‘The Walking Dead’: Steven Ogg Recalls Joining Series For Season 7

Though The Walking Dead‘s Simon actor Steven Ogg debuted on the series in its Season Six finale, it was his heavy involvement with Season Seven which truly saw him being embraced by the show’s cast and fans.

Joining as Negan’s right hand man, Ogg plays a villainous henchman of sorts through the 17 episodes which have aired since he joined. His sometimes over-the-top delivery and entirely smug facial expressions made the character a breakout hit among all of the recently introduced faces. Ogg, however, is quick to praise his co-stars and the welcoming attitude for when he joined the series.

“It really is the antithesis of the show, the surviving and the intensity of it all,” Ogg said. “Everyone is so welcoming and so wonderful. They’re all ridiculously close off the set that they just make you feel completely welcome and it was such a safe environment that you immediately feel like, ‘All right, you’re excited. Let’s get down to it, like what do we get to play today?’ And this extends throughout, really, everyone — production, and cast.”

For Ogg, despite being new to the series, he felt no sort of hierarchy on set when it came to the new faces, villain or good guy roles, or anything of the sort. It is all one unit.

“There’s no feeling like you’re lesser than.” Ogg said. “Andrew is number one on the call sheet, and he is number one and he sets the tone, and it just bleeds over to everyone. That everyone is just so great and there’s no, you’re just this person, or your number 300 on the call sheet, it doesn’t matter. Everyone is in this together, and you feel it. You feel the team, you feel the love, you feel the support and the trust, and I think it’s what really makes it special. I think it reflects on the show, too.”

In fact, the chemistry helped bolster performances during a heavily dramatic and intense batch of episodes. “when you have an environment where people love each other and respect each other as much as we all do, everyone does, you feel safe,” Ogg said. “If you feel safe, and you don’t feel that there’s a hierarchy, or a pecking order, or that you’re a guest star on some main show where you can be treated as if, ‘You’re a guest star, just so you know. You’re there for that, that’s it. Don’t go above what you’re supposed to do.’”

Ogg’s attitude is one where you can’t fail on this set, even if the takes are adjusted or left unused. “It’s like, ‘I’m going to try this. I’m going to go for it,’” Ogg said. It might be part of why some of Ogg’s scenes were left on the cutting room floor despite a number of enjoyable takes making the cut. “It might not work, and hence we’ve got wonderful directors, too, that are there to say, ‘Hey, good attempt, but that was terrible. Don’t do that.’ But, you’ve got to f—ing try. When you trust each other, you do. You try. I think it definitely shows with the work.”

Ogg’s role in The Walking Dead can be caught in The Walking Dead: The Complete Seventh Season which is available on Blu-ray now.

The Walking Dead‘s sibling series Fear the Walking Dead returns September 10th. 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.