'Fear The Walking Dead's Maggie Grace Teases Althea Backstory

Fear The Walking Dead will continue to unravel the mysterious thread that is Althea, actress [...]

Fear The Walking Dead will continue to unravel the mysterious thread that is Althea, actress Maggie Grace tells EW.

The character made her debut in 4x01, a video journalist-turned-survivor who drives a hefty S.W.A.T. vehicle and comes brandishing dangerous "push daggers."

"What's your story?" she asks of newfound allies Morgan (Lennie James) and John Dorie (Garret Dillahunt) — but what's Althea's story? Is there a story behind her acquisition of the zombie-mobile?

"I'm not allowed to get into that, but yes," she told EW, "there is."

As the season continues, it will bring answers about the nomadic journalist, who Grace said is "uniquely suited to this environment" and who "has a comfort level with this level of self-reliance and danger."

"Even the choice to drive this crazy vehicle, it's certainly an asset on one hand, because it's so much protection, and it's essentially her house," Grace said. "But on the other, it really makes her a target. It certainly stands out and draws attention, and something that draws very negative attention. It's something that others want."

Althea's inquisitiveness also draws attention, as she strives to document the stories and histories of survivors afflicted by the horrors of a zombie apocalypse.

"There are quite a few layers there. On one hand, there's the personal," Grace said, explaining:

"You know, we tell ourselves stories in order to live. And I do think this agenda is saving her life. And in a deeper way, I think this season is very much about trying to find human connection when there's few humans left. I think she's really looking for that very human quality that's still left in people. Is there still anything noble, or worth saving, about humanity that separates us from the walkers?"

"It's reduced a lot of people to nasty, brutish, and a short life," Grace added. "But then there are also incredible acts of kindness and compassion and self-sacrifice, and really incredibly diverse groups working together in ways they might not have before the apocalypse."

There's also the matter of preserving stories for whatever comes next as factions of the world struggle to rebuild — like the undertaking currently fueling Morgan's old friend, Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), over on The Walking Dead.

"I think there's that side, and then I think there's a very practical side as well, in terms of, these are small societies being built from the ground up, and this is the closest thing that they have to news," Grace said.

"So, there is that, and the ways these different sides interact, and different ways of building societies too. There's that. I think also, in a way, it's history rebooting. What are we leaving for those that come after us?"

A disillusioned and standoffish Morgan resisted prompts to share his story, but a persistent Althea will continue to draw it out of the shut off Morgan:

"I think there's something about him. It's not that there's resistance, but there's clearly a lot of depth, and this is a very thoughtful person with a guarded exterior," Grace said of the Walking Dead transplant. "And he's traveled a great distance. It's definitely a story worth finding out more about."

Fear The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9/8c on AMC.

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