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00:00While the story is unfolding, those two characters were always looking at each other and making sure they're okay, they were always checking in with each other.
00:06A very thoughtful, odd, strange, cultural, phenomenological genre of zombies.
00:16Hi, this is Manjusha from Gulf News in Dubai. We are an English newspaper based in the UAE.
00:22Thank you so much for speaking to us. This world, this part of the world loves zombies.
00:27You guys have survived for more than 10 years and entertained us in your own unique way.
00:32Why do you think it's such a huge success? I mean, spinoffs, finally, I'm like, what next?
00:38Why do you think, what is the appeal behind this? Have you ever thought that?
00:43I think the original show spoke to so many people on so many different levels.
00:47And it was a very thoughtful, odd, strange, cultural, phenomenological genre of zombies
00:56mixed with very, very real human stories and very compelling characters.
01:02And we think a lot of people could relate to. And here we are.
01:09Also, the original show had so many cast members.
01:13So you never got a full circle story on any of the real cast members unless they died on the show.
01:20So having just the two central characters, you really get more time with them.
01:26You can see things online for them. So I think that's a big bonus.
01:30And I think like when people watch the other show, they wanted a little more.
01:35Now we have the time to service their stories a little bit longer.
01:40Yeah. And visually stunning locations.
01:47New characters as well that just add to the story.
01:51Right. I grew up with Bollywood films where they said a boy and a girl or a man and a woman can never be friends.
01:57But you guys taught me differently. Yes, that's a line of an iconic thing.
02:03But friendship is what matters between you, your characters. You think that's what sets you guys apart.
02:08That's why there's such a fandom behind your characters and your chemistry.
02:13You guys have a romantic.
02:15Yeah. I think the people that like Daryl and Carol love that no matter what.
02:22And on the other hand, it drives people nuts.
02:28Yeah, it drives people nuts. But I think that's also part of the attraction to the pair.
02:34I think also that their friendship is earned.
02:38We've spent a lot of time with them, watching each other's backs.
02:42And while the story is unfolding, those two characters were always looking at each other and making sure they're OK.
02:47They're always checking in with each other.
02:49So I feel like through the span of time, the relationship, we earned it.
02:55It's not phony. So I think that's an attraction as well.
03:00Right. You both have spent over a decade with the series.
03:03How do you snap out of it? Do you have zombie dreams?
03:06Or do you guys have a process already in place to snap out of this series?
03:11We have a secret word.
03:13What's that?
03:14You have a secret word?
03:15A secret word.
03:20We've spent so many hours with these actors in makeup and looking crazy.
03:28Half the day, they're sitting there and they're drinking Coca-Cola and they're eating Doritos.
03:34You're talking about the traffic.
03:36Through their face whole thing.
03:38Yeah.
03:42Don't freak me out so much.
03:44I'm more interested in the artistry of making them look like that now.
03:49But I do feel like the zombies in particular, there's an illness about them, a sickness.
03:59Everyone dies. Immortality. Everybody gets sick at some point.
04:03So that makes them kind of scary.
04:06So maybe that sort of blends into some weird dream every once in a while.
04:10Right. Carol, would you like to add to that?
04:12Do you have a thing where you snap out of it?
04:16No, not really.
04:17I think just...
04:21No, I snap into it.
04:24If anything, I can just walk out of it and kind of snap into it.
04:35Thank you so much for entertaining us.
04:37It's been a great season.
04:38Both of you are such great villains.
04:40I think our show is as good as the bad guys and the bad women.
04:43I'm sorry, it's as simple as that.
04:45You both are terrible people and I love it.
04:47Perhaps you can tell us, is it a lot of fun to play the antagonist?
04:51It's so good.
04:55You feel free when you're playing villains.
04:57You do things that you would never do in real life.
05:01You're cruel. You're mean.
05:04You never get the chance to be that mean in real life.
05:08That is true.
05:09It's true.
05:10One of the great things about villains is that they don't follow the rules of society
05:17about being polite and about saying only nice things to people.
05:23No, they are very free to behave exactly the way they want.
05:26And it's a real freedom for us to be able to do that too.
05:31I know, it's liberating.
05:32There is a scene where you hold a baby at a camp
05:35and I'm wondering, oh my God, that's bad.
05:37I'm a mother of three and I was having second-hand anxiety over it.
05:43These are the shows, right?
05:44You don't know what your characters would do next.
05:46You don't know how dark can you get.
05:49That's the best part about this show.
05:51Did that also draw you?
05:52Because this is one where there are no limits or ceilings to being terrible.
05:58Of course, you think about all the bad things that you could do.
06:01How you could be meaner.
06:02How you could be crueler.
06:05And that scene with the baby was terrible
06:08because I think there's one point we...
06:14To be quite honest, that's one of the scenes I did for the casting.
06:20And she's holding that baby so tight
06:24that she's probably strangling him at the same time.
06:29So I don't think that's what we see at the end in the scene.
06:34You know, there's something very...
06:38...that character.
06:40All right, that's true.
06:41We'll have to bleep that bit out.
06:43We can't swear in the middle.
06:45Okay, sorry about that.
06:50To be honest, I didn't want to say that word
06:53but I didn't find another one that's...
06:56About your characters.
06:57I feel you.
06:59Romaine, what about you?
07:01You said it's liberating to play a dark character
07:04but how do you step out of it?
07:06How do you step out of the dark zone
07:08after you're done filming the series?
07:10Do you both have a process?
07:11Do you smash plates?
07:13What do you all do after you get home?
07:15I don't step out.
07:19No, I'm kidding.
07:21Yeah, actually, after seeing an intense and violent scene
07:26most of the time I feel quite good after that.
07:30It's like liberating, you know?
07:32It's like you take something from you
07:35from your own violence, your own sadness, your own anger
07:41and you use it in the show, in the scenes.
07:44So after that, most of the time I feel quite good
07:47and that's it.
07:49There is more light in me in the end than before.
07:54I don't feel the need to step out of the character really.
07:59And do you have a process as such?
08:01No, I completely agree with Romaine
08:03because those characters are so bad
08:06that you don't ever bring them with you.
08:12You don't bring that with you.
08:14And it's a catharsis.
08:16You're going very far into very deep, bad thoughts
08:23so you're coming back very soon, very fast as well.
08:28You know what I mean?
08:30It's always a game.
08:32It's always a game.
08:33Yeah, that's what I love.
08:34How was it acting with the iconic characters as well?
08:38Norman and Melissa.
08:39I mean, they are like a part of it.
08:40It's like an intrinsic part.
08:42They're almost synonymous with The Walking Dead.
08:44What was your chemistry like?
08:46Or do you need to have a chemistry?
08:49With them, you mean?
08:50Yes, yeah, with them.
08:51Well, I don't know if you need it
08:54but I can tell you that they make sure that you have one
08:57because they're very friendly and very welcoming.
09:00They make sure that once you step on the set
09:04they want you to feel at home.
09:06So they've been really lovely people.
09:10So I don't know if it's necessary to have a bond with them
09:13but they make a bond.
09:14They make you feel at home.
09:20And then it was very exciting for fans like us.
09:23Can you imagine being such fans of the show
09:27and being on the set with them
09:29and being able to be co-workers?
09:35And then you forget about it
09:37because you're just working.
09:38Because you have to play and you're playing with partners
09:41and that's it.
09:42Excellent.
09:43Roman, did you love being punched by Norman?
09:45Being punched by Norman?
09:47Actually, I loved it.
09:50This was my very first scene in The Walking Dead.
09:54The big fight with Norman
09:56and he was so kind to me all the time.
09:59He was always asking me if my head was okay,
10:02if my neck was fine.
10:04Yeah, I really felt straight away his kindness.
10:08And it's a beautiful help on set
10:11when you feel that your partner is with you
10:14and that you are with your partner.
10:16This feeling from the very first day
10:18was the best feeling I could dream of
10:20to start a show like that.
10:22Excellent. Thank you so much.
10:23My time's up.
10:24Thank you for entertaining us.
10:25Thank you very much.
10:26You guys make bad so well.
10:27You make bad look good.
10:29So that's great.
10:31Thank you so much.
10:36What do you think is the enduring appeal of
10:39you know, it has lasted over a decade,
10:41The Walking Dead and The Walkers.
10:43So perhaps you should tell us
10:44what fascinated you both to be a part of it?
10:48I mean, it's a really good experience
10:50being with, you know, people who've been,
10:52like you said, it's been a decade that,
10:55you know, Norman and Carol have been in the show
10:58and it's a real honour to be here, I guess.
11:03Of course.
11:04And how about you, Eric?
11:05I'm proud of it.
11:06It was a pride as well to be part of
11:08The Walking Dead family because, you know,
11:10this post-apocalyptic world is so intense
11:15and to be part of it is...
11:17And the set here in Europe,
11:19especially in France,
11:20I mean, France is such a beautiful country
11:23and to watch the country destroyed like that
11:26is amazing.
11:28That's one way to look at it, of course.
11:30What about the characters of yours
11:32fascinated you both?
11:34I mean, because, you know,
11:35at the end of the day,
11:36you know who are the two principal characters, right?
11:38They're synonymous with The Walking Dead.
11:40How could your character perhaps add to the narrative?
11:43Were you worried about that
11:44or could you tell us about your character arcs?
11:48You start, Eric.
11:50You're the messiah, come on.
11:52Let's start.
11:53Last time...
11:56Yeah, well, honestly, you know,
11:59I mean, yeah, we've seen the two big characters
12:03from the show coming in here
12:05and it's all because of them that it happens,
12:07you know, because there's a lot of...
12:09It's all a link.
12:11There's a lot of links between the original show
12:14and also what we are making now.
12:17So, yeah, there's a lot of links.
12:20And I guess having those two characters back in the show,
12:25in The Walking Dead,
12:26especially Melissa coming in in season two,
12:28is really great.
12:30Yeah, because she brings back
12:33much more emotions,
12:35much more love
12:37and even if my character is the leader
12:42of the group called Union of Hope,
12:44it brings hope.
12:45You want to, like,
12:49shepherd everybody.
12:51But the thing is,
12:52with the return of Melissa
12:54and the return of Carol,
12:56things are upgrading
12:58and it's more edgy
13:00and more fun
13:02and more badass.
13:04That's correct.
13:05We love a badass character.
13:06What I love about the series is that
13:08none of the characters are black or white.
13:10You guys all dwell in the grey.
13:12Is that fascinating as well?
13:14It's impossible to slot you
13:16any of the characters in, in fact,
13:18because you never know when you're going to flip to the dark side.
13:20So, perhaps, did that fascinate you as actors?
13:24Well, even if I'm a bit black,
13:26but it's okay.
13:27I'm kidding, just kidding.
13:30But you're damn right.
13:31You're damn right.
13:32You never know what's going to happen
13:34because it's like a coin, you know.
13:37You've got two sides of the coin.
13:39People can be...
13:40It's like all the humans,
13:41you can have a good part and a bad part.
13:45But the thing is,
13:46you just focus on the good part
13:48because the world is already post-apocalyptic
13:50and it's already a mess.
13:52So, we need to be together
13:55and focus and stay together
13:58and struggle together to survive.
14:00Yes, of course, yeah.
14:02But you never know how someone can switch.
14:04Even if you're beaten by a zombie horse
14:07or because your mind just switched,
14:08you never know.
14:09You never know.
14:10How about you, Louis?
14:11I mean, did that fascinate you
14:12that you live in the...
14:13You're young, but still.
14:15Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
14:16It did, it did.
14:17Like Eric said, you know,
14:19some people, as in the characters,
14:22they may have a bit of good in them
14:25and also a bit of bad.
14:27So, it just switches up very quickly
14:30and we're not really sure about anything.
14:33Right.
14:34So, we always have to be careful
14:37about, you know, everybody.
14:40We have to be careful
14:41because they might be evil or not.
14:44Fantastic.
14:45You spend so much time together
14:47on a set creating a series.
14:49How is that?
14:50Like, do you guys get tired of each other?
14:52How do you guys keep yourself motivated?
14:54I can't imagine working with somebody
14:56for that long for a project,
14:57you know what I mean?
14:58So, how do you guys navigate that part?
15:00Like, you know, you keep the spirits high,
15:03the energies are just right.
15:05What's like the on-set atmosphere?
15:08You know, being surrounded by zombies,
15:10we just bring,
15:11we were just loving each other.
15:13So, we just, we kept being together
15:16and having lunch, dinner
15:18and everything together.
15:19And even after the show,
15:21we're still seeing each other
15:23and sending text messages
15:24and calling each other.
15:25Even if the one was a bad guy in the movie,
15:29off camera,
15:31we just had a great time together.
15:34The Walking Dead family,
15:35it's really a Walking Dead family.
15:39You guys just hang out.
15:40You love it.
15:41Louis, do you love that as well?
15:43Is there a lot of camaraderie?
15:44You're younger, so...
15:46Yeah, I mean,
15:47I kind of got on with everybody.
15:49Everyone is so nice there.
15:50Even the crew,
15:51they're just amazing in the way they work.
15:54It's a real honour, you know?
15:56Right.
15:57But like, they created something
15:59really well because I don't,
16:02like, I've always said it
16:04to my family and my friends
16:05and also in other interviews.
16:08It's not always about the actors and directors.
16:10It's also the crew that helps a lot
16:13because we wouldn't do it without them.
16:15And also, we wouldn't do it without the fans.
16:18So, yeah.
16:19Thank you so much for your time.
16:20My five minutes are up.
16:22But I really wish you best
16:24for the second season.
16:25I'll be watching it anyway.
16:27Thank you very much.
16:28Take care.
16:29Bye.
16:30Bye.
16:32Bye.