Sarah Wayne Callies portrayed Lori on The Walking Dead. She was never a fan favorite character, but this role showed Callies’ true talent by being amazing at making this character so believable that fans hated her. Callies recently joined fellow Walking Dead alum Jon Bernthal, who portrayed another love-to-hate character Shane Walsh, on his podcast Real Ones. They had a frank conversation, pun intended, about previous Walking Dead showrunner Frank Darabont and more.
Callies said the firing of Frank Darabont, The Walking Dead’s original showrunner, “felt like an assassination.” The reasons the cast was given for his firing were that he had no experience as a showrunner and was unprepared. But, Callies and Benthal agreed that you “cannot beat his writing.” She gave credit and respect to writers on the series that have gone after him but stated that he writes on a whole different level.
They discussed the humanity that Darabont was able to convey in his scripts, and Callies pointed out her first scene with Scott Wilson, who portrayed the Greene family patriarch Hershel. Lori said, “You are completely in over your head, aren’t you?” And, he replied, “Ma’am, aren’t we all?” She feels this scene encompasses the entire series, and Bernthal agreed.
The Walking Dead – Sarah Wayne Callies and Jon Bernthal
The duo spent much on-screen time together and have remained close friends since. Their conversation goes on to talk about how they and Jeffrey DeMunn, who played Dale, stood up for Darabont and feel this could be why they all were killed off soon after.
Regardless of what happened, you would be hard-pressed to find a better pilot episode for a series. It is hands down one of the best, and it set the tone for this series and drew people in that are still following the series 12 years later.
Bernthal’s conversations on his podcast are gritty and raw, and this one is no different. Below is the clip regarding The Walking Dead portion of the conversation. There will surely be a full-length interview available soon on YouTube and wherever you listen to podcasts.
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