7Hey, readers, thanks for checking this out. It maybe a bit stupid but I had a lot of fun writing this.
If you guys enjoy it, I'll do another interview for season 2.
Anyways, this features Michael Rooker (Merle), Jon Bernthal (Shane), and my OC actress Addison Augustine. I didn't know who to cast, and thought it would be more fun to create my own actress.
I watched some interviews before making this, so somethings spoken but the actors were actually said by them before in other interviews. Some of the questions are from readers, and real interviews.
Thank you to my friend Ty, and Rasha007 for the help and support. Thank you for the question and answer ideas, you both rock.
This interview contains spoilers from the comics (issues 01-15)
The letters in bold (besides these ones) are spoken by Chris Hardwick, the host of Talking Dead.
"Welcome to the Talking Dead after show, we have three cast members from the Walking Dead here today. Let's welcome Michael Rooker, Jon Bernthal, and Addison Augustine. We'll just jump right in, Addison, I want to start with you since this is your first debut."
"Yeah it is, I've been in a lot of stage production, but nothing like this. I've auditioned a lot, but this is the first it's worked out."
"How did you come across this role?"
"Well my older brother Jason and my dad are comic geeks, they love the Walking Dead. My brother is online a lot and he some how came across that they were making a show. He got excited, told my dad, and my dad called my agent. So he was able to get some information and an audition."
Jon nudged her with his elbow, "you have to tell the whole story."
She shook her head, "no."
"What story?"
"Her audition story," Michael laughed, "Bashed Robert Kirkman's comics to his face."
"Seriously?"
"I did not! He's making it way worse than it was."
"Prove it," Jon pushed.
"Okay, okay, this is really embarrassing . . ."
"Out with it," Michael said.
"It was months before they even started filming, they had the cast roles but didn't release any scripts or excerpts yet. So I was asked to prepare a monologue. I only started reading the comics after I heard I would be auditioning. And I actually really liked them, most of them, I'm not caught up all the way though. So my agent let me know what role would be available for me, and like Norman-"
"-Normy." Jon corrected.
She laughed, "Yeah, Normy, he plays Daryl. Like him I auditioned for a completely different role than what I ended up with. I was auditioning for Sophia. Usually when I have my audition, my mom or dad drop me off and pick me up when I'm done. My brother was so excited he had to tag along so him and my dad came in with me. But they had to wait in the lobby it turned out. This guy came to meet me, and I didn't know it yet but he was one of the producers. He took me to this really big room, no one else in it just a bunch of chairs. I sat down and he left saying someone would come soon.
I was waiting, maybe ten minutes before this other guy came in. Didn't tell me his name but asked if I was there for the Walking Dead audition. I told him 'yeah I'm just waiting.' He said, 'I'm waiting on them too, they sure do like to take their sweet time.' He sat beside me and we talked for a while, he asked about who I was auditioning and I was telling him about the monologue I had prepared. And he asked me if I read the comics, and when I asked him if he liked it he told me 'I think about them all the time.' I thought that was just some joke.
So we talked about them more, he was talking how his favourite character was Rick. which didn't surprise me, a lot of people like him. Then he asked me who my favourite character was."
Jon smiled, pointing at himself, "this guy!"
"Shane?"
"Yeah, and he was surprised to hear that. He asked why I liked him so much, and spoiler Shane didn't last long, the scene where he died was so sad for me. He kinda lost it in the end, but he was a good guy, he wanted to protect the group, he wanted to be with Lori and be Carl's father. And this was the first time anyone asked me what I thought, and I had just finished reading that part at the time so . . . I was a bit, into it. I was kind of mad. So I ranted a little because no one thought much about Shane, people just thought he went crazy and deserved to die. I never got to share my thoughts on it, and I thought way too much into his character."
"She outright said if Lori had kept her pants on Shane would've lived." Jon laughed.
"Wow, that's a strong opinion."
"Not even the worst of it," she continued. "Not too long after I was called in for my audition. Read my monologue, there were a couple guys there, one girl. Writers and producers. I was really nervous so I didn't do as well as I would've hoped. So I went home, didn't hear anything back and was sure I tanked it. A little over three months after my agent called, saying they called back and even had a script for me to read in. I was surprised, I had never gotten a call back before.
They sent me the script, it was short, it was actually Toby's introductory scene. And on the script she hadn't been named yet, she was just little girl. And the other two in the scene were Merle and Daryl, and those characters aren't in the comic, I found it really weird, I was really confused. I almost thought this was just a random script for a whole different thing and they wanted to see how I did. They also told my agent I had to do a southern accent, and I did one once for a play I was in before. So I practiced the best I could, I really didn't want to blow it.
When I went to the audition the same people were there, and someone else. It was the guy I talked to when I was waiting the last time. He finally introduced himself, it was Robert Kirkman. I practically peed myself. I had basically bashed, almost all the characters except for Shane, to the writer."
Michael shook his head, laughing a little, "I don't even get why you liked him, wasn't he trying to kill Rick to get Lori?"
"That's Lori's fault! And maybe if she had kept a closer eye and payed attention to her kid, Carl wouldn't have shot Shane in the throat. All Shane did was protect the group, and once Rick came around no one even looked twice at him. You see it in the show, she tells Shane to stay away from her and Carl for a ridiculous reason that wouldn't exist if she hadn't led him on! He did a lot for them, for the group, and no one even cares."
"What about that incident between them at the CDC? After that Shane seemed to have lost any sympathy going for him."
"Not that I'm defending what he did, okay maybe a little. But she told him to stay away, before he did that, before he did anything wrong. Shane isn't a bad guy, and I know people are going to disagree with me on this. But I don't believe he would have raped her, he didn't. If someone is going to do something that horrible . . . no, if he was a rapist, a little scratch on the neck wouldn't have stopped him. Drunk or not."
"You really are a Shane fan."
"She's my number one fan," Jon clarified, "and without her insight to his character, I may already be dead, and Toby might not exist."
"Really? What do you mean?"
"Robert Kirkman told us that story, everything she said about Shane. And she had some really good ideas. She said she thought that Shane had been alone for a while, maybe not having the chance to start a family, and suddenly he was thrust into a husband/father role. He did state in the comics he felt guilty for Rick being shot, so he took care of his wife and son. He had a family, people to care about and protect and love. Then it was taken from him, not just Lori and Carl, but his leadership. He didn't always do everything right, but he tried. I think she was right, Shane was a bachelor. I think he may have subconsciously envied Rick's life, then he got his life. Toby's character was created from her thoughts on Shane. Both Toby and Daryl weren't originally characters."
"Yeah, Norman was auditioning for my role. They liked him so much they gave him a different one," Michael said.
Jon nodded, "and I was actually almost going to audition for Rick's role. Then I read the script with both of them in the squad car, Shane was talking about a girlfriend that never turned the damn lights off, then I thought, oh no, I'm this guy. This is me."
"So do you think Toby was just created for Shane to redeem himself? Become the father figure he wants to be for Carl?"
"I actually kind of know what's going on, the writers have talked to me about this season. They don't have it all planned out, but they told me the ideas they have. I know what's going on with Shane."
"He won't tell me!" Addison whined.
"I can't, they made me swear. I can't tell anyone. Instead of swearing on the bible they made me swear on one of the comic issues." Jon laughed, and the others followed.
"Are you a fan of the comics too?"
"No, not really. I only read for the sake of my character. And like Addie said, he wasn't in it for very long. I'm not into the whole zombie thing, don't get me wrong I love the show. The zombies freak me out though."
"Yeah I've never liked zombies either. I like the comics, but I still can't read any other zombie books or watch those movies." Addison explained.
"I've read some of them, but I'm not that into it." Michael said.
"I do know what's going on with Shane, I know many people don't like him right now, and in the comics Shane is considered a villain. But I think in the show, we're going to change people's minds, little by little. In this, Shane gets more character, more storyline, and it's such a great thing. I think people will really like it, maybe not Shane himself, but it's a great story that people can get hooked on."
"While we're on that subject, Jon, this is a question for you. Why does Shane seem to want to protect Toby so much even when she makes it clear she doesn't like him?"
"I think this goes back to what we were saying about Shane being a father figure, wanting to have a family and someone to protect. But I also think it extends beyond that with Toby, because before Rick, Carl still had Lori. With Toby it's a bit different, she doesn't have anyone. And he was there with her on the highway, he saw a little girl running, yelling for her dad all alone. He told her he would help her and he did, he tried. And it was his decision to take her with them, it was his decision to leave that note, even though it seems right off the bat Shane believed he abandoned her. He still wanted to have hope, and give that hope to her. It's an awful thing, a national crisis, everyone is evacuating she was confused and scared enough as it was, I'm sure all the kids were, then she was left alone in that situation.
Shane took on responsibility of watching after Toby, he didn't always do a good job but he wanted to. He feels bad, and above all, after keeping it from her that her dad wasn't coming back, dead or not, he's guilty. He wants to make it up to her and feels like he owes her."
"Michael, this is a question from Ty1R1Bluent. Is it possible Merle knows that Toby is the daughter of his supplier, so to speak?"
"Uh, this is actually hard to answer because I really don't know. In their first meeting he told his brother she looked familiar, and it is possible that he put it together at some point but he never said otherwise. I think he may have just let it go, not really thought about it much. Toby doesn't know, right?" Michael turned to Addison.
"No I don't think so. The writers gave me some insight on Toby's past with her father and how they lived, more than what's been revealed to the audience. And I think I won't be in trouble for mentioning this, because it was obvious her dad was a drug dealer. So having that job, she would've seen a lot of people come and go, and he did business in his own home. Marcus, the guy she first saw bitten, die and turned, was proof of that. She probably didn't pay attention to them unless they came by frequently. So I don't think she does, if she did I'm sure she would've said something, one of the things I love about Toby is that she's blunt, she doesn't have much of a filter from her brain to her mouth. She doesn't really know what's right or wrong to say, like when Carl asked about her mom at the CDC, she didn't know that was a bad thing to say that . . . I can't even say it because I think my mom is watching."
"She called her mom a whore," Michael reminded.
Addison nodded, laughing a little, "yeah thanks. She didn't know that was a bad thing to say because her dad said it to her."
"Why does Merle take to Toby so much? Do you think he sees a younger version of himself or Daryl in her?"
"Yeah," Michael answered, "in the scene where he caught Toby sleeping outside he said as much. That she reminded him of when his brother was younger. He also said how he had to leave Daryl for a long time, so I think that's why he had her around. He missed out on some of Daryl's life when he was a kid, Toby may have been giving him a sense of nostalgia."
"I think he just wanted to use her to piss Shane off." Jon said.
"That's probably about . . . eighty percent of the reason." Michael laughed.
"How do you think Toby will run into Merle again? What would her reaction be?"
"I think she'd be happy, she liked Merle. And she hasn't been told what really happened on that rooftop, so even though she knows he's not a guy everyone likes, she still saw him as a good guy. She thinks it's Rick's fault." Addison said.
Michael nodded, "She'd be happy for Daryl too, Daryl said outright that Merle wasn't dead. But he could say that because he believes it or just because he wants to believe it. So it'll be cool if they bring him back."
"Would Merle be glad to hear Toby pointed a gun at Shane and Rick?
"Oh yeah, definitely. I think if he ever hears about it he'll ask why she didn't pull the trigger." Michael said.
"This is one for all of you, how would you fare in the apocalypse?"
"Bring it on," Michael said, "I got a compound at home, I'll be ready."
"In a zombie apocalypse? Probably not very well, I mean I can shoot, and the show has me trained in zombie killing, but in real life I think I'd be scared shitless. I'd probably fight for a while then make some dumb mistake."
Addison shook her head, "oh, I'm dead, for sure. It hasn't even happened and I'm already done."
"I'll come find you guys," Michael assured, "show you the ways."
"I'll have to bring out my inner mini Merle," Addison joked.
"A question from Rasha007, what was the hardest thing for you to film so far in this show?"
Michael looked passed Addison at Jon, "you first?"
"Uh, yeah. The sex scene in Guts. AMC can show a lot with gore, but they have particular rules about sex. I was in the woods with Sarah Wayne Callies, my pants down in front of the whole set. One of the rules, as far as sex goes, is no thrusting. So, I'm lying on top of her, everyone yelling 'no thrusting'! I felt like the biggest pervert in the world."
"You are," Michael smirked.
"Shut up. It was pretty embarrassing and neither of us could actually take it seriously. It took us a couple takes to handle it like the mature adults we're supposed to be. That was the day I met Sarah too, made it all the more awkward."
"You make a good first impression?"
"What do you think?" Michael answered before Jon could, "he couldn't even thrust!"
They all laughed, Chris shook his head.
"We should probably move on, not a great subject for the little girl. Alright, Michael, Addison?"
"I didn't really find anything difficult. Merle was a pretty easy role for me to get into, I love his character. I wasn't in for long so I didn't have the chance to find anything difficult. I loved it and had fun with it all, I really hope I can come back."
Addison thought for a moment, "in the first few episodes, besides Toby's introductory scene, she didn't have many lines. In fact that was the scene she had the most lines in until she started talking more, it was actually a bit difficult for me to just express her by just body and facial expressions. Especially since she had to kind of have this blank face on, and every once in awhile break through and show an emotion, then hide it again. It doesn't sound hard but it wasn't something I was used too. Having to make this I don't care face and keep it on constantly."
Michael snorted, "yeah, that must've been really hard, teenagers never use the I don't care face."
"I have to say, the kids in the cast are amazing actors. Is it hard for them, is it weird for them to deal with this stuff?"
"I'm going to admit that since we started filming this I've had a few bad dreams. I'm not totally used to the zombie thing, and I'm really skittish. So the makeup freaks me out a lot, and Toby has had a few close encounters. There's that scene where she kills her first zombie, and it wasn't a real head but it was still so gross and so awful. And I can't help but think, I really hope that Toby stays a baby so I don't have to do this again."
"I've spent some time with Chandler, who plays Carl. And he said that he loves all of it, said he feels like he's in one of his video games. He liked to hang out with the people dressed up at as the zombies." Jon said.
"Yeah, I don't know how he does that," Addison laughed. "I haven't spent much time with Chandler, only to practise the few scenes we had together. I think once Toby and Carl get a little closer, and I hope they will. We'll get more acquainted."
"Me and Addie, we've become really close." Jon explained, "I really love this little girl, she's really sweet. And honestly, since starting this, she's gained so much more confidence and has been adjusting to her role so well. She was so nervous in the beginning and she felt really intimidated, most of us had more experience then her. I've really been fortunate to have her as Toby, we've really hit it off."
"Everyone, including Jon, are just so great and so supportive. He helps me a lot with my scenes and he rehearses with me, even the scenes he isn't in. He's been so sweet since I met him. The first time we actually filmed a scene I was so nervous, I was stuttering and shaking. We had to do a couple retakes. I was afraid they would be mad or laugh at me. The first scene we did was with Michael and Norman. They were really helpful, thankfully nothing like they're characters. Merle wouldn't have put up with that."
"Okay, well we're just about out of time so this is the last question. Is there anything you want to see in season two?"
Jon nodded, "This is probably a shitty answer, but I want to see more of the same. I love the actors and the group, I love the group scenes. The ones where everyone comes together, and I can't wait for everyone to see more of that in the next season. It's such an amazing group of actors."
"Well, obviously, I want Merle back. It seemed like they had a cool thing going with Merle and his brother, then little Toby following, trying to be just like him. Felt like it was cut off way too soon. I felt a little cheated in that story-line in all honesty. Thinking, hey, I love this character she's funny. Then Daryl almost seems jealous of the attention Toby's getting from Merle. And Merle just seems to laugh at everything. Then I got the script I was being left behind and I was pretty upset, I knew, I was told, I wouldn't be on long at all. And I think they gave me more time than they originally planned." Michael said.
"I kind of want to see more of Dale." Jon continued. "He's around a lot but I want to see more in depth scenes with him. I feel like he secretly knows everything, like he's always watching and he's the one guy that gets and knows everything that's going on."
"I want to see Lori and Shane. I want her to be nicer and maybe actually thank Shane. I've said this much and I'll say it again, I don't think Shane is a bad guy and I don't know why Lori thinks he is. He did a lot for her, for Carl, and the whole group." Addison said, "I want to do more scenes with Chandler. I'm not sure what they have in store for Toby, who knows? Maybe they'll kill me off soon. Robert Kirkman said himself, no one is safe. But while I am still alive I'd like to see Carl and Toby grow closer, there's a lot of potential, friendship wise, between them. I think they can learn a lot from each other and I can't wait to show it. They're both so different, and raised in complete opposite ways. It'll be a real eye opener, I think, for both of them to see into each others lives."
"Thank you so much, you three, this has been a lot of fun. Thank you to the audience, hope you join us next time on the Talking Dead."
I hope you guys enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing it. A lot said in here is actually said by the real actors in other interviews.
I may do another interview like this for the end of season 2.
Maybe with the actors who play Daryl and Carl, and of course Toby. If you have any ideas, any actors you want to see in this or have any questions yourself about the story go ahead and let me know.