TWD Universe’s Lauren Ridloff, Sydney Freeland featured in Harpers Bazaar

Lauren Ridloff and Sydney Freeland of The Walking Dead universe recognized.

As fans of The Walking Dead universe, we know how great the cast and crew are, but it is always great to see them recognized for their greatness. Recently Harpers Bazaar had award-winning director Ava DuVernay choose women she considers change-makers in Ava’s List. DuVernay included Lauren Ridloff of The Walking Dead as well as Sydney Freeland, director on Fear The Walking Dead. 

DuVernay is a female director who is an advocate for issues such as race, inequality, and the US criminal justice system. Her work often reflects her passion for these issues. A few of her projects include Selma, 13th, and the Netflix miniseries When They See Us.

Lauren Ridloff, who plays Connie in the series and Sydney Freeland, who directed “Today and Tomorrow” of Fear The Walking Dead were both featured.

You can see their social media posts below.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CEZKWXYswZ0/

https://www.instagram.com/p/CEcCtUfFPaA/

Lauren Ridloff

Lauren Ridloff is an extraordinary person. Besides her representation on The Walking Dead for the deaf community and ASL, she has worked as a full-time teacher in the New York City public school system. As a deaf teacher of non-deaf students, she taught children how to read, write, and be accepting of people different than they are.

In 2018, she was nominated for a Tony for her work in the Children of a Lesser God Broadway production. Ridloff will soon be making cinematic history when she portrays Marvel’s first deaf superhero in Eternals. 

Eternals will be a groundbreaking film with Makkari, Ridloff’s character, as the first deaf superhero.  Eternals is based on a race of people with the same name. Ridloff will star along with Brian Tyree Henry as Phastos, Angelina Jolie as Thena, Richard Madden as Icarus, Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo, Salma Hayek as Ajak, Lia McHugh as Sprite, and Don Lee as Gilgamesh. The film is scheduled to release in February 2021.

Ridloff told Harpers Bazaar that she feels the audience she can reach as an actor has expanded the size of her classroom, allowing her to influence a wider audience.

Sydney Freeland

Sydney Freeland, a transgender Native American woman writer, and director, draws inspiration from her upbringing on a Navajo reservation. She told Harpers Bazaar that she had never seen the people she grew up represented in any positive light.

Freeland directed the Fear the Walking Dead episode, “Today and Tomorrow.” Undead Walking was privileged to interview her regarding this episode. She shared some great behind the scenes moments from that episode.

Grey’s Anatomy, Station 19, and Heathers are just a few of the projects Freeland has worked on. Drunktown’s Finest is Freeland’s debut feature and follows three young Native American’s struggling to find their identities. Freeland pulls from her own experiences to tell this story.

It is so good to see two strong women of The Walking Dead universe be showcased for their talents.

Ridloff will return as Connie on The Walking Dead when the season ten finale airs on AMC on October 4. Freeland is currently working on episodes of P-Valley and The Wilds.