The Walking Dead: Tom Payne Explains Jesus And Richard's History

02/19/2017 07:52 pm EST

A popular question since the midseason 7 premiere of The Walking Dead has been regarding the history between Jesus of the Hilltop and Richard of the Kingdom. This all spawned from Richard's calling Jesus "Paul" while they marched Rick to their introduction to the King.

Speaking to Paul "Jesus" Rovia actor Tom Payne in an exclusive interview ahead of Sunday's new episode of The Walking Dead, ComicBook.com asked where the banter between the two characters comes from.

"Jesus definitely knew about the Kingdom, he's the scout for Hilltops and he's been there before," Payne said. "Because certainly, since he's got Rick's group involved with the Hilltops and all that's going on with them, and Rick's group offered to help out and then it went a little bit haywire. I think he was a bit wary of complicating the situation more by introducing them to another group. But definitely, there's history with Richard I think. Jesus is a pretty clever and intuitive person. He knows that Richard wants to make a change to the Kingdom with regard to the Saviors and stuff. There wasn't a right time to do that, and now it seems Jesus can bring in Rick's group and maybe they can move that forward. That's what he was trying to do."

The growth of the show and its landscape can largely be credited to Jesus, as it was he who guided Rick to the Hilltop and Kingdom communities, in the first place.

"In a lot of ways, Jesus is actually again moving Rick's group forward into a whole other group beside the new world in the same way that he did before with the Saviors," Payne concluded.

MORE THE WALKING DEAD: Season 7 Finale Cliffhanger? / Khary Payton Explains Ezekiel's Decision / Those Epic Zombie Kills Almost Didn't Happen! / Who Dies In New Best Friends? / Surprise Cast Member On Talking Dead / Why Richard & Daryl's Alliance Makes Sense / Jesus' Sexuality Will Be Revealed

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

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