upon how the script is developed with all of the Spanish dialogue. As it turns out, there is only one Fear writer who speaks Spanish, so Garcia often offers input into how Luciana might deliver those lines. “Especially in the second season, we had dialogue after dialogue in Spanish. We only have one writer who is from Mexico and speaks perfect Spanish.” Garcia said that the actors aren’t allowed to change the script, but the writers often utilize a translator app to make sure dialogue works. “Sometimes the words that come up aren’t even real Spanish!”

Fortunately they have writers on set to handle script issues and Garcia is the only one in the cast with the power to make changes since she also speaks Spanish. “With me, because it’s in Spanish and [the script] has been translated, I am the only one who has access to say no, I don’t want to say it like this, I want to say it like that and everybody’s like ‘Oh my God, I can’t wait to speak Spanish!’” She notes this is the first time in her life where she has the ability to help shape her character’s dialogue because she is bilingual.

The Spanish dialogue is particularly interesting because the show follows a group of Americans who journey into Mexico, so the language barrier of the cast is an accurate portrayal of that. The fact that the cast is made up of international actors really helps to drive that home. “In the show, pretty much all of us are foreigners. Frank Dillane is from England, Alycia is from Australia, Cliff is from New Zealand.” Garcia is the only actor at the moment who is from Latin America (the other would be Ruben Blades, who plays Daniel Salazar). Like their characters, this international cast is trying to adapt to the culture. Of course, their characters are also dealing with the apocalypse.

In terms of portraying life near the border, Garcia talked about how growing up in Cuba was so different because the borders are the ocean. When crossing the border on a regular basis for the show, she started to see what life near the border is like. “It has this really interesting energy to it,” she said, saying that it’s just a line with different flags on either side. The border plays an integral role in season 3, and after spending most of season 2 in Mexico, the move North will have its own set of challenges.

We know that The Walking Dead fans who live in Georgia all know the shooting locations and where the actors are, and though Fear the Walking Dead is filmed in Rosarito they have a large number of locals who know who the actors are and what is happening. It’s no longer strange for them to see Infected walking through the streets during shooting. “They know who we are. We close streets and they see production and they know what we’re doing. They love it. They’re huge fans. They’re really great fans.” The cast has been filming there for almost a year, so the locals have gotten to know the show and appreciate that the show is faithful to its Mexican location. “We really try to be faithful to the location. This is Mexico and we don’t try to change anything.” The people in Rosarito know that Garcia is from Cuba, and they’re interested in where she comes from and they’re proud that she’s portraying their “guerrera” (warrior). “They’re so happy with Luciana.”

As we look ahead to season 3, Garcia praised Frank Dillane for being a “fountain of knowledge” for her as she prepared for her role as Luciana. Dillane has been dealing with the apocalypse much longer and he was able to offer her a lot of guidance. “Every single day is an adventure to work with him.”

Luciana is at a point where she has lost everyone in her community. “She’s not in a good place mentally, physically or emotionally,” Garcia says, which presented a challenge because Garcia was used to playing Luciana as a strong woman. Now, after being shot and losing the people she cares about, she’s “powerless.” She likens it to being sick. “You have to slow down, and it’s hard.”

Heading into season 3, Garcia says that she sees that “after you have lost everything, things start happening…[Luciana] almost died and she has no fear.” That’s why the show’s season 3 tagline, “Fear what you become,” is so powerful. “Once you lost everything you can become something very different, and you can become something very scary, it depends on what you choose to be.” Once you are fearless, she said, you can overcome almost anything.

With their lives on the line at the border, Nick and Luciana will have to fight to get through their predicament. But there’s no question that Luciana is every bit the guerrera we have come to know and love.

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Be sure you’re following Danay Garcia on Twitter (@danaygarcia1) for all of her latest news and updates.

Fear the Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9pm on AMC.