Podcast – The Walking Dead 1020: Interview with Paola Lazaro

The Walking Dead has delivered some incredible episodes over the course of ten seasons and 150 episodes, but “Splinter” will go down as one of the best depictions of what it’s like when a person’s past and present collide. In episode 1020, Paola Lazaro delivers a stunning performance as Princess, and we were fortunate to be able to chat with her about the episode.

Many actors on The Walking Dead admit that the scenes they love filming the most are the ones where their characters are going through an emotional roller coaster. Even when it’s hard for viewers to watch, the actors themselves are having a blast pulling out all of the tools of the trade to bring the scene to life.

For Lazaro, this was particularly true. “I worked very hard on it and I put a lot of heart into it. It was amazing, and it was one of the best weeks of my life. It was a beautiful experience to have.”

Listen: The Walking Dead’s Paola Lazaro talks about Princess’ bond

Thanks to the pandemic it feels like fans have known Princess forever, but in reality she has only been traveling with Eugene, Yumiko and Ezekiel for about a week. She barely knows them, but she already feels a strong bond with them. She also knows them well enough to know that Ezekiel wasn’t acting like himself early on.

Lazaro talked about how the manifestations of her psyche took the form of her new friends and how that ties into her present state of mind. Knowing this, it makes watching the episode again even more interesting as you try to connect the different layers of Princess’ psyche to her new friends.

“Splinter” will be one of those episodes that fans point to as one of the best episodes of the series. It dives into the psychological trauma of the apocalypse and how it impacts people in different ways.

We are very fortunate to have Paola Lazaro as part of the TWD Family, and we can’t wait to see what happens in season 11!