Austin Amelio Opens Up About The Walking Dead’s Dwight

The Walking Dead‘s Dwight debuted on the series back in the first half of the sixth season. Fans of the comics expected him to return but no one foresaw the events of Sunday night’s episode playing out the way they did. Nevertheless, Dwight returned (and actually said his name this time) and made an impact on The Walking Dead which will most-definitely have a lasting ripple effect for the remaining episodes.

Dwight is played by Austin Amelio, an actor who a lot of viewers hadn’t heard of unless they watched movies like Putting the Dog to Sleep, Over Again, or the trailer for the upcoming Everybody Wants Some (which does look pretty good). Basically, the actor is at the beginning of a young career and has finally opened up about his role on The Walking Dead.

“I was in L.A. for seven months, and to me it was just another audition,” Amelio tells EW. “I worked my ass off on it the night before for, like, eight hours. So I went in and was one of the last two auditioners, and I heard the casting director go, ‘Okay, well, we’ll just find the guy tomorrow.’ So I was like, ‘Okay, this is it. I’m bringing it.’ And I guess just ended up having a good audition, and it was one of those ones where I was like, ‘Okay, I think I did a really good job.’ Then two days later, they said I booked it, signed some papers Monday, got ready Tuesday, flew out Wednesday, and started shooting Thursday. So it was really crazy. It was super quick.”

At the time he had booked the gig, Amelio hadn’t even watched The Walking Dead. “I really didn’t even know what it was,” the actor admits. “I don’t have a TV or anything, so I had heard of it, but it was so far in a different world, I was like, ‘Great, I’m going to go down and do an episode, and that will be it.’ And then I talked to [showrunner Scott M. Gimple] and he was like, “Well, you’re actually one of the comic book characters, and you’re going to have a huge part,” and I was like “Oh my Gosh! This is crazy!” I had no idea, so all of it was very surprising. I still could not conceive how big it actually was. I was just so worried about getting down there and working and making sure my work was on point. Even still, I’m like, this is pretty crazy for me. This is my first TV experience.”

After opening up about himself and getting the role, Amelio was ready to discuss his character. The last time we saw Dwight, he certainly didn’t seem to have all of this evil in him. “His whole thing when I first got introduced was hanging onto his morals and his values and hanging on to the concept that he just wants the world to go back to how it was,” Amelio explains. “And that was kind of where I was at with him in that episode. And now he’s a completely different guy. He’s adapted to the world. He’s running with Negan, and I think he’s still held back, but he’s adapted, and he knows how the world works and there’s no turning back. I think he’s come full circle to the understanding of what’s really going on.”

As comic fans know, that burning of his face comes from his pal Negan. For various reasons, Dwight is choosing to align his allegiance with the show’s current boogeyman. “Now there are certain rules that he has to follow, and that’s just what it is: Those are the rules,” Amelio says. “I say it in the episode. I go, ‘This is how we like to start a business deal. This is kind of the way it is.’ And at this point he doesn’t even blink an eye when he makes that kill.”

There are two episodes left in The Walking Dead‘s sixth season and you can bet you’ll see Amelio’s Dwight again before its run comes to an end. Plus, we have an extra 30 minutes with the finale to get to know him.

The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 PM ET on AMC.

source: EW