The Walking Dead’s “Dawn of the Dead Zombie” Speaks

Josh Marich is a dead person; he just plays one on TV.More specifically, Josh has been a recurring extra on AMC’s The Walking Dead, which films near his home. He’s not actually an actor; he’s actually a firefighter and EMT for the Coweta County Fire Department who lives in Peachtree City with his wife and two kids.(We’ll just pretend we didn’t notice that someone from The Walking Dead lives in a city named after the block that went to war with Judge Dredd last fall.)Most recently, and most notably, Marich played the “Airport Zombie” from George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead, who made a surprising cameo in the penultimate episode of the just-concluded season of The Walking Dead. After ComicBook.com wrote a story making note of that appearance, we caught up with Marich to talk about what it’s like to be on the set of TV’s hottest show and when a walker is a “hero.”ComicBook.com: You said you’ve been a zombie a few times. Obviously the DotD zombie is something special, but generally do they try and create a continuity where you’re in the same wardrobe so that you’re the same walker, or are you ostensibly different walkers on different days?Josh Marich: I have been fortunate enough to be 3 different zombies. One was outside of “Woodbury”, the prison, and at the bar in the scenes with Merle. Each one of these zombies had his own specific wardrobe look.ComicBook.com: What’s the atmosphere like on set for the locals and background talent? Given the way AMC protects their privacy I imagine it’s a bit different than most sets.Marich: The atmosphere on set is full of energy, but also very serious. As an extra, you obviously see things that have not yet been revealed in the upcoming season. You sign a Non Disclosure Agreement (NDA) when you check in each day. I really appreciated and respected the trust given to me. On the flip side, my wife is a huge fan of the show and it was hard not to come home and tell her about all of the amazing things I had seen during filming. It was not easy keeping the Daryl and Merle arena fight a secret, or that Glen cut off a zombie’s finger for a wedding ring, or that Merle was on a drunken bender!ComicBook.com: Do you do background work for other productions or is it just convenient that TWD is in your neck of the woods?Marich: I just recently moved to Georgia from Meridian, MS. My first day ever on a set was for TWD. I have never been a part of any other production. It does not hurt that I live 15 minutes from Woodbury and the Prison set.ComicBook.com: Prior to being the Dawn of the Dead zombie, were you ever a “featured” or visible on-camera walker before?Marich: My first “Hero Walker” was the DotD zombie. My other zombie roles are hardly worth mentioning! My first zombie role did not even make the episode. Apparently Hines Ward was a better bald zombie than me! My second zombie role was only on screen for a split second shuffling along the fence outside the Prison.ComicBook.com: How did you find out that they were going to do something special with your wardrobe and makeup for the DotD episode?Marich: When you work as an extra on TWD, you check in to a designated holding area for extras. This is where you turn in your cellphone, sign the NDA for the day, and wait while trying to contain your excitement about being a part of TWD! When you check in, you find out if you are a featured zombie (hero) or a regular background zombie.When I was checking in, a PA nicknamed Redbeard asked me if I knew about the zombie I was going to be. He made a comment about what an awesome zombie it was. It didn’t take long to figure out I was about to be a very special zombie.Pretty quickly they came for me and took me to wardrobe. Once dressed, they took me over to the make-up trailer. As soon as I walked in and sat down, the makeup artist asked me if I had ever seen “Dawn of the Dead’. Of course I had, and he then told me I was going to be a tribute to Romero’s “Airport Zombie”. I could barely sit still at that point.ComicBook.com: About how long did it take you to get into makeup for that day?Marich: If I remember correctly, it took around 3 hours. The amazing thing about this zombie is the makeup artist had reference pictures on his phone and lots of different prosthetic pieces. He started mixing and matching bits and pieces and basically sculpted this zombie on my face. I think he did an amazing job.ComicBook.com: Was it any different than any other day in terms of prep time and stuff?Marich: When you are a zombie, there are different levels of detail that correspond with how close you will be to the camera. My previous zombie’s makeup took about 45 minutes and mainly consisted of airbrushing. The DotD zombie had airbrushing, prosthetics on my face and chest, as well as one of my eyes being glued shut under the prosthetic for comfort. I also had to wear a full contact on set over my good eye. I truly felt like a zombie with lots of trauma to his head and body. I think it made it easier to get into character!