Jon Bernthal, who plays Shane on AMC's hit show The Walking Dead, recently did a phone interveiw with TV.com's Heather Hughes. Here are a couple excerpts.
On what makes the show so popular: "The genre is pretty specific and there are loyalists and fans of not only the genre but also the comic books, but what I think is really cool about this show are the characters. Being on AMC in America puts us in the company of these really well loved and critically acclaimed character studies of Mad Men and Breaking Bad. It's such unbelievable company to keep. One thing about our show is that we really try to go after that audience as well. I don’t think this is just a genre piece. One of the most compelling things about this show, especially in the writing, is the unbelievable attention it pays to character and to atmosphere and texture. I don’t mean sound like a used car salesman, but I think there’s really something in this show for everybody. People who hate horror can end up loving this show; they just watch a lot of parts of it through their hands, which I think is really fun."
On the zombies: The first time I saw zombies was at lunch. It scared the living hell out of me. I bring my two pit bulls, Boss and Venice, with me to Atlanta and when they saw the zombies, they completely freaked out as well. That was really weird, seeing them in real life. When you see Greg Nicotero's work, he’s the man who makes all the zombies and does all the make-up effects and stuff, they’re really like works of art."
On filming season two and if he has read any of the scripts: We start in a couple of months. They’ve got to wait to make sure that Atlanta is so hot that we’ll have sweat literally pouring off of us every single take. We’re not starting until it gets to absolute hottest part of the year. I think they’re (the scripts)in the process of being written right now. Each of the actors was invited into the writers' room though. It really speaks to the collaborative nature of this show that actors are being invited into a writers’ room. It’s an open, special environment that these guys have created. So I do have an idea of some of the things that are going to go down in season two. But no scripts have been written yet. "
On if he knew he was going to live longer on the show then in the comic: "Oh, no. I didn’t know. There’s no real knowing how long you’re going to be around on this show. I think it's part of the environment that we create at any point, it could be your last. I remember one of the first movies I did was with a bunch of people who had been working on The Sopranos. They all said they never knew when it was going to be their episode and it added to the atmosphere of dread that was on set. That’s a big part of it, I think. We’re living in a zombie apocalypse and people have got to get killed off. I love this show; I love being a part of it and I love everyone involved in it. So I want to be around as long as I can, but if the character’s got to go and that’s to serve the quality of the entire show then, by all means, it’s what’s going to have to happen and I’m cool with that. I’m really grateful that they kept me around this long."
On if he wants a human or Zombie death: "I would like to go the exact the same way he goes in the comic."
On why Shane is the way he is and how the Lori, Rick, and Shane love triangle will effect that: "I love that they’ve made a character that was pretty much one note in the comic and they’ve written him to be unbelievably complex. He’s constantly going back and forth on whether he’s a good guy or a bad guy. You’re dealing with an unbelievably lonely guy and I think there are two types of loneliness in this world: there’s the loneliness that you suffer when you’re far away from the people you love and there's nothing to do except pine away and be sad, then there’s another kind of loneliness where you’re trapped with the people that you love. You see them every day and you just can’t be with them the way you want to be. That’s really what Shane’s going through, and I think that kind of loneliness really affects people's behavior. Shane's just discovering that there’s absolutely no law in this world whatsoever. I think it’s really illustrated in the scene where he beats the guy up on the beach and then draws the gun on Rick. He’s realizing, slowly but surely, that he can do whatever he wants here. There are no repercussions, there’s no law. And I think when you have a guy in this emotional state, and realizing that the environment that he’s in is this lawless, I think he can become an unbelievably dangerous person. That said he can also become an unbelievable ally and a friend. I think there are unbelievable places where this character can go, especially with this love triangle. I think you’re dealing with characters whose minds are going to be changing, literally four or five times an episode."
For the full interveiw click the source link.
The Walking Dead season two will resume later this year.
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