'The Walking Dead' Cast Reveal How The Show Changed Their Lives
When The Walking Dead returns to AMC for the premiere of its eighth season this October, it will [...]
When The Walking Dead returns to AMC for the premiere of its eighth season this October, it will be with the series' 100th episode. AMC has released a new behind the scenes featurette with the cast of The Walking Dead, highlighting the many ways in which the actors' lives have been affected by their time with the show.
"Being Rick Grimes has taught me a lot about who I am," leading man Andrew Lincoln said. "When you work with people for such a long time, you can't help but become family members."
"Has it changed my life working on this show? Yeah, it's made me a better person, a harder worker. It's been awesome," fan-favorite and long time cast member Norman Reedus said.
"Sometimes things can feel like your work and it's part of what you do, but there's just been no separation in terms of The Walking Dead," Lauren Cohan shared. "It informs my life, my life informs the show."
Series veterans Chandler Riggs and Melissa McBride, both core cast members since the first season, weighed in similarly.
"I was ten when I started the show, so its definitely changed my life," Riggs said.
"I've been surrounded by some amazing, really amazing people, the cast and the crew, and the fans of this show, that have just made such a huge impact," McBride said.
Lennie James, now a series regular after making sporadic appearances since meeting Rick Grimes in the 2010 pilot, would agree the show sticks with you.
"The way we get the job done here, in other jobs that I do, I try and bring what we have here to those jobs," James said. "I suppose I carry that with me."
Long-time cast member Danai Gurira, a veteran since season 3, views her co-workers as family.
"I've gained family I'll never lose," Gurira said. "I've gotten to be in touch with so many different types of people in so many ways."
Both Josh McDermitt and Alanna Masterson joined the show in its fourth season, going on to become meaningful parts of The Walking Dead DNA.
"I don't know where my life would be without The Walking Dead," McDermitt said.
"Originally I was supposed to be here for three episodes, so obviously I did something right with bribing," Masterson joked.
Seth Gilliam, a TV veteran with the show since its fifth season, plays Father Gabriel, originally an outsider who is now a trusted member of the Alexandria community. "I feel like I'm part of something much larger than I have been before," Gilliam said.
As characters come and go — often departing by way of a violent or gory end — the world of The Walking Dead continues to expand, adding new communities and new characters. Though they've yet to be around as long as the enduring vets, newer series regulars share the same warm feelings towards the show.
"For me, it's the one show that really kind of kick-started my career," Ross Marquand said.
"I mean, this is my first TV thing ever," Austin Amelio said, "and it's kind of flipped my world upside down."
Jeffrey Dean Morgan, the actor behind the series' big bad, joined the show at the end of its sixth season, and now feels the same sense of family — even if he often menaces his colleagues onscreen.
"I've never felt more part of something special as this show brings you into," Morgan said.
Xander Berkeley, who portrays the unscrupulous and slimy Geoffrey, shares the love for both colleagues and fans.
"Everybody, once they become a part of this family, they're in it for keeps," Berkeley said. "And it's not just the people on the show, but the fans who watch it, too."
"We call each other through the day, it's kind of life imitating art, imitating life," Lincoln added. "So yeah, how could it not change your life?"
The series' cast and crew have always stressed the closeness behind the scenes: when a character meets their demise, the actor is often sent off with a "death dinner," a tearful gathering thrown in honor of the actor's time with the show.
When The Walking Dead returns to TV, the survivors will be closer than ever: the Alexandria, Hilltop, and Kingdom communities are finally united and ready to wage war against Negan and his vicious legion of Saviors, and things will get bloody.
The Walking Dead season 8 premieres Sunday, October 22 on AMC.
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