Colman Domingo On Shocking ‘Fear The Walking Dead’ Season 3 Death

Kicking off its third season, Fear the Walking Dead shocked its audience by killing a leading character off of the show. The cast and crew were equally surprised.

Spoilers for Fear the Walking Dead‘s third season follow!

To start a new batch of episodes, Fear the Walking Dead elected to kill off Travis Manawa, the character played by Cliff Curtis. Travis was expected to be a major player for the series ,but was eliminated when a stray bullet struck him in a helicopter. It was a moment which was equally shocking for both fans and people who are a part of the show, according to Victor Strand actor Colman Domingo.

“Well, you know, for the whole cast, you know of course it was a bit of a shock,” Domingo told ComicBook.com. “Especially if you go so early on in the season, you were expecting to at least be riding this out a little longer together.”

The cast found out just before reading the script and learning all of the details of how Curtis would exit the series. “We got word before we got the script so, it was like a week before we got the script and, of course, we made the rounds of the cast,” Domingo said. “Of course, we talked to Cliff, and we talked about it and everything and everyone was handling it with so much grace, and so much love, and so much integrity.”

However, as an actor on a show with “Walking Dead” in its title, Domingo can’t be too surprised to see anyone go at any time. “We know that’s the nature of the show,” Domingo said. “But, he’s been such a central part of the show, it was a little hard, to be honest. It was a little shocking. But, we also understand that deaths on the show are usually to propel other characters forward, in some way.”

The death of Travis may or may not be part of what has helped make Fear the Walking Dead the most improved show of the year, though it was necessarily the character or actor diminishing any quality, but the lack of focus or clear cut leader.

“I think it was part of the evolution of Madison’s character,” Domingo said. “What it does for everyone moving forward is we had to move the central figure to really examine what we’re made of. So, I think that we all understood that, Cliff understood that, and Cliff is never hurting for work. He has the Avatar franchise now!”

“So, everything was met with grace and love and integrity, and I think that now we’re moving forward,” Domingo added. “You know, I think we’re just moving forward.”

The Walking Dead‘s sibling series Fear the Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 pm ET on AMC. The Walking Dead will return for its eighth season on October 22, 2017. The Season Eight premiere will mark 100 episodes overall for the popular AMC series. For complete coverage and insider info all season long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter.