Danay Garcia – Fear The Walking Dead

By starrymag | September 17, 2017

By: Tara Donahue

 

 

Q) The last time we saw Luciana she had left Broke Jaw Ranch. Do you think that was a hard decision for her to have to make?

Danay: Yes, it was a very difficult decision. It was not nothing…she’s not somebody that goes away and leaves people behind. Especially somebody that she loves.  Actually, that’s one of the things that she and Nick – They don’t do that, like Nick (Frank Dillane) he left his entire family and he went on his own. By the time I met him, I never even thought he had a family and then the fact that he left them, that’s not something… like she’s so different from that, you know? That’s something that they actually don’t look alike in that, in that part, to somebody that sticks with you until the end and especially your family and if love involved this is like a forever kind of thing. It was definitely difficult, but the one thing that made it complex for me to even be upset with him about coming with me is the fact that he has a family now. And like I said, family is something that she really understands and she also kind of understands that they are finally together and I could feel the mother’s …You know, Madison’s (Kim Dickens) need for her to be with her son. You know? So, that’s kind of like I can’t get in the middle of that. It’s not something that I can do, especially before when Nick wanted to leave and I kept telling him, “Well, this is what you know how to do. You always walk away so go ahead and leave, leave us. Fine. I stay here.” You read the answers out there at Season Two. That’s something that I kind of like kept telling him, “Well fine, go, go away.” So, I can’t tell him go, go away and leave them behind. It’s something that you have to now deal with. And that doesn’t make it easy it makes it really complicated.

Q) Luciana was ready to leave as soon as she was going to be able to, but it seemed like Nick was kind of struggling back between staying with his family or leave with his love. When do you think Luciana realized that he wasn’t going to leave with her?

Danay: At the beginning he started telling me, “What if we stay here?” He was very up front about staying and all that, like he never …But he also played with it. I actually had talked with Frank and I’m like, “You are not being up front with me,” and he was like, “What? What do you mean?” I’m like, “No! You’re not! Well, I don’t know if I can make it. I’m not used to it.” So, he was trying to play the character like he was kind of trying to avoid the question of like, when are we leaving? I’m getting ready. I know people in Mexi-Cali, he was eating and he was trying to come up with ways to kind of avoid the conversation to not lie to me because he knows that if you lie to Luciana it’s a problem.

So, the fact that he knows it is for me. He understands, but what made it for me like “oh my god, he’s not coming” is when he took me to the house for the dinner and we talked and he tells me the story about the seniors that were living there and how they died. And I had a feeling that he wasn’t going to come, but that’s where he made it official and that’s when I made a decision to get out because it’s just beyond this people and this ranch. It goes with the values that exist in the ranch and I just…that she just doesn’t agree with. She can’t accept that. And values that made her, made me love Luciana because she’s such a strong woman, is kind of like saying, nope, this is not for me. I’d rather just be out and not deal with zombies and sit on their bridge being in the place where I know who these people are. They’re really not lying to me. And that was something that was very traumatic for her. These people killed the people she loves and that’s not okay. I can’t forgive that, especially when they’re still there and they’re not … She cannot sense the danger and their messed up minds before it even started happening.

Q) Most of Luciana’s scenes have been with Nick, but we kind of got to see her interacting with some of the others for the first half of Season Three. Can you share who we might see her share more scenes with for the second half of Season Three?

Danay: I can’t say much about that. I can’t say much about it, but what I can tell you is that the one thing I’ve been loving about the show throughout…I mean now, yeah, we’re mid-season so by now. You already know who Walker (Michael Greyeyes) is and who this new people are coming in to the show and what it’s like to kind of like gain these Native Americans. Their lands were taken away from them, but now they’re kind of claiming it back because there are no rules. And the laws are kind of gone and you know, I really feel that this is an interesting metaphor for a lesson actually that the show is sending. It’s a beautiful wasted, kind of like portrayal, the pain that could exist in somebody that is passed on generations.

And to some extent for Madison it’s like that. too. Madison had a past and she’s now…Her past is kind of like coming onto her and that’s what’s making her survive. The fact that she’s a schoolteacher and she’s a counselor and she knows how to deal with Troy (Daniel Sharman) and that’s how she’s learning to keep her family together. And also from the Walker people, too. Luciana, she kind of like her past is really becoming her strength to overcome obstacles and, in the ethic of family, that’s where she’s at. She’s just using whatever is left in her to overcome this next step, this chapter of being this lone wolf because we’ve never seen her like that. She’s never been on her own, completely. She’s always been the leader of the colony that she has to help and now she has to help herself. But all the characters were kind of like combined in a specific way and I really found that fascinating.

Q) To play off something you said a moment ago about Luciana, she’s such a strong female character and she has such strong morals. But at the same time, we’ve also seen that she has this vulnerable side. Do you think that vulnerability is more of a strength or a weakness with her?

Danay: Oh, it’s a huge strength. When I got this role, I really loved her strength and I loved how she just goes out and she tells Nick to shut up and, “Follow me and what’s wrong with you? I don’t want to talk with you right now.” She’s so straightforward, but I also wanted to play a character and I really focused on giving her layers of life and what life is – it’s the unpredictable, what’s part of life is being vulnerable and it’s being lost and scared and you see her side of what’s going to happen tomorrow? I don’t know and that makes me uncomfortable. I really want to picture a woman that people can really feel and understand. Not just like this badass woman that has no feelings because it’s not real and I believe that even the strongest people, even though they don’t show inside of them, there’s a moment where they just feel. They question things and there’s nothing wrong with questioning and with feeling and with feeling vulnerable or scared.

I’m thinking the oldest could be fearless, and need to feel the fear and in order to be empowered you need to feel what it’s like to lose this power, and that’s the difference. And that’s when we really go for it. So, I really focus on portraying a character that you can see when she lost it all and when she gained it back, because it’s reality, it’s how it goes. It doesn’t go all the way forward. We have to learn, we have to feel the pain, overcome it, learn from it and make a decision. That’s kind of like what we’ll go through and that’s what I wanted her to be. I never wanted her to be this superwoman that is made of steel. It’s just not real. She has a tough skin, but she has also blood inside her veins and she has a heart and that’s what I care about. It’s how she deals with that. As an actor.

Q) And so, thisfar, what has been your favorite or your most rewarding moment of Luciana’s character development so far?

Danay: The development with Luciana is really understanding her relationship with the dead and how …Because let’s face it, we’re gonna face zombies all year. I mean, the work, I’m not gonna just assume I’m not going to be a zombie walking. It’s going to happen. Somebody’s gonna be somewhere dressed as a zombie. So, I try getting deeper into the regime of relationships with the characters and the other people of course, like the humans. Besides that, I wanted to really focus also and that was the funniest part, emphasis on what her relationship with the dead because it’s not something that people deal with every day. We don’t see zombies anywhere. If we lose a person we love, we go through the stages of mourning and then we move on. It’s kinda like how it goes. But to live with the dead, it’s not something natural for us. So, I really wanted to be very centered when it comes to a zombie and when I see it and when I talk about them. To talk about it is confusing. These characters are like, “When is this gonna stop? What’s the reason?” So, what I focused basically was in the culture of Mexico.

My character is Mexican. And Mexico has a really good relationship with the dead. They celebrate the day of the dead, “Dia De Los Muertos.” They go through the cemeteries, and they have fun, they do a party there and they get dressed as dead like a zombie without blood, but they have a day to celebrate the day of the dead. So, I was like, “Wow!” And then if you come to Mexico and you go to any tourist place, the first thing they sell you is little skeletons, there’s just a feeling of pride and it’s like, “wow! This is so interesting!” So, I also went deeper into my research and I realized that they have three kinds of dead. The day you die, the day you get buried and the day you’re forgotten. So, that’s how deep they go into the dead and the fact that in this zombie apocalypse, yes they die, but they will never get buried and they will never be forgotten because they are walking in front of you. So, it’s like oh, she’s a ghost of them as a way to survive.

They are actually her people. They are not people that we should be afraid of. The people, it’s just an evolution of life, but they are with us. The people that we should fear are the living, not the dead. And I really love that psychology and I love the fact that she’s also from Mexico so she can go deeper into that. Like all the cultures they don’t, it’s just harder for them to come up with that conclusion because they’re not exposed to it. So, I’ve been loving that depth of her, and that’s what I’m telling you It’s not written in the script, it’s something that I created myself.

Q) Yeah, that’s just such a fascinating way to look at it.

Danay: Yeah, but when she kills a zombie she doesn’t kill them with anger or fear like, “Oh, you’re gonna kill me, let me kill you first.” No, she’s just like, “Okay, I’m gonna kill you. I’m not gonna kill you. I’m just gonna slit your throat and coat myself with your blood because then your other zombie friends are not gonna kill me and I know you know it’s not a hard feeling.” So, she’s never struggling with them with anger, she just looks at them as a way of surviving really.

Q) I really like that take on it. So, you play a lot of strong resilient women. What have you taken with you from them and maybe kept with you throughout your career?

Danay: I’m always pleasantly surprised every time I attracted characters with so many layers of strengths and I’m very flattered and I’m really excited and I always focus not on like, “Oh my gosh! She kills and she’s so strong!” I focus on the human side of the character. Just like Luciana. What is her weakness that she knows how to handle really well? And I keep that in mind to make them human and what I take with me is that it doesn’t matter how dangerous they could be, how hardcore you could be or how scary you can look to the world, there’s just part of you that is huma, and you can’t help it. I think one has to deal with that.

And when I go to places that somebody could find intimidating, it’s the one thing I have learned from these really strong characters is that I can see through it. It doesn’t stop me from the mask that people create on the outside world. You know what I’m saying? It’s something bigger than that. There’s something there that’s obviously really scary for you to show. People somehow think that you’re being vulnerable and expressing your fear and when people are afraid to do that, they just smack and that’s when they become very…I learn from this so much. It’s like very interesting how humans we operate in life and I have learned to be sympathetic towards the vulnerable and people that are very strong on the outside.

Q) I’m also such a big video gamer. This year I was playing a game and imagine my surprise when you popped up in my Mafia III game!  How did you become part of that project?

Danay: You will laugh about this, I thought I was auditioning for a movie. Okay? I thought it was a film and the title, there’s something the actors get that is like a type of project because it’s a TV show, a guest role or a movie or a video game. So, I actually loved the character so much, I never even looked at what was it like was it on TV or video, it didn’t matter to me. I just loved the character description. And I loved the theme, the content. I really loved it and I was like, “Yes! I’m going here!” And my manager was like, “Are you sure?” I said, “Absolutely. I love it. I love it.” But she didn’t know I didn’t know. So, I just focused on the story and then I go to the audition and I start reading for it I think and I’m like crazy excited. I’m telling everybody, “It’s so beautifully written, congratulations.” I was actually telling the writer that I loved the writing, but I didn’t know it was a video game. So, then towards the end of my audition, they are like, “So what are you going to do– it’s going to be a fun video game.” Oh my god, Tara, I was like, “A video game? This is a video game?” And they were like, “Yeah. It’s Mafia III.” I’m like, oh my god! It’s so well written. I mean, I don’t play video games. I didn’t know you guys write it so well. They’re like, “No, no! We really care about it.” I’m like, “Oh my god! I don’t mind doing it. Let’s do a video game.” And it was so much fun, but I had no idea I was auditioning for a video game. So, of course, two weeks later I’m like in this little suit, talking to the other character. I was like “Wow, look at this! This is unbelievable!” It was an incredible experience.

Q) That’s so funny.  Do you have any other upcoming projects you might want to tell us about?

Danay: Yes I do. I have this movie called Sniper Seven: Ultimate Kill. It’s a movie that I play another badass character in Colombia. This is a U.S. production for Sony and we shot in Bogota. I’m just a DEA agent that is looking for this narco guy, this Pablo Escobar guy. He’s called Morales and he hires a sniper, the narco guy that is kind of like killing a lot of people and my team hires a sniper too and to go off with this guy. I’m basically the mind, like the brains behind the operation and then the sniper is the guy that is looking for where the bullet comes from. And it was such a fun story and it was so great shooting, and so much blood. And so much entertainment, you know? And I loved it so much. It’s the movie that is coming out October 3^rd. It’s coming out on October 3rd and it’s going to be available on Blu-ray and all digital platforms. And this is the seventh in the Sniper series, so it’s like a pretty big deal.

Tom Berenger was the first Sniper and he’s in our movie. He plays now the father of the actual sniper, the one that is looking for it and we also have Billy Zane that started from the beginning, like, so many years the Sniper franchise. And now, Joe Lando and Chad Michael Collins is a sniper, son of Tom Berenger, and I play this girl that is in charge of this operation in Bogota and the whole movie’s entirely shot in English. But it’s so fun. It’s a great ride actually. I loved it so much. It’s called Sniper Seven Ultimate Kill.

Q) We’ll definitely have to be checking that one out. So what is something that most people might not know about you?

Danay: I love to cook. I don’t think I ever talk about cooking. I’m always talking about blood and I always go to wait, it never has anything to do with food. I actually love to cook. I don’t know, what else do people not know about me? I’m actually a calm person. I don’t know if I am calm, but I tend to think that I am like inside of me, even though there’s a lot happening. I feel very calm inside and even though I go fast, inside of me, I feel like I’m going at a good pace. And it’s always funny because I tell people, “I feel so, calm and peaceful.” And everybody looks at me like, “Um, you’re not at all.” Everybody disagrees with me. So, maybe that’s something I don’t know about myself. Maybe people know me more than I know myself. That’s been happening a lot. Like, “Oh yeah, I did that and I was like so calm,” and they are like, “Oh my god, no you’re not. You have no idea.”

Q) I think that calmness comes through though on your Instagram, you’re always posting such inspirational messages and things like that.

Danay: Yeah, right? I think things flow really nicely and that’s why even though a lot happened, I feel like there’s an ease in that I enjoy. That’s what I mean by calm. So, yes people, I am calm!

Q) And last, is there anything you’d like to say to your fans out there?

Danay: It’s been such a pleasure and such a ride to share Luciana’s love with people, with the audience. I’m so grateful. I’m so inspired by everybody’s reaction of who this woman is and the mystery behind her that everybody wants to know what is she gonna do next and it really keeps you going in such a great way. And I’m just so curious to see how she keeps going on, as a fan myself. So, I just love to share that love for her and the show and the franchise really like “The Walking Dead” is doing amazing. So, I’m just right there with you guys. I just really love it as much as you. And I want more of it.