Fear the Walking Dead’s Daniel Sharman brings Troy Otto to life
Undead Walking had a chance to talk to Fear the Walking Dead’s Daniel Sharman about his role as Troy Otto, and the conversation was insightful.
I had a chance to talk with Daniel Sharman, the actor who brings Troy Otto to life on Fear the Walking Dead. Sharman, who hails from the UK but lives in Los Angeles, had a lot to learn in order to prepare for his role as the youngest son of doomsday prepper Jeremiah Otto.
The first thing I asked Sharman was whether or not Troy Otto is a “bad boy.” Sharman insisted that Troy does some bad stuff, really bad stuff, but at the core of his being he’s not evil. He has been raised a certain way, and he thinks he’s justified in his actions. In his mind, everyone else messed up by not seeing the signs and getting ready, which is what his father preaches. He truly believes that he’s working on the right side of things now that society has fallen apart. For a long time he was on the fringe because of how he was raised, and it took civilization falling apart for him to come into his own. (We learn in episode 303 that Troy was home schooled, so he didn’t have the same kind of socialization as many of the other kids) The apocalypse was liberating for Troy, Sharman noted, because this is what he had been preparing for his entire life. This is the world where he actually fits.
Sharman also noted that between the brothers, the people at the ranch look to Troy because he is more like they are than Jake it. Jake and Troy are very different, and Troy is more of a man of action, which is what the people at the ranch want to see.
Sharman said he did a lot of research on preppers and what it is that they do and why they do it. When asked if he changed any of his habits after learning about preppers, Sharman laughed. “I went out and bought an earthquake kit,” he said, noting that he lives in LA so it makes sense. (Of the three members of the Otto Family that I interviewed, Sharman was the only one who actually went out and bought an emergency kit after learning about preppers) Sharman noted that it’s
I asked if Sharman would want a guy like Troy on his side if the apocalypse broke out. “I would, yes,” he said. “But you’d need to put Troy in his place and give him rules to follow.” Troy is a great survivor and he knows all about how to stay alive, which is a major asset when faced with the undead rising. The trick is boundaries.
When I spoke with Sharman it was a few days before the season premiere of Fear the Walking Dead. I hadn’t seen Troy in action yet, but at the time of the interview I was immediately struck by how Sharman’s description of Troy reminded me of The Walking Dead’s Shane–both men are very smart and very well adapted to the zombie apocalypse.
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Now that we have had a chance to learn more about Troy after three episodes of Fear the Walking Dead, it looks like Troy Otto is a very complex character who is more than meets the eye. There’s no question that Troy has fans talking, and it will be interesting to see where his character goes in future episodes.