Sarah Wayne Callies felt physically ill first time reading Walking Dead script

Walking Dead actress, Sarah Wayne Callies is currently starring in the ABC series The Company You Keep with Milo Ventimiglia, who plays her brother Charlie. She plays Birdie, a con woman who co-owns a bar with her brother. The crime drama airs on ABC at 10 p.m. ET and streams weekly on Hulu.

During a recent interview with Forbes, Callies talked about her role as Birdie on The Company You Keep and the early days of The Walking Dead. 

Callies and Ventimiglia portray cons, so they use their brains over brawn which she said makes this series quite different from other crime dramas. She said wearing wigs, fake nails & tattoos, and talking with an accent was fun.

Of her character Birdie, she believes her motto, and that of her family is “Eat the rich.” The series shows rich, entitled people lose some of that to Birdie’s family, who believe those wealthy people should pay to a family like hers.

The series follows Charlie, a con man, who becomes romantically involved with Emma (Catherine Haena Kim), a CIA agent. Unknown to each other, their professional lives are about to collide.

Sarah Wayne Callies – The Walking Dead

Callies portrayed Rick Grimes’ (Andrew Lincoln) wife Lori in seasons 1-3 and died a horrific death while delivering her baby, Judith. In the interview, she talked about the first time she read the script for The Walking Dead. Never a fan of horror or comics, Callies “felt physically ill” during the first read of the script. Fans of the series can understand her reaction, as there is a lot of gore in the series. Love or hate her, Lori did experience one of the worst and most heartbreaking deaths of the series.

"And so I took it absolutely seriously and when you take that story seriously it’s sickening and horrifying and I figured that I had such a visceral reaction to it that it must mean that there was something important there for me to explore."

On an episode of Jon Berthal’s podcast Real Ones, Callies spoke out about original Walking Dead showrunner Frank Darabont’s firing. 

Callies is well known for her roles in Prison Break, The Long Road Home, Colony, Unspeakable, Council of Dads, and Letterkenny. 

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