The Walking Dead alum Tyler James Williams talks about his experience

Tyler James Williams, who played Noah, talks about his Walking Dead experience

The Walking Dead frequently draws us in with such wonderfully portrayed characters that the viewer becomes so attached only to lose them in a very gruesome way.  Noah, who was played by Tyler James Williams, is one of those characters.

We first meet Noah at Grady Memorial Hospital in season 5 when Beth Green (Emily Kinney) is brought to this hospital in Atlanta for treatment. The two form a fast friendship and try to escape together. Beth ends up being killed while attempting to defend Noah. Rick’s group that Beth was a part of took Noah under their wing. Ultimately Noah dies a most gruesome death brought on by Nicholas (Micheal Traynor,) who was only looking out for himself. To compound the devastation of witnessing Noah’s death was that fan-favorite Glenn Rhee (Steven Yeun) was forced to watch Noah be torn apart by walkers as the two were stuck in a revolving door.

In an interview with Collider for his new film The Argument, Williams talks about his time on The Walking Dead. 

He explained that there are two ways to look at being killed on The Walking Dead. One is the technical side and the other is the emotional side.

He goes on to tell how you must seem shocked at being ‘bit’ by a walker that you don’t actually feel that you are being bitten. So, it is tricky to coordinate that, along with the proper reaction.

Then there is the emotional side. Being killed as an actor is a stressful experience but also a very emotional one. No matter how long you have played a character, you become that character. When that character dies, it is very traumatic.

After the scene was filmed, Williams collapsed and cried on set for two minutes. Yeun came alongside him and said, ‘You’re letting him go. It’s a beautiful thing. You really gave him a death.’

Alanna Masterson, Lauren Cohan and Christian Serratos also showed up for the scene like it was a funeral for the character. This meant a lot to Williams and he stated he would work on any project with any of these actors no questions since they all shared this critical moment.

Williams stated that the mourning process for Noah began immediately after they called cut. He also shared that he has died in many projects, but Noah was the first, and it was unique and beautiful.

Currently, you can find Williams starring alongside Walking Dead castmate Dan Fogler in The Argument. The film centers around a cocktail party in which one couple gets into a heated argument that brings a quick end to the party. The group reassembles to recreate the evening to determine which of the two people were actually right.

The film also stars Emma Bell, Maggie Q, Danny Pudi and Cleopatra Coleman and is available via video-on-demand services.

It is always interesting to hear these behind the scenes stories that might not come to light unless the questions are asked of the actor. Hearing Williams’ experience with Noah’s death makes it much more emotional since it was such a shocking and gruesome death.

Be sure to check out Tyler James Williams in The Argument.