Daybreak – New York Comic Con 2019

By starrymag | November 6, 2019

By: Ashlee Dell’Arciprete

 

 

Austin Crute & Alyvia Alyn Lind

 

Q) How important is the chemistry between you and the cast?

 

Austin Crute: I would say that the chemistry was really important because, even though our characters may not necessarily “like each other at first,” there does become this bond, this…

 

Alyvia Alyn Lind: Tribe 

 

Austin Crute: Tribe, yeah. And that has to come across. Chemistry is really important and getting that to read.

 

Alyvia Alyn Lind: And I think that we all have an amazing chemistry. We were stuck in Albuquerque for so many months.

 

Austin Crute: So many months.

 

Alyvia Alyn Lind: [Laughs] Yeah. Albuquerque in the middle of nowhere. So, I think that we developed a very close bond throughout the project and it was actually the more we got to know each other was good for our characters because as soon as we got really close, our characters got really close. 

 

Austin Crute: Right.

 

Alyvia Alyn Lind: So it was kind of perfect timing for all of us to come together and now we’re like best friends.

 

Q) What roles do your characters play in the apocalypse?

 

Alyvia Alyn Lind: I play Angelica Green. She is a 10-year-old pyromaniac rebel. She is the craziest 10-year-old you’ll ever meet. Playing Angelica…it’s really fun because it has all these levels and she’s this insane kid that will tell you off on anything you do and, yeah, she’s just insane but insane in the head…But throughout the season you see her become a little bit more vulnerable. And she…All she wants to the apocalypse is to find her tribe and in a fragile place cuz she was excluded from her family pre-apocalypse. So, she is really wants to find her place in the apocalypse and it was a really fun journey to take with this character that I connected to so strongly.

 

Austin Crute: I play Wesley Fists. Wesley’s role in the apocalypse, I would say he is a pacifier almost. Like he’s like a de-escalator. Someone who brings new less emotionally charged perspectives to pressing issues in the apocalypse amongst the tribes that gather there. Before, pre-apocalypse, he was a bully and ran with crowds. Maybe he wasn’t the most evil person in the crowd, but he ran with crowds. He wouldn’t be accepted amongst the nerds if you sat at the table, kind of like if Harry Potter really did go to Slytherin. So, I think after that apocalyptic shift (which we don’t really know why) it is one of those little secrets. Like why is it peaceful all of a sudden? I think that he turns into this oddly kind of a chameleon in the apocalypse, like he becomes really good friends with some of the characters that you really wouldn’t think that he would be friends with.

 

Alyvia Alyn Lind: I mean, I learned anything from Angelica. I wouldn’t know what to do in the apocalypse if I didn’t play this role, really. But since I did, Angelica taught me to just grab yourself a flamethrower, a pair of Heelys and roll on out of there and you’re good. [Laughs]

 

Austin Crute: Wesley taught me that self medication in the apocalypse is wonderfully accepted. Nobody’s regulating you on that. And as far as weaponry goes, knowing how to wield a sharp object is a very good skill to have, a needed skill. So, I would say those two things. Oh, also Wesley’s value of peace and tranquility and mental health and self checks and emotional checks and doing all that stuff at such an early age. That is also something he has taught me that is valuable to me.

 

Q) Were you able to do any of your own stunts? How does that work with the CGI and what was that experience like?

 

Alyvia Alyn Lind: You did a lot. I did a few things that I don’t…I can’t technically say, but our stunt doubles were so amazing and we love them so much. 

 

Austin Crute: There was one instance where we had to pretend that fire was coming out of the frame with the flamethrower.

 

Alyvia Alyn Lind: Oh yes. I mean that was…Yeah, I had a flamethrower and there was one scene where I’m trying to kill a ghoulie with it and fire is coming out of it, but it’s not actually fire. So, it’s like the first time that I was using it with the CGI fire. But other than like actual stunts I did like two or three things. I can’t spoil, but it was really fun what I got to go on my own because I love doing them but our stunt doubles are amazing.

 

Austin Crute: Yeah, our stunt doubles took a load, but I will say the stunts that I did, I can’t specify on. [Laughs] However, the training that I received on the swords was like one of the best. Now, I know how to work a sword. Now, I can actually use a sword…So, now like all of that stuff is like actually me so it’s not like some CGI sped up something like I actually was like okay, I’m gonna do this I’m gonna do it right.

 

Q) The wardrobe is a big part of this show. What is your favorite piece?

 

Austin Crute: My bag. I have this crazy, crazy Gucci bag that Wesley always wears and that was like my favorite part of his. 

 

Alyvia Alyn Lind: My favorite part was either…Well, it wasn’t really part of the costume, but I love my fencers. And then I love I had Heelys, but they were Doc Martens that were hand painted. I love them so much. And then I also had these leggings that had like fire, like fire drawn on them ,that were so sick and I love those. But, yeah, those are my like my three staple Angelica items.

 

Austin Crute: I’ll throw in the Yeezys, too. Those were really cool. Like, oh my gosh, we’re in the apocalypse and we are dripped down out in the apocalypse. [laugh]

 

Q) What was the most challenging part that you faced while filming this series?

 

Austin Crute: The temperature. The temperature for me? 

 

Alyvia Alyn Lind: Yeah, it was really cold. 

 

Austin Crute: It’s kind of like this nuclear summer thing that’s happening where like the weather is shifting and just summertime doesn’t mean that it’s not cold anymore. So, a lot of times we’ll be out doing scenes where I mean…Yes, the sun will be out and maybe like 20 degrees and like shivering! 

 

Alyvia Alyn Lind: We don’t have that much clothes on and the apocalypse, right, like very minimal.

 

Austin Crute: Very minimal, yeah. So, a lot of times you might see like in the morning…We had like bread and it’s like on some nuclear summer stuff. But then also in Albuquerque. It was like fall/winter.

 

Alyvia Alyn Lind: So half of the show was freezing outside. And it got a little better,

 

Austin Crute: Right. I felt like my toes were about to crack off into my shoes. [laughs] So that was I think the worst part was pretending. Like the thing is…Okay, it’s gonna be cold, but it cannot be cold. But the whole thing is like you’re not supposed to even see the temperature and it was like mad hot. We would have to pretend like we were cooler than we were. So, just making sure that the performance read through and like, if your lips are numb, it was making sure they’re moving as if they’re not numb. And like making sure you’re not shivering. 

 

Alyvia Alyn Lind: The hardest part for me was getting to know Angelica, because Angelica was such a complex character to wrap your head around. And she is not like me at all. She’s like the opposite of me. So, I love playing characters, I get to step out of my comfort zone with. So I think learning Angelica and getting to know her and figuring out, you know, what’s too far, I don’t like I don’t want to make her like too much of a brat. I don’t want to make her a 10-year-old little brat. I want to make sure she had levels. And yeah, it was really fun getting to know her but also a big challenge.

 

Q) What was one of the most fun things to film?

 

Austin Crute: So many little things! 

 

Alyvia Alyn Lind: I’m trying to find some things. There are a lot of fun things I can’t say because spoilers!! [laughs]

 

Austin Crute: Okay, so there is a part of this show…where we all congregate in a very big place. In a very big communal place. And a lot of the scenes within this place are just outrageous and ridiculous scenes. You did a lot with the witch.

 

Alyvia Alyn Lind: I did a lot with the witch. I’m like studying her throughout the season. She’s like a little project.

 

SOPHIE SIMNETT & COLIN FORD

 

Q) What was the casting process like for your roles? How did you guys hear about these parts and was it any different being a Netflix series?

 

 Colin Ford: Well, I have an agent and manager. And so when I got a breakdown email I had an audition. But for someone who was trying to break into the industry, I would suggest that they get with an agent and manager. That’s who sent in my appointments. 

 

Sophie Simnett: So because I have a place in London, to go through the beginning of how I did it, I did a lot of my own work – like films and theater and stuff. And all of the networking, meeting people, going to the theater, meeting people at functions and whatever snowballs into meeting agents and people who are really interested in you and believe in you and seeing you accept that. And so you go through a couple rubbish agents or whatever. And Scott in my department now is fantastic. And then the English one. Then, eventually I got my own manager, but when it got more international I got the audition through him and myself from England and then got the job somehow. [laughs]

 

Q) As we can see from the trailer you often break the fourth wall. What was that like, and were you initially scared or intimidated by it? 

  

Colin Ford: It’s new for me, not something that I never done before. It’s interesting. The first time I spoke with Matthew [Broderick] we had a scene together. And I think it was him that broke the ice and he said, “Hhey, so like, what’s breaking the fourth wall like? What’s talking to the camera like?” And I was like, “Oh, it’s really interesting. You know, I’m getting used to it.” One of the weird things about it is the fact that you can see yourself in the reflection of the lens. And before you can see yourself he was like, “The fact that you can see yourself…”[laughs] And I was like, “Yeah, man.” And he’s like, “That was one of the things that I had to get over as well.” So, it was interesting to see that he dealt with the same thing that I was dealing with the beginning. But I really liked it. I think it’s a nice way to invite the audience on the journey that we’re coming on to kind of set up the show and explain the way this apocalypse is different than most apocalypse. So, it kind of sets up the world that we live.

 

Q) How did you guys prepare for the roles? Did you watch a lot of apocalyptic movies?

 

Sophie Simnett: I love all kinds of films, but apocalypse and zombies was never something that like immediately was attractive to me. And I wanted to go into this really fresh. Like, I think I was ready when we turned up on set. And there’s like two hundred school kids dressed as jocks running around with knives coming out with their elbows and dancing. So, like that kind of stuff is crazy. But, I mean, it’s high school. We’ve all been there. And it was interesting to go back. We were talking about certainly real high school and you know so much of it was done for us…

 

Colin Ford: Absolutely. It was definitely easy to escape in the scenario that the crew created for us. They created such a beautiful set for such amazing costumes from Michael Brown costume designer too. So, it was really easy to go once the cameras are all set. And we were in this apocalyptic environment, it was easy to like press play and just kind of play.

 

Q) Colin, we remember you as young Sam Winchester on “Supernatural.” Do you find any similarities between the two roles? 

 

Colin Ford: I think that Sam and Dean may deal with… [laughs] Sam and Dean…It’s their duty…It’s their job to save the world. At least they think it is, especially after their father left. Whereas Josh, I feel like when he’s plopped into the apocalypse he goes from being a C person and C student, an average guy at school, to being the best version of himself. And I think that’s kind of the shift.  Sam and Dean are always striving to save the day and I feel like Josh just wants to fit in. So, I think that where Sam and Dean are much more leaders in their own right Josh is a leader. His peers would call a leader, but I don’t think that he would ever self described himself as a leader. So, I think that’s where they’re a little bit different. I think that he’s a little more timid and when the apocalypse garments…He just wants to find Sam and live to the best version of his life that he can live.

 

Sophie Simnett: But it’s interesting. I think that the one…So, Josh (as much as he changes before and after the apocalypse) is just someone wanting to be someone who does it. It’s kind of like showing how you adapt to that in a different environment. It’s like a basic idea of change the apocalypse.

 

Colin Ford: Absolutely. Yeah, I think that he wants to fit in somewhere. He wants to have a home. It takes other people to be like, “Hey, we’re here. We want to be part of your family,” for him to be like, “Oh, this could be home for me.”

 

Sophie Simnett: I think you can’t guess what’s gonna happen in the show. It’s so bonkers. And every character’s journey, it just goes in a way that we had no idea. We were getting the script. We were filming and we were like, “This is crazy.” And it’s nice to know that each character gets their own story told in the episodes. So, that’s something definitely to look forward to. 

 

Colin Ford: I was gonna say you never know what might happen to someone if they get bit by a ghoulie. [laughs]

 

Q) In your opinion, what do you think makes “Daybreak” so unique?

 

Colin Ford: I think we’re gonna say the fact that it’s never like anything we’ve ever seen before. There’s nothing like it out there. The only way to describe it when people ask me, quickly I give them like three movie titles: Max Max, Zombieland, and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. It’s like they don’t go together. Right? 

 

Sophie Simnett: Right, like it’s genre-bending. It’s a coming of age story. It’s a samurai saga. It’s a comedy. It’s a drama. It’s an action film. It’s got it like a pulsating score. It does have everything. It’s something that we’re really proud of because of that. I think that’s really the main thing.

 

Colin Ford: The originality is so like–

 

Sophie Simnett: Right, it’s so unique. And like you don’t…If you all of a sudden he walks down the street, he would be like, where are they doing? Even when we were in Albuquerque it would be like, “Whoa! This group of people!” We don’t match but we all do. And it’s a beauty of like, not everyone has to be the same to come together.

 

Q) What would your weapon of choice be in the apocalypse?

 

Sophie Simnett: I really wanted nunchucks in the show! I really pushed for it. [laughs] Although I just feel like it’s so quick, you gotta have something which you can do quickly, even if you have a sword you have to learn.

 

Colin Ford: I feel like if you have a sword you also have to have throwing knives as well.

 

Q) What tribe would you guys be with?

 

Colin Ford: I think I’d be part of the Daybreakers.

 

Sophie Simnett: Yeah, I mean, we know that the best and they’re the most interesting in that. They’re like eclectic.

 

Colin Ford: Yeah, it’s kind of like the island of misfit toys.

 

Sophie Simnett: Yeah, and everyone’s there because they’re searching for something that they can be sentenced to life for trying…But, I mean, when they were casting all the tribes everyone’s coming in and was like, “Oh, that’s exactly how I imagined it.” For each tribe…Yeah, it is exciting hearing them create ideas of what’s next.

 

Q) Have you already filmed the entire season?

 

Sophie Simnett: Yeah, we wrapped in April actually!   

 

Matthew Broderick & Krysta Rodriguez

 

Q) What was your audition process like for “Daybreak?”

 

Krysta Rodriguez: Well, I actually just talked about this because it’s crazy and this is very different than any other show I’ve ever had. I live in New York full time and they were just shooting in LA. So, when that happens, you have to put yourself on tape. And the character that I play is the witch and she is very unlike anything I’ve ever read. And was a little nervous about knowing how to play it. And when that happens, I tried to find an action that I feel like the character will be doing. And I happen to be eating pistachios at the time. And I was like, “You know, this woman is hungry.” [laughs] She is a ghoulie, she wants to eat people. And she can so maybe she’s constantly trying to do other things. So, I grabbed a handful of pistachios, shells and all, shove them in my cheeks and did the whole scene with pistachios falling out of my mouth and like stuck in my teeth. And I said to my agent with the headline, “don’t ever show this to anybody.”’ And then three days later they called with an offer to do it. There was no callback, there was no tests, there was no meeting of anybody. It was just you went for it and do it. So, it’s definitely the fastest and most ridiculous audition I’ve ever had and did not feel like it was gonna pan out. In fact, I thought it would come to haunt me forever and here I am. And, so, my worst audition stories actually kind of a weird story. I loved the show “The Comeback” that Lisa Kudrow show from its inception. And she had this great episode where she’s an actress and she has one line in the series. And she spends all weekend trying to give different versions of a line. It’s, “I don’t want to see that.” And so I had an audition for a movie where I had one line. And I came in and I did the line and the director was like super bored. And he was like, “Do you want to do it another way?” And I was like, “I don’t want to see that. It’s like 2005. The show got cancelled. No one ever watched it.” And I was like throwing out this super insider thing. And the guy was like,  “Come back. No, no, come back, man. Nobody. Cool.” And then he was like, “Do you want to start? I was like, “These pretzels are making me thirsty,” – a “Seinfeld” reference when Kramer only had one line in the movie. And then he was like, “Are you done?” I’m like, “Yeah, I got it. I gotta go,” and that was it. So, I learned not to make super inside or a sitcom jokes. Auditions because they’re not people aren’t funny. Man, I’m so sorry.

 

Krysta Rodriguez: Yeah, he [Matthew Broderick] didn’t audition. Yeah. [laughs] Do you have a worse horror story?

 

Matthew Broderick: A very awkward hotel room meeting. Not like that. [laugh]

 

Krysta Rodriguez: Have [casting agents] ever answered the phone? That happened to me once where they answered the phone in the middle of an audition.

 

Matthew Broderick: No, I was reading a monologue from a book. And the producer was it was just the producer and I was doing this long monologue. And I just looked up for a segment in the book. And I saw him doing that. Yeah looking it as watch.

 

Q) Matthew, this is your first regular television series role in your career. What was that like and was it odd to be in a role where you’re back in high school but this time as the principle? And were the Ferris Bueller’s Day Off references in the pilot a coincidence? 

 

Matthew Broderick: Um, yeah, that was the first I believe, yeah. It was like it’s like doing a movie but it just goes on and on. 

 

Krysta Rodriguez: The endorsement for television. But it goes on and on. [laugh]

 

Matthew Broderick: Well, I mean, the experience of shooting it is that you go home. I mean, I don’t know how to explain it but we also…

 

Krysta Rodriguez: Well, we were on location. It’s even a different animal to be away from home when you’re building something, too.

 

Matthew Broderick: Yeah we filmed in New Mexico, but it’s very nice. You already know your character and everything and just keep doing it and not have to start fresh all the time. So, I think it’s a very nice idea to do a part that continues. And the back in high school thing, it didn’t feel like I was back and I just don’t know how to explain it. I was a principal in this school. I don’t remember high school. [Laughs] I remember doing Ferris Buehler.

 

Q) What was the most challenging aspects of filming?

 

Matthew Broderick: Wind.

 

Krysta Rodriguez: Yeah, I was gonna say Albuquerque. 

 

Matthew Broderick: Dust and wind.

 

Krysta Rodriguez: Yeah it was dusty, windy, it was cold. It’s a desert. But it’s cold and snows. I think it was elements for sure. We had a great team out there. Yeah. Amazing crew people. But luckily a lot of the stuff we were inside for, like the school school or–

 

Matthew Broderick: Yeah we had these this beautiful, huge soundstage. Albuquerque has become very…

 

Krysta Rodriguez: High tech. 

 

Matthew Broderick: Yeah. And it was like making a movie in a big studio with like it’s own city right. Very, very sophisticated. 

 

Krysta Rodriguez: But, yeah, I definitely the challenge would have been also been the wind and things like that? Yeah.

 

Q) Is there a specific scene that you’re excited for the audience to see?

 

Krysta Rodriguez: I do have a couple. One of my favorite parts about the show is that I have this really lovely relationship with Angelica played by Alyvia [Alyn Lind] and she’s twelve years old. And we formed this special bond because I’m a biology teacher and she’s basically a prodigy. And we save the world together. And so there are some scenes of us becoming a partnership. And one in particular where even…When I read the script I thought, “Oh, this is going into a genre thing that’s sort of like a trope.” And then they flip it on its head and it becomes sort of a beautiful, somewhat feminist like manifesto like Superman or who are grasping to other and learning to be themselves and not have to be a certain way anymore. And the apocalypse somehow has afforded that opportunity to them where they don’t have to fit into any sort of societal mold. So, there are a couple scenes of that that I’m really excited about. And then later on in this season I have an episode; we each get one that tells the story from our own perspective. And so episode seven is where I get to tell my story, which gets to say some stuff. Do you have a favorite scene that you’re looking forward to? 

 

Matthew Broderick: I can’t think of one. I mean, I have lots. I like the scenes with you and in the same episode…

 

Krysta Rodriguez: We have a torn back story. We have a deep history in this show] 

 

Matthew Broderick: Yeah, there’s some nice scenes with Sophie [Simnett] and Cody [Kearsley] and I can’t think of a favorite one.

 

Krysta Rodriguez: You have some good stuff and being able to like, be a good mentor sometimes, but also some really funny stuff. Hopefully, it’s funny. 

 

Q) What aspect of your character did you like the most initially?

 

Krysta Rodriguez: I love that no one ever told me like, “Whoa, okay, that’s too gross.” Or like, “You’re going way too far.” Everyone was just like, “More, go, do it.” And it really encouraged me to just like…I’d like to lick the floor at some point. Like, it’s just ridiculous. And when you have people around you that are like, half of all you really get to embody everything about the character. So, I was really surprised that I would enjoy what at first seemed to be like the zany sort of like, wacky character on a kids show. Turns out that it’s not it’s a it’s a really cool and interesting show where I get to do whatever the heck I want, which is great.

 

Matthew Broderick: Yeah, I guess I had…well, like principal of a school, but then he kind of gets to…there’s been some anger that has been tipped over the years of kids budget cuts, what it is to run the school and he gets to express some of them.

 

Krysta Rodriguez: I think both of us have…as the like, the administrators of people at the school have a disillusionment, yeah, start wanting to save the world and then a disillusionment with how its run, practically. And we take different approaches to solve that.

 

Q) What’s it like being one of the very few adults in the show surrounded by so many children?

 

Matthew Broderick: Well, I mean, she’s pretty much an adult. So, you are an adult. [laughs]

 

Krysta Rodriguez: Yes, I am an adult. I am a full-fledged adult. 

 

Matthew Broderick: You’re not as much an adult as I am but you’re an adult.

 

Krysta Rodriguez: But I’m not as much of a kid as they are. [laughs]

 

Matthew Broderick: Right, so I found it possible to talk to you personally, and Jeff, and various directors, and I would hang out around the monitor and talk adult language. And then I would go back onto the scene and people were talking about things that I mostly didn’t know what anybody was talking about.

 

Krysta Rodriguez: Yeah, this was the first time I really felt like an adult too because of the way that the kids talk now that I had no idea. I was like, “Is he speaking? I don’t know what he’s saying at all.:” And that was the first time I really had that panic of like, “Oh, sh•t. I don’t know how to do this.” 

 

Matthew Broderick: But I think your own kid….

 

Krysta Rodriguez: Yeah, New York kids are different too…

 

Matthew Broderick: They also they know you don’t know anything city. Yeah, so they explain everything.

 

Krysta Rodriguez: Yeah, they don’t want to tell you that. It’s just yeah. rattle, rattle, rattle, rattle rattle. But, yeah, it definitely like after a while you’re like, there really are no other adults here. It was noticeable.

 

Jeanté Godlock & Gregory Kasyan

 

Q) What is your favorite part of filming “Daybreak?”

 

Gregory Kasyan: Favorite part of filming? I really like the crafty food. We had some really great things for lunch. Our people are amazing. When I’m down, I just go by it on something so I’m good. [laughs]

 

Jeanté Godlock: Just experiencing the world that we are in. I remember like showing up to set. There’s huge cranes everywhere. There’s people everywhere. I’m like, “This is insane that I’m a part of this!” It’s really fun to see how they set up like the VFX, the special effects and stuff like that. And it’s just like, “That’s how you do it?!”

 

Gregory Kasyan: Yeah, for sure.

 

Jeanté Godlock: So, I never got to experience anything like that. So, it was really fun to step into “Daybreak” where there’s a ton of everything and get to be a part of it.

 

Gregory Kasyan: I agree with that. As funny as this might sound, it looked like a movie. I mean, because it was pretty much like a movie

 

Q) Please give us a breakdown of your characters when we first meet them.

 

Jeanté Godlock: So, I play Mona Lisa. She is a badass. She’s the only girl on the football team. And so our show really goes pre and post and pre apocalypse. She kind of just there she’s with the boys. She’s with her teammates and everything like that and then the bomb goes off and it’s the end of the world. So, I felt like for Mona Lisa, she really kind of just represents that strong female presence in our….Well, actually all the female characters are strong, but within her tribe because she was with the football players and now she’s kind of telling them what to do. So, she’s that character.  She’s like, “Jump!” And you say…

 

Gregory Kasyan: How high?

 

Jeanté Godlock: Yeah. [laughs]

 

Gregory Kasyan: I play Eli Cardashyan. He was bullied in high school because he was never able to afford any of the cool stuff. His parents came from a different country. So, instead of Nike he had to he’s always had knockoffs like Pikey’s. And pretty much what happens is after the bombs explode he takes over the mall. The mall is the best place with all these stores and he gets all these cool kicks and clothes and everything that he’s pretty much ever dreamed of. And he’s with his girlfriend, Mavis (Natalie Alyn Lind), and pretty much whatever happens in the show the people that he meets with,and the show that were bullying him before the apocalypse it turns on them. I start doing everything that I want because it’s the apocalypse. I got all these weapons. I got all this cool stuff and I know the ins and outs of the mall. So, it’s pretty much him getting revenge, but he does get super vulnerable towards the end of the season. You guys will see that there’s there’s a lot of deeper layers into Eli, and [the series] kind of goes into that as well.

 

Q) What can zombies enthusiasts look forward to in the show?

 

Gregory Kasyan: Oooh. A lot. Yeah. [laughs]

 

Jeanté Godlock: We call them “ghoulies.” So, they’re brain dead. They’re not quite dead so they’re not zombies. But it’s kind of like when kids think they know it all and your parents know nothing. So, when the end of the world happens that’s what happens to them. They just become kind of like…We don’t listen to them, but they’re deadly. So, zombie enthusiasts, I would say. It’s really kind of scary because we are all afraid of ghoulies, but what makes it so funny is that they just say the last stupid thing that they were thinking on repeat and I just love it. [laughs] So yeah, that’s what I would say.

 

Gregory Kasyan: Yeah, there’s just this crazy biological effect. Why is it the word biological effects, right? How they all turn into ghoulies, but I think what I could really compare it to is just…I mean, what she said it’s totally true about how they see the last stupid thing on their mind and I think it’s super funny. Zombie enthusiasts can expect something like Zombieland. It’s super gory. I mean, outside of even just what we call ghoulies, outside of the goalies it’s just super gory. And it really does just hit me like Zombieland for sure, if that’s what zombie enthusiasts want to compare it to.

 

JeantIé Godlock: I don’t watch a lot of zombie shows. But our goalies are like the adults. So, some of them are like, old-old, but they move so quickly though. Like how are you seventy moving this quick?!

 

Gregory Kasyan: They’re like…have you seen “Santa Clarita Diet?” [Jeanté Godlock: Yeah.] Okay…It’s almost like Drew Barrymore in “Santa Clarita Diet,” but of course they’re brain dead. So, it’s almost kind of like that concept that just starts like on a whole other level of scary. So, yeah, but that’s what kind of reminded me a bit of it. 

 

Q) Is there anything about your characters that really surprised you as you started filming the series and learning more about your character?

 

Jeanté Godlock: I would say her name is Mona Lisa, she’s nicknamed that because she never smiles. So, I thought it was interesting, even going in, to act and not smile even one time. It was really interesting. And as we get kind of further into the season it’s cool to see different layers to her. She still doesn’t smile, but you do see a lot more…intention. You know why she does the things she does. So, that was really surprising to me because I was like, “Oh, okay. That’s true.” She doesn’t smile, but there’s a lot going on here. She’s kind of complex, but that’s what surprised me the most was like, she really does have things going on. And it’s cool to explore that a little bit..

 

Gregory Kasyan: I think with [my character]…I mean, in the show is kind of like the funny guy like the comedic relief in this show, Eli. I think what was surprising was towards the end of the season, like I said, how he gets kind of super vulnerable is you really start realizing like, “Whoa, like, maybe this is why has these kind of funny outbursts.” There’s deeper layers than that. And you kind of go into that. And I think that was the most surprising an interesting thing to me about discovering this character and building into that.

 

Q) What has your character taught you about surviving the eventual apocalypse?

 

Gregory Kasyan: To definitely go to the mall. [laughs] Go to the mall and get a weapon and you’ll be you’ll be good.

 

Jeanté Godlock: Say you don’t have to have it all figured out. But there can come a point in time where it is time to step up. And Mona really teaches me that. Even with being a part of a group of boys she can lead and it can be okay. And she can be respected. Women can be in charge and it can be okay.

 

Gregory Kasyan: You’re pretty much in control the boys. You’re the leader of the boys. The boys listen to her. [laughs]

 

Jeanté Godlock: But, really, she’s the queen. [laughs] Yeah, so I think, yeah, Mona really does kind of that, like wow, it’s a group full of boys and they’re afraid of her, but she means business. And they know it, you know what I mean? 

 

Q) What would you say the most fun scene was to film?

 

Gregory Kasyan: There’s a scene where I’m eating. I’m not gonna say what’s going on in the scene, but there was a scene where I’m eating and I had some really good food. And like, I was just having the time of my life. And they kept bringing it in fresh. I just kept eating and eating. And I think that was my favorite scenes ever shoot, it was like, was amazing.

 

Jeanté Godlock: For me, I have a lot of fun moments. She’s very aggressive. So, not  bad, but aggressive. Like putting people in their place, like all the time, but I do get to ride on the top of the truck while it’s moving very fast. And that just is like an adrenaline rush to me. So that’s where I had the most fun. 

 

Q) Lastly, what was your audition process like for the show?

 

Gregory Kasyan: I didn’t I didn’t even test for this one. I originally got the breakdown. My agent sent it to me and I read the breakdown. And I kind of did a double take like, I went and I told my parents, “Can you believe this?” It correlates so well to my life. So, I’m born and raised in Glendale and I went to the rival high school of Glendale High School. So, it was like insane. I’m like, “What’s going on here?” So I went in and I read and I did a great job, I think I mean, yeah, I got the part. And then I got the call after about thirty days passed by and it was killing me until I found that…like every day I was counting. I was like, how have I not gotten a call back I’m so perfect for this role. I’ll actually be like, “Wow, like, this is terrible. Like did I do a terrible job or something? Like I’m too perfect for this role. I don’t know what happened.” And then the callback came and it was such a big relief. I went in, a week passed by and I’m just sitting there like waiting, like looking at my clock on my watch, even though I don’t have a watch. And then one day I was driving on my way home with my cousin and I told my cousin about it earlier. And he’s like, “Oh, what happened to your role? You said you’re gonna put this this role was perfect. You’re going to book this Netflix show.” And then I get a phone call from my agent and they told me and I just started freaking out. I was just hyperventilating it’s crazy.

 

Jeanté Godlock: So, I was actually in Vancouver when I got the initial audition for this on vacation. And I told my reps. I was like, “Hey, I can self-tape while I’m there.” The first day I got there. I just landed maybe three hours later and they’re like, “Hhey, so we have this audition for you for this Netflix show. Um, it’s due tomorrow.” I was like, “I just landed. Oh, you were serious?” So that night I put myself on tape. And I knocked it out, which is great. And then I didn’t hear anything for a while. And then I got a call back and here we are!

 

EPs Aron Eli Coleite, Jeff Fierson & Brad Peyton 

 

Q) The series bends genres frequently and goes from comedy to drama throughout. How did you balance that when creating the show from episode to episode?  

 

A: Yeah, Aron, how did we do that?

 

Aron Eli Coleite: Very carefully. It’s a tightrope. I mean, the thing that we really started talking about this, we talked about “Buffy.” “Buffy” was a really touchpoint show for us because they couldn’t find all the things together that we love to have more humor and at heart and the ability to balance those things out. So, when looking at the show, it was really about finding ways for every single episode to have all three of those touch points and carry them forward and make that the top consistency of the show because if you can make somebody scared and make somebody laugh it makes a big cry in a single hour of television. Then, we’ve accomplished it. And we took that ethos into the writers room. And it was a real difficulty of like, how what’s too goofy? What’s our humor? Where’s it live? And when we start telling everything, just from our characters’ POV, then we knew that we could accomplish that.

 

Jeff Fierson: I think also a perfect combination of us. Brad is an expert in action and genre. I think I’m funny. [laughs] Probably not. And Aron writes the heart and soul better than anyone. I think he really filled these characters out. 

 

Brad Peyton: Well, it was important. I think we always were trying to balance…Like it’s good to be funny. But if you’re not worried and you don’t have stakes, you don’t have emotion. Then, you don’t really care. So, it’s like how do you balance those two things out? I don’t have a long history of comedy, but you can tell with what’s funny. And so it was like, “I don’t want this to get so funny that you just don’t care about them.” And so we started leaning into that in the writing like to make these emotions real, make the stakes real, and then still have fun and still be optimistic in this world. 

 

Jeff Fierson: And you know, Brad built this incredible world. It’s just yeah, it’s huge. And it’s badsh*it and it’s actually two worlds.

 

Brad Peyton: The other thing is we are not like there’s no comedy writers in our writers room. I don’t come from a comedy background. And I wouldn’t say that we write jokes. I think that we write humor, just do what’s funny to us and what feels right for the characters. And the other thing is the allegory of the show just leant itself to presenting all those ropes and all genres. Because if the allegory of the show is surviving high school is hell and surviving high school is like surviving the apocalypse, then we could take that into the show of surviving the apocalypse is just like being in high school. And we could balance all those things because being in high school is a fraud. It’s emotional. It’s terrifying. But it’s also the best time of life. 

 

A: It was one of the things to Brian Ralph’s graphic novel. It’s two things right there – the graphic novels known for like the character and looking directly at the brain. So, even though we get compared to Ferris Bueller and rightfully so, we have differentiated from the graphic novel. And then the second thing was the tone. And largely the tone was a kid who’s like, “That’s awesome.” And I was like, “That’s amazing,” because it was a certain tone of the guys. Like initially, when I went to the graphic novel, I was like, “I don’t want to say the movie, but it was a movie that has technology with for some reason everyone’s wearing like leather and boots. And I was like, “Why are there a pair of Nike’s in this movie?” Like it was only like 50 years later and I was like, “I would guess the apocalypse happened.” I go down the street, get Nikes, I’d steal a Ferrari… Like, I’d go have fun. And the kid had that, he had that optimism. So, that carried through the show in a big way because the apocalypse is terrible. We’re all used to that story. But what if you were a kid and you’re like, my high school life sucks. And the apocalypse came like, “I’m gonna steal for you like something,” like “This is the best! I can do whatever I want.” So, we love that kind of like overall tone of you can reinvent yourself. It doesn’t matter what happened to high school. We can be whoever you want to be. Really the apocalypse for us was breathable fabrics. [laughs]

 

Q) Is there a specific scene that you’re excited for the fans to see?

 

A: Bloodbath. Episode One. Very happy with that one. That’s a good one. That’s a very good one.

 

A: That one’s awesome. I love watching the show. I think that’s a dream for me is to be able to be part of a show.

 

A: I do not have a favorite scene. There’s one thing that makes me cry every single time…and I can’t say what it is. Spoiler! [laughs]

 

Q) What was the most challenging part about adapting Brian Ralph’s graphic novel to screen?

 

A: Everything was challenging. And from world creation to getting all the little details right. It was because we had this really genre literate audience and we know who we’re writing for. And we can’t give them more of the same we have to constantly be reinventing and turning things on their head and surprise the audience. What I like as a viewer is to be surprised. All I want is to be surprised every single episode that I don’t know where the story is going, and you’re being taken on the ride. And we definitely do that. And so that we needed to bake that into the series. So, in shifting perspectives and doing different point of views, almost every single episode felt like it was rewriting a pilot. And writing pilots are extremely difficult because you have to really dig deep into that point of view. What are they thinking? They are the star of their own movies? What is their movie look like? And so when we’re doing that you’re really reinventing the language of the show, almost episode to episode. It’s really hard because it’s almost like starting fresh. 

 

Brad Peyton: From my perspective, like one of the things visually as I want to see Mad Max Fury Road, right? So that making a book is fantastic one the best maker books and I remember bringing that into their apartment. I said, “Okay, so here’s the bomb, right?” Now they had two years to do this. Yeah, two months, you know? So, it’s like because I knew the production designer who has done a bunch of my movies and I was like, “I’m serious. It’s got to be this good. It can’t look like this.” This has been done. We have to do this new, like with a comedic slant through our world, everything. So, like everyone was like, Oh my god, he’s serious.” I was like, “Yeah, I’m serious.” We need to do that. And then I would look at Aaron in the writers room. And I was like, “They’re going to define each of these. They have to define each of these characters. No one can take a backseat because everyone’s getting their own time.” So, it is like doing a pilot over and over. And so much care went into every single one of these cast members popping in the biggest way possible. So, no one got kind of short change whatsoever, which was (I thought) very impressive. Because a lot of times you’ll watch a show and you like these four characters, main characters, and these six we’ll get to know them a little bit. This show you get to tell who everyone is very clearly the characters are so well drawn, so well written, the voices are so clear. So, yeah, that was a big change. 

 

Aron Eli Coleite: And just the scope of trying to tackle the ten episodes of a show like this very hard world. But every time we needed to make a shift, whether it be budget, time, weather…We made a creative change – I feel actually making it better. I think when you’re put on your heels and you’re stretched to your creative other limits are limits…

 

Brad Peyton: I think that’s a lot of that’s the job, right? That’s the task. As a creative person. You’re you never ever feel like you have enough money or time or whatever. So you’re always like, how can I make this–like Terry Gilliam told me when I was so lucky to sit down with him, he’s like, I only do my best work when they put a fence around me. And I’m forced to jump over. And I’m like, I get that. Because if you tell me like we only have this much time, we only have this much money. And we can only have Olivia until eight o’clock. I’m like, Okay, now I know, the challenge. And now I can outdo myself, you know. So it’s just constantly what we were trying to do. Yeah. It’s also how you up your game creatively. Like when we get together. It’s like, we want to try to each other’s game and like, make the best thing. You know, like you always feel like, well, if there’s no season two, let’s make season one the best season possible.

 

Jeff Fierson: For Brad and I it was a real luxury. The last series we did we had about six cents per episode. 

 

Brad Peyton: Yeah, and he lent it to the show. [laughs]

 

Brad Peyton: Yeah, we did the show “Frontier” and it was like a third the size of this show. And it was frugal! 

 

Q) Did you bring any new gangs to the show versus the original graphic novel?

 

Brad Peyton: We, hopefully, brought a lot of new gangs to the show. It is about finding your tribe and it’s about all these different tribes of kids and how they come together. And so, we do have jocks, and we do have cheerleaders, but our cheerleaders are all quite different. And Michael Grant, our wardrobe designer, just did the most amazing job designing these outfits for them. It has all this wish fulfillment that and yet still kick ass. It’s brilliant…

 

A: Everything in the show is like that. Yeah, everything in the show is like that. Wesley’s shirt has all this Japanese print, it actually says Daybreak Japanese, like the show has a million layers of like, like one of the things that this is him. And I thought this was brilliant because in the comic there was a world of zombies. And we’re like, “We can’t just do zombies again.” First of all, the tone isn’t like how we going to survive. It’s more like who am I going to be? Where am I going to belong? Right? It’s a very coming of age story. And he said, “I have an idea for the zombies.” What they say the last stupid thing they were thinking so like literally every zombie and what some of the lines they say? 

 

Jeff: They say like the David Cheng restaurant is awesome sauce.

 

A: I should really get off of Facebook. It’s toxic.

 

Jeff Fierson: Why does Hollywood keep making graphic novels into movies? [laughs] 

 

A: Like, literally, the ghoulies are walking around going why does Hollywood keep making these stupid movies over and over and over. So, like everything in our show has this angle to it. That’s like we know what you might be thinking. We’re not doing that, we’re doing this.