STAYING IN ‘You don’t cage a wild animal and not get scratched’
FLESHED OUT As The Walking Dead returns for season five, Henry Northmore catches up with the cast of TV’s rip-roaring zombie series
S eason four of The Walking Dead closed with a massive cliffhanger. Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and his cohorts thought the colony of Terminus would offer them safe haven from the ever-present zombie hordes but now they i nd themselves stripped of their weapons and imprisoned in a box car. However, Rick ended that i nal episode with the ultimate closing line: ‘they’re gonna feel pretty stupid when they i nd out . . . they’re fucking with the wrong people.’ Now that’s i ghting talk.
Unsurprisingly, fans of the series are on tenterhooks awaiting their fate. The Walking Dead has become a surprise hit across the globe: in America it’s the highest rated cable show of all time. To casual observers it might
just look like another run-of-the-mill horror series packed with zombies, gore and action. And while The Walking Dead dei nitely delivers all of the above, what really sets it apart is the depth of the characterisation. We have followed this ragtag band of survivors through the zombie apocalypse into a harsh and brutal landscape where tough decisions have to be made every day. Only Games of Thrones can rival The Walking Dead when it comes to killing off beloved characters. Negotiating Terminus could be their biggest challenge yet because, as with all good zombie stories, the real villains are other human beings rather than the undead. ‘Season i ve is really thrilling,’ explains Danai Gurira who plays
sword wielding badass Michonne. ‘It goes in so many astoundingly unexpected directions that you really have to hold on tight because you just will never know where it’s going next. It’s really thrilling in terms of what’s happening in the micro sense but also what’s happening between people and how they navigate personal relationships and personal ambitions.’ ‘It’s got the teariest of moments and the most frightening of moments,’ adds Norman Reedus who plays sharp-shooting redneck Daryl. ‘I’m right in the thick of it there right now. I mean, they’re beating the crap out of us over there [on set]. I got hit in the face with a spinal cord; I’ll just leave it at that. But, yeah, it’s really been nuts.’
32 THE LIST 18 Sep–16 Oct 2014