The Walking Dead is always trying to innovate its walkers but Sunday’s Monsters episode was crafty in its effort save time.
When walkers came tumbling down a roadside hill, attacking the Hilltop brigade as they marched captured Saviors into captivity, a herd spilled out of the woods and down the hill. It looked like dozens were taking tumbles but, as it turns out, only a few walkers were on set for those moments. Check out the video above for a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the scene.
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“I’ve got three stunt people here that are taking tumbles down the side of the hill,” The Walking Dead stunt coordinator Monty Simons said. “To make it look like we have hundreds of them, we’re re-purposing them. We’ll do a couple takes where they’re falling down the hill and we’ll change their clothes, change the masks they have on, and we’ll do some more takes. That way, it looks as if 12 or 15 walkers have come falling down the hill.”
Recycling stunt folks and extras is common practice on The Walking Dead. Comicbook.com learned as much while visiting the set of the AMC series earlier this year.
Of course, the moment required an extra bit of acting from the stunt crew suited up as undead. “A normal person would reach out and put an arm out and try to stop themselves from rolling,” Simons said. “My stunt people can’t because the second you put an arm out and try to stop yourself or save yourself, then you’re a human being and you’re not a walker.”
Later in the episode, Morgan and Jesus would fight each other in the same woods the walkers poured out from. According to fight coordinator Steven Ho, the actors were really going at it, rather than using a stunt crew. “In this case, Lennie and Tom actually have exceptional control,” Ho said. “Lennie pops the staff right in front of his throat and because he’s been training so hard, he’s able to actually pop it in front of his throat, so we don’t have to pop it and restart.”
The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 pm ET on AMC. For complete coverage and insider info all season long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter.
