Though he was introduced as one of the most mysterious characters in the world of Fear the Walking Dead, Victor Strand has quickly emerged as a fan favorite after some development through flashbacks and allowing himself to connect with other survivors for a change.
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However, Strand finds himself in a horrible situation at the moment. In last week’s Pillar of Salt episode of Fear the Walking Dead, the smooth talker was jabbed in the stomach with a knife and currently finds himself laid up in bed in hope of some medical aid.
With Strand’s future uncertain and a haunted past continuing to linger around the character, ComicBook.com caught up with the man burdened with bringing the role to life, Colman Domingo, in an exclusive interview.
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CB: First of all, the obvious question: Is Strand going to die?
CD: How am I supposed to answer that? [Laughs] Hopefully that’d make for good television. I think that question hangs in the air. His fate hangs in the balance. All the we do know is that they did receive the medicine they got from the shut down supermarket. Hopefully it gets to him in time. I hope so, too, but we’ll never know.
CB: I hope so, too. So far today, Strand seems like a pretty forgiving guy for the most part, but after something like this, assuming he can heal, is he going to seek revenge?
CD: You never know. I think Strand is one of those people. He’s been changing so much. He’s gone through such a slim to narrow, and now I think he’s going to emerge with this, if he does emerge, a different person in some way. I think we’re able to now uncover and can see his source and his heart, but we also must still remember the man from the past, if he does recover. The kind of man that he can be. It’ll be interesting to see where he goes if he survives. Will he seek revenge? I don’t know. We know a little bit more about it now, so I think we know the mechanics of it fully. He can go one way or the other.
CB: Early on, Strand was mysterious to both the characters around him and the audience Now he seems like he’s opening up to Madison. What is it that’s brought these changes about for him?
CD: The fall of civilization. I think it just transformed everyone in the show. People are going to places they’d never imagine. The idea that Strand is a bit more vulnerable is just luck. You can tell that that was not the person that we met in season one. I’ll leave it at that.
CB: Of all these survivors whom he seems to be opening up to, it seems like it would’ve definitely been Nick in the first half of the season. In this back half, who do you think he would say he’s closest to or he would put before even himself?
CD: I think it’s probably just him. He’s closest to Madison. I loved the scene between Strand and Alicia because there’s a sense of another level of camaraderie as well, and Strand also returns to his gallows humor, where he can be a comfort to Alicia, while he’s completely vulnerable and dealing with a severe wound.
CB: Speaking of a severe wound, how has the loss of Thomas been affecting Victor at this point now? Is he still carrying that weight?
CD: I wonder. That’s a question that I have, as well. I loved the way the scene was written in that episode where you see the way Strand kill and the way we actually witnessed him kill, for the most part, has been mercifully. He’s not just a killer. We haven’t seen him just going forward and stabbing zombies in the head. He’s fighting for his life when he needs to, but otherwise, we see the way he kills. That’s really telling about Strand in a way, in terms of how he feels about death.
I think he’s just in a place, especially after the death of Thomas, as well, where he’s definitely moving forward. He didn’t give up. He didn’t just stop. He’s continuing to move forward, but do you know exactly where he’s going? Not just yet.
CB: There’s been so much girl power on the show lately between Ofelia, Madison, Elena, and Alicia. Do you think the women are the strongest survivors on the show?
CD: I actually do right now. I think it’s very interesting because that’s what I think now is very special for the show in terms of men and the places that they need to go become a bit more human and a bit more … They have to go to these female places, and the women have to adapt and go to these more male places. There’s a system of balances happening, I think, in this apocalypse where people are just emerging as their true selves, which is both masculine and feminine. It’s a strength to both things. The women are just rising and really becoming bad-asses like they are, like I know women to be. The men have to have some work to do and to help them survive as well. That’s what I think is fantastic.
I think the strongest right now is Madison. She’s a woman who really knows her power, and I think Strand really admires that. I thought what was very interesting, the flashback episode, and Strand is sitting there, we just knew that everything was working and in working order in a great way at this hotel right before he takes a knife. We could’ve gotten more of a glimpse of exactly what was going on. It just seemed like he was laughing and engaging with these people, so it was a different bit of Strand than I think we’ve seen. Then, all of a sudden, blammo.
CB: Strand can play the piano. He can sail. He can con people. He’s very good with talking. Are there any other hidden talents?
CD: I think Strand has so many… You probably know, he’s a master of so many things that I think it’s going to continue to surprise people. I think there’s so many more hidden talents of his, which is cool. He knows how to fly a plane. You don’t know until he shows you what he can do.
I don’t think he reveals it immediately, but all of a sudden, suddenly he speaks Spanish and no one expected that. He’s always about the unexpected. I think he knows the way he presents himself in the world, but he’s always got something up his sleeve. You never know. He could be a magician, or juggle. You never know. He won’t just reveal it immediately. You have to get to know him and he’ll let you know.
CB: Last question, this one from a fantasy world. What would happen, how would Strand handle it, if he met Negan from The Walking Dead?
CD: In a strange way, I feel that he would actually get along with him. I think he understands the way his mind operates. The moment Negan walks in and he’s got the power, he knows to mess with minds and he knows exactly what he needs to do to assert his power and to get what he needs. He’s masterful in that way, and I think he would see him as someone who could be very useful to him. I don’t think he would think of his as a nemesis. I think they would really understand one another, but close cousins, I think. They have the choice to use their power for darkness or for light, but they both understand the power that each other has, I think.
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Fear the Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 PM ET on AMC. For more insider info and complete coverage all season long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter!
