Greg Nicotero Praises The Walking Dead Cast For Season 10 Finale

If you were to dissect the ever-upright body of The Walking Dead and dig in for its heart, you would find Greg Nicotero. Nicotero's work does not go without recognition, he is often recognized by fans and members of the cast or crew for his incredible and passionate work with the series, a journey which began for Nicotero in 2010. He and his KNB team have crafted countless walker looks, a well-behaved tiger, and VFX moments plus entire episodes which fans will never forget. Nicotero's input makes its way to the top creatives in the series but shines through his connection to the cast and crew on set daily. After directing Sunday night's Episode 10x16, A Certain Doom, Nicotero was eager to share his praise for the people who helped his vision as a director on the episode be brought to life.

"All the actors, man, they killed it on that episode," Nicotero told ComicBook.com in an interview on Friday. "Seth [Gilliam] was amazing. Melissa was amazing. Cassady [McClincy] was amazing. Ryan [Hurst], Norman, Jeffrey [Dean Morgan], Cailey [Fleming]. That moment where they're in the zombie air lock that I like to call it and Cailey connects with Daryl and they put their hands up together. It's just such a great... There's a lot of emotion in the episode. Josh McDermitt, I think did a great... They all did a great job. A lot of people don't realize it, by the time you get to episode 16, man, we had the shit kicked out of us. We're working our butts off and everybody's been pouring 100% of themselves into the show and it's always a challenge. And I feel like this finale... Every single actor that has seen the episode has called me and been like, 'This is f-cking amazing, man. What a great episode.' I really feel like we left ourselves perfectly primed and positioned for the show to continue. I couldn't be more grateful to the cast and the crew for keeping their level of commitment show after show after so long. Just really, really dialed in."

As The Walking Dead is officially heading toward its final destination, a 30-episode run with a true conclusion in the Fall of 2022, Nicotero promises he will "absolutely" stay on board with the franchise beyond the main series' end.

"It's a part of who I am. It's a part of my DNA, the show," he says. "The Walking Dead is such a unique universe and I do feel like I've been fortunate enough to have a really strong hand in it because of Frank Darabont and [Scott] Gimple and Angela [Kang] and Robert Kirkman. I've been grateful for all of that. Scott and I have been talking about the Rick Grimes movie and we've been talking about the anthology. It's kind of interesting because sometimes I feel like Scott kind of picks on my brain a little bit because he's probably the biggest fan of Creepshow that I know and just very, very excited about the idea that Creepshow was so successful because of the anthology. I think that really helped solidify the idea it would be Walking Dead Anthology stories, which I love."

Which episode of Nicotero's direction is your favorite on The Walking Dead? Share your thoughts in the comment section or send them my way on Instagram!

The Walking Dead: World Beyond airs Sundays at 10pm ET, following new episodes of Fear the Walking Dead at 9pm ET. The Walking Dead will return for 6 more episodes in Season 10 in the spring. The 11th and final season of The Walking Dead will begin airing in the Fall of 2021.