Actor Ross Marquand gained a lot more popularity when he played the Red Skull for Marvel, but he has been playing Aaron in
The Walking Dead for several seasons now, and his character has gone through quite a few changes along the way.
After the loss of both Jesus and Eric , Marquand's character has been growing out his hair and beard, and on top of that he also lost an arm last season. Fans have been quick to point out how similar he looks to the (missing) Rick Grimes from the comics, and now the actor has opened up about that, insisting it was just a coincidence.
No, no, I can assure people it was, it's funny, when I met with [showrunner] Angela [Kang] last year for a meeting I asked her if she was cool with me growing a big old bushy beard because I prefer having a beard and I had a beard when I got the [part]. When I first got on the show I had a beard and they were like, 'Yeah, that's gotta go,' and I was bummed because I feel like I look and feel better with a beard. So, I was just asking more out of, A, this would feel better for my skin to not shave every day, but also, I think at a certain point we'd all be kind of looking pretty haggard and, like, we should look kinda terrible, you know? And I was saying that I want him to physically look bad after losing Eric."
Then came the point where his arm got hacked off - just like comic Rick.
"Shortly after that [Kang] informed me that they were gonna be hacking my arm off. 'How do I feel about that?' And I said, 'Oh, that's awesome, I love it.' So it was very accidental, it was just kind of a one-two thing of, like I pitched the beard, she liked it, and then she said, 'How do you feel about losing your arm?' I said, 'I love that,' and so it just kinda went from there."
Marquand goes on to discuss Aaron's larger role on the show in the wake of losing popular characters like Jesus last season.
"It's a tricky thing for the writers and the showrunner to manage everyone's hopes and dreams for the character and give everyone enough screen time and character development to make sure that they are feeling like they're adding value to the show. I really feel like last year and this year they've grown Aaron in such a huge way, given him so much to do with Gracie and being a father but also having something to live for in the wake of losing Eric has been really good for him because he's, I think, finally ditching the diplomacy and instead embracing a real proactive, more violent, brutal way of dealing with the Whisperers because that's the only way you'll survive against that enemy, you know?"
What are your thoughts on Marquand's comments? Check out the trailer for season 10, episode two below, and let us know what you think! Will you be tuning in?
In the second episode of Season 10 titled We are the End of the World, Alpha and Beta plan their next move against the survivors.
The Walking Dead Season 10 returns with episode 2 this Sunday October 13 on AMC.
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