Avi Nash – The Walking Dead

By starrymag | October 27, 2019

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

Q) What are the recent projects that you are working on?

 

A) I shot a really sensitive and heart-wrenching film, Hosea, last year and it will premiere next month at the Napa Valley Film Festival (NVFF). I also recently reunited with an old friend, Diante Singley, to shoot a short. I’m excited for him. He’s got real vision. But, beyond that, my time off is honestly just for family time. “The Walking Dead” really does take up most of the year!

 

Q) What can you tease is new this season on “The Walking Dead” and with Siddiq?

 

A) This season harkens back to the show’s roots of horror and terror and paranoia. Angela [Kang] and her team are brilliant writers and they know how to weave a tight story that never lets up, while keeping suspense high. As for Siddiq, as the sole survivor of Alpha’s (Samantha Morton) beheadings, he really is a broken man this season. He’s trying to piece himself back together, but PTSD, survivor’s guilt and the constant threat of a Whisperer attack threaten to keep him from doing so.

 

Q) Did you have to do anything different mentally or physically for this season?

 

A) I definitely had to delve into some really dark and twisted places this year, which for a show about the apocalypse says something! Siddiq really steps up this season and, despite being an ensemble show, that extra workload had its mental and physical demands.

 

Q) Going into Season 10, was there someone(s) you were hoping to share more/any scenes with?

 

A) I’ve been very lucky ever since joining “The Walking Dead” to play alongside the majority of our cast, including a lion’s share of scenes with Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira in Season 8 and 9. The strength of this ensemble is incredible and this season my luck has continued. I suppose I wish I had more scenes with Melissa McBride, as I think she consistently delivers some of the most surprising and powerful work – being in a scene with her keeps you on the edge of your toes and heartstrings.

 

Q) With Enid gone, does Siddiq have someone new to mentor in the medical field? 

 

A) I’m not sure if he’s a mentor, but he does find a compatriot in Dante (Juan Javier Cardenas) this season, who also comes from a medical background. That bond is important to Siddiq. As he tries to recover from his PTSD, it gives him someone to trust and to share the burden of care with.

 

Q) How will being a new father bring out a different side of Siddiq than we’ve seen?

 

A) Raising a child in the apocalypse is a huge statement. It’s proof that we’re done just surviving and that we have hope in the future. Coco very much represents hope for Siddiq – hope that he can still love, still be moral, still become a good father to his child. But his encounter with Alpha has marked him so strongly that he also fears for Coco now even more than for himself. What if Alpha comes after his daughter? What if he is an unstable father? What if he harms Coco in a flashback? These are all new nightmares that plague him.

 

Q) Going forward, how will his parental relationship with Rosita affect her relationship with Gabriel?

 

A) Sometimes this beautiful thing happens when you remove sex from a relationship two people might start to see other a bit more clearly for who they are: flaws, strengths and all. And sometimes that relationship can deepen and grow and change. The love quadrangle is complicated to say the least, but I think for Siddiq and Rosita (Christian Serratos) or Rosita and Gabriel (Seth Gilliam), the way forward is tied intrinsically not just to how much they care for each other, but how much they care for Coco. Oh, and how much they care for Eugene (Josh McDermitt)!

 

Q) How is Siddiq handling his survivor’s guilt being the only one to make it out alive from Alpha’s pike lineup?

 

A) He’s fighting every day to make it back out of that barn. PTSD is a scary thing – all of a sudden, your memories are no longer confined to the past. They grab a hold of your present and threaten to never let go.

 

Siddiq knows what’s happening to him, medically, but that knowledge is also isolating. He feels that he has to deal with his problems on his own and that there’s a shame in confiding in others. After all, how could there be time for his problems when there is the responsibility of being a new father, the responsibility of caring for Alexandria, the responsibility of honoring those lost in the fight against The Whisperers…?

 

The writers have done a really lovely job of writing a nuanced and sensitive portrayal of PTSD, one that too often is overlooked…I hope Siddiq finds the strength to trust and to share with others, but I guess we’ll have to see.

 

Q) What does the introduction of Gamma mean for the Alexandra/Hillside/Kingdom alliance?

 

A) Can’t really say. As far as Siddiq is considered, she’s just another Whisperer. Which, given what he’s been through, means she’s not to be trusted and better off dead than alive.

 

Q) What have been some of your favorite scenes to film throughout your time on the series?

 

A) So many. There are definitely a few this season that stick out in my mind with both Christian and Danai, but I guess you’ll have to wait and see!

 

Q) What has being a part of such an iconic series meant to you?

 

A) It’s been incredibly rewarding and humbling and daunting and exhilarating -all at the same time. It will definitely go down as one of the most incredible times of my career, if not my life.

 

Q) You are a part of social media. Do you enjoy the instant fan feedback you receive to episodes?

 

A) I’m not on social media too often, but when I am it’s lovely to see that fans respond so much to the work and that it affects them. To be a part of something that affects people around the world – that’s the dream.

 

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who are fans and supporters of the work you do?

 

A) Thanks so much for following the journey so far. I couldn’t do it without you. There’s plenty more to come and I hope to keep you surprised, thinking and feeling!