Steven Yeun Talks About Life After ‘The Walking Dead’

Glenn may have come to a brutal end, but actor Steven Yeun is having a lovely afterlife.

Yeun is currently at Sundance Film Festival promoting his new film Sorry to Bother You. While there, he spoke to Variety about what life after The Walking Dead has been like. He looks back fondly on his time playing Glenn and how it helped him grow.

“You realize when you are lucky enough to play somebody else and lucky enough to be I guess coached in the right way or have a great experience like something like this it unlocks other portions of who you are and you get deeper, you get wider, you get, hopefully, wiser,” Yeun says. “But those are those experiences now that, seven years on a TV show was fantastic and I was also, it was naturally my exit. And to come into something like this, to come into the other projects I’ve come into, has been really, really great for me.”

Yeun has opened up about Glenn’s death in the past.

“It’s hard to leave family after seven years of being together but also it feels very complete,” Yeun said. “Something needed to happen to propel this next season.

“It’s been over a year and everybody is still so cool. They’re so sweet and they’re very sad about the death but that’s awesome. I think the coolest part about the death in and of itself is, I don’t know if there’s ever been a character like Genn before in any facet, in the way he walks and the way he talks…to have died and to have in death such a lasting impact. I think it’s like awesome. I think if Glenn were to continue, he could at some point fade into the back but there’s this great explanation point.”

The Walking Dead returns in February for the second half of season eight. AMC renewed The Walking Dead for a ninth season with a new showrunner, Angela Kang.

“I am beyond thrilled to be stepping into this new role with ‘The Walking Dead’” Kang said. “Working on this series and having the opportunity to adapt Robert Kirkman’s amazing comic has been a fangirl dream come true for me,” said Kang. “I’m excited to continue working with Scott and the wonderfully supportive folks at AMC, and can’t wait to share the next chapter of the story with our fans next fall.”

The Walking Dead returns to AMC on February 25th.