Greg Nicotero Explains How The Dumpster Scene Was Created On ‘The Walking Dead’

When Greg Nicotero suits up as a walker on The Walking Dead, it is for good reason as the busy executive producer looks to perfect certain elements of episodes he directs.

For fans of the AMC series, one Nicotero-walker-cameo stands out above the rest, when he both directed and appeared in the controversial but unforgettable Thank You episode early in Season 6. Before Episode 6×03 concluded, Michael Traynor’s Nicholas would shoot himself and fall into Steven Yeun’s Glenn, hurling both character’s into a horde of undead beneath the dumpster they had perched on.

The guts which were seen pouring out, misleading fans into thinking Glenn was dead, was a move Nicotero was so nervous and excited about getting just right, he decided to carry out the effect himself.

“Glenn and Nicholas are under the dumpster and that fakeout where you see the guts being pulled out and you think it’s Glenn, I built this very, very specific gag that had a giant freezer bag,” Nicotero said during the Horror Legends panel at Walker Stalker Con. “One of those re-freezable freezer bags filled with guts and we had five stunt people around us. I had a ring on my finger that had a nail sticking out of the bottom so I said, ‘Listen, I’m gonna puncture that bag with the ring. As soon as you see blood, all the other zombies push on the bag.’ That made the blood fountain out. As soon as the blood started to spray out, my other hand came and tore the bag open and you see all the guts.”

The panel, which including Night of the Living Dead director Tom Savini, was one of the more informative the filmmaker has been a part of. Rather than speculating on upcoming events for The Walking Dead or recalling their favorite scenes to shoot, Nicotero and Savini were questioned on their filmmaking experiences and the types of tricks they use to pull off the horrific moments in their works.

As for the scene with Glenn and Nicholas, Nicotero did a bit of problem-solving after reading the script and devised the plan which lead to his cameo.

“I’m using my understanding of natural physics to say ‘If you have liquid and you push down on one part of the bag, the liquid’s gonna push out of the other side of the bag,’” Nicotero said. “We had one chance at it and I thought,You know what it’s just better…’ So I ran into the make-up trailer and I said, ‘Gino, make me up as a zombie, I think I should probably do that gag,’ because I was a little nervous about it and wanted to make sure it was perfect.”

Of course, the fans would be outraged over Glenn’s death while they were left to assume the worst for two weeks”And then everyone got pissed because they thought Glenn was dead,” Niotero said before referencing the Season 7 premiere which he also directed. “And then I killed Glenn.”

The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 pm ET on AMC. For complete coverage and insider info all season long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter.