Colman Domingo is back in the director’s chair for Fear TWD 603

Colman Domingo throws out all the stops directing Fear TWD 603, “Alaska”

The October 25 episode of Fear the Walking Dead is special for a number of reasons, but one of the biggest reasons is that the episode was directed by Fear TWD star Colman Domingo. Fear TWD “Alaska” features a unique landscape that fans don’t often get to see in the TWD Universe, and Domingo makes it all look so easy.

Colman Domingo became the first actor currently starring in a TWD Universe show to direct an episode back in 2018 with season 4’s “Weak.” Since then he has directed an episode each season, with “Humbug’s Gulch” in season 5 and now “Alaska” in season 6.

Domingo’s costars have high praise when he’s in the director’s chair. I spoke with Austin Amelio about what it was like working with him in “Alaska” and he had this to say:

"Working with Colman, as a director you’re the tip top of what the energy needs to be and everyone looks to you for that. So even if it’s long hours and you’re struggling you’ve got to be this lighthouse that’s beaming bright and Colman is that. He’s excited all the time. He’s a good actor so he knows how to direct. He’s an actor’s director."

“Alaska” presents an interesting challenge for the cast and crew in that it takes place in an office building so the setting has a number of vertical elements that aren’t often seen among the relatively flat landscapes we’re used to seeing on the show. As such, filming in tight spaces like stairwells presents a distinct challenge, but Domingo handles it with ease so that each shot looks seamless and fluid as Amelio and Maggie Grace make their way through the walker-filled building.

With the pandemic throwing production schedules into chaos, the silver lining is that there are now possibilities for Domingo to direct other shows in the TWD Universe that were either not filming or in production at the same time as Fear TWD. Like TWD alum Michael Cudlitz, who has directed The Walking Dead and the new spin-off World Beyond, Domingo could cross over and leave his mark on the other shows in the franchise and it would be fun to see.

Of course, Domingo is one of the busiest people in Hollywood between his first look deal with AMC, movies, theater projects and appearances in other television shows. However, he still finds time to have fun, as seen in this new AMC Fear Fest commercial that features Domingo as a dapper bartending werewolf.

Be sure to catch his latest episode behind the camera on October 25. Fear TWD airs Sundays at 9pm on AMC.