Eriq Ebouaney & Louis Puech Scigliuzzi – The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon

By starrymag | September 29, 2024

By: Kelly Kearney

 

 

Q) What was it like when you first met Melissa [McBride] and got to work with her?

Eriq: I was thrilled to have her back on the show because she’s a part of the original and she brings back the vibes of the previous and the first “The Walking Dead.” So, it was awesome.

Louis: Yeah. Yeah. And I mean, she’s such a sweet and kind and loving person and she brings such good emotion on set. You think like, “Ah, man, who’s going to be on set today?” And then you see the call sheet and Melissa is going to be there.

Q) Let’s talk about Laurent. He has been practicing his fighting skills with Daryl. What skills do you think he could learn from Carol?

Louis: Oh, wow. That’s a really good question. I have no idea, but I think in my opinion, it would be to never give up because you’ve seen Carol (Melissa McBride) trying to find a way to come back and to take Norman [Reedus] back to America and to the Commonwealth, and she hasn’t given up ever, ever, ever. And that’s a really important thing that she could teach Laurent.

Q) Fans have been waiting for this for years. What is the nature of the relationship between Carol and Daryl? Are they friends? Are they soulmates? How would you personally define the relationship between the two?

Eriq: I, personally, think they’re soulmates. Carol’s soul was looking for Daryl’s soul, but now they’ve just bonded in Europe and in France, the two soulmates. Yeah, very, very good to watch them reunite.

Louis: Yeah. I mean, they’re just like best friends forever. Aren’t they?

Eriq: Yeah. And it’s just a matter of connection and immense and huge friendship.

Q) This is a very, very deep season with a lot of great philosophy and a lot of great I’m very curious as to what message you hope the audience takes away from Season Two?

Eriq: My name is Fallou on the show, and I’m the leader of Union of Hope. And I think for me, the message is don’t give up hope.

Louis: Yeah. Yeah. I mean it does. It’s really, it’s spreading hope around the world. And also we see it with everybody arriving at The Nest, it’s always about hope and never giving up on new dreams.

Q) As far as for both of you, how important is it for them to feel connected to a community and to have that sense of community?

Louis: I think that’s really important for them because it’s really, it’s a way of being all connected all the time and all along the way of the story. And, yeah, I think that’s about it, but it’s really important for them to really communicate in being part of the community that is able to spread hope everywhere.

Eriq: And especially in those moments of post-apocalyptic time. You need to find a community, you need to find a nice bonding, you need to find a family to be in confidence to fight against the world and to be ready for anything, for anything. So, it’s very, very, very important to have nice bonding, a good family and a nice community around you.

Q) Great. Eric, it’s good to see you with a bow and arrow, man. You’re deadly!

Eriq: [Laughs] Thank you.

Q) I had asked you both about meeting Melissa, but what about your character meeting, Carol? What were their first impressions of her, and maybe how she changes them a bit.

Eriq: I had my first meeting with Norman, and he gave me a mission to shepherd the kid [Laurent]. And the fact Carol is coming and trying to fulfill her own mission to bring back Daryl home taught me that maybe you should never give up. You should never give up. And she’s so full of dedication and full of emotions that she taught me a lot.

Louis: I see it, because the reason why she is there is her love for Daryl, and it’s a really important thing that she’s trying to show, I guess, because what I’ve realized is Laurent already sees like a father figure in Daryl. But, also, he’s starting to see that a bit with Carol, too. She’s a really inspiring person for him and he’s really intrigued.

Q) Fallou always seems to show up when Daryl needs him the most. And oftentimes they’re in the most climactic moments of the episode, like during intense fight scenes. How does it feel to film those scenes? Do they feel as chaotic as they look?

Eriq: Really as chaotic as they look. Because I’m such a lazy guy. I hate sports, I hate fighting and all of those things. Maybe I looked tough, it’s in my DNA, but I don’t like them. So, it was a hard time being with Norman because Norman is a tough guy. He’s a real tough guy, and he is used to all those fight scenes. And it was tough for me. I was sore all over my body every night after those scenes. But Norman is so funny because in between shots he was cracking jokes, so we laughed a lot.

Q) If Daryl had not come into your lives, what do you think your characters would’ve been doing at this point?

Louis: Probably be dead.

Eriq: No, you? No. You would still be with the nuns.

Louis: Yeah. Yeah. I think my character would still be at the Abbey, honestly. And they wouldn’t have been able to go to The Nest and that would’ve changed a lot in their lives.

Eriq: I would’ve kept fighting as a warrior, as a fearless warrior against all those people, all Genet’s (Anne Charrier) people and all those apocalyptic in the world.

Q) Looking ahead a bit to season two, in a non-spoily way; it’s a big season, there’s a lot of great moments and I’m just curious, what are you most excited for the audience to experience this year?

Eriq: [Laughing] It was an exciting moment. I mean, having Carol back is just such a great moment. And don’t forget that this season is called “The Book of Carol.” So, everything is around Carol. She brings back emotions, she brings back a great soul. She brings back energy. I mean, she’s fearless as well. They say she’s a badass. So, the thing is, we are just surrounded by this badass, just we are having such a beautiful moment because it’s just an inspiration for us.

Louis: Yeah, and I mean she really does bring that friendship back and that’s really exciting for all the fans.

Eriq: And we shot in those iconic locations in France as well – at the Louvre, at Mont Saint-Michel, Pont Du Gard and all those places and watching them destroyed like that. I mean myself, as an actor, I was a bit sad, but on screen it’s just awesome.

Louis: Yeah, it is. That really is.

Q) In “The Walking Dead” universe, there’s always decisions to be made, and in your character’s case it is staying or going. Talk about the internal process for them to make those decisions and maybe the impact of those decisions. Does that weigh on them?

Eriq: [Singing] Should I stay or should I go! Yeah, I mean that’s life. You always balance between those two things and black and white and those different sides of the coins. But in those moments, I mean, my character has got a mission to shepherd and to protect Laurent – Louis’ character and to help Daryl Dixon find his way back home. So, I do my best to succeed in my mission. And with the fact that Carol’s here, I think I’ve got a huge mission to fulfill.

Louis: And I think really Laurent is still trying to figure it out– if he wants to be the messiah or not, even though he probably does not have a choice. But, yeah, he’s still in the middle of it because it’s a lot of things in his mind all the time because he has to be responsible for everything he does and give hope to everyone.

Eriq: Yeah, I think you don’t know if you want to be the Messiah or the regular kid.

Louis: Yeah. Maybe he just wants to be a simple child. It’s probably not going to happen.

Q) This is actually sort of continuing on that. Now obviously we know what happens, but the viewers haven’t seen it yet. If they would potentially end up in America, how do you think they’d be able to deal with that? And also as actors, would you two want to change it up and come over here?

Louis: I’d be really excited to meet America properly and kind of see what Laurent would do if he were there. And, yeah, I think that would be a really intriguing thing to see. And also, all the different characters because especially Laurent, he’s never been out of France ever. And that would be such a big change, but also an exciting one. He’d want to discover everything there.

Eriq: Yeah. Is it worse over there or better? Never say. Never. We’ll see.

Q) Louis, you recently attended San Diego Comic Con and it was your first trip to America. So, kind of expanding on the previous question, what was that experience like, your first time in America and Comic-Con because it can be a little overwhelming?

Louis: You know what it was like the first time I arrived at the airport? It was just like, “Wow! This is massive.” And I feel like the fan base in America is just so different. I remember getting out of the airport and maybe fifteen people were just waiting for me with pieces of paper and pencils for me to sign autographs and take pictures with them. And I was just like, “Wow, is this what it’s going to be like at an American Comic Con?” And when I was the youngest, with all the other actors and Greg Nicotero and everybody else, I was just so overwhelmed by seeing all those people there supporting what we’re doing. And I remember Greg, before we came on stage, they were showing the trailer and Greg, and I just peeked. And, so, we were watching the trailer without anyone knowing where we were. And I just saw a whole bunch of people, maybe seven thousand or a bit less, I guess. And it was just so exciting, but also stressful because I was like, “What if I mess it up? What if I do something wrong?” But, in the end, it was all well and it was cool.

Q) Well, you might want to get used to it. I think you’re going to be attending more of those.

Eriq: You’re going to New York for the upcoming Comic Con in New York, yeah?

Louis: Yeah.

Q) Just expanding on that question, why do you think the audience keeps coming back to this show after It’s been maybe fifteen years now. Why do you think the show is still so popular?

Eriq: I think it is not only because of the walkers and the zombies but it’s the human beings. And I think this shows you all the turmoil of a human being and the good and the bad. And we can have those two sides, as we said earlier, and I think they can relate because of that, mostly because of that. And Melissa and Norman are so amazing. I mean, we are getting addicted to them.

Louis: Yeah, that’s for sure. And also, I mean, you see all the friendship with all the people from The Nest, I mean, I’m sorry, the Commonwealth. And as Norman told us, and I’ve seen it at Comic Con, when you see Lauren Cohan, the actress who plays, what’s her name? Maggie. Maggie, that’s right. Sorry about that. The actors who play Maggie and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and they’re also sweet and nice people, and it’s just everyone gets on so well there. And that’s why the friendship between all those characters is so real and realistic.

Q) You also both turned in some amazing performances this year. The acting this year is just some of the best I’ve seen in“The Walking Dead”and it keeps getting amplified every single show. I’m curious, as actors, what are you most proud of when it comes to your performances this year?

Eriq: I’m most proud of my fight scenes [laughs]. Watching the show and watching myself fight with all those people. It was just, I mean, I couldn’t believe it. Even my kids were so impressed. I’m proud of that as well.

Louis: For me, I think my favorite performance might have been in the opening scene of the second season. I remember shooting it in the studio. I mean, it was shot at Mont Saint-Michel, but I had to do a voice. You heard my voice without me being there. And I really liked that scene, that opening scene. Yeah, I think I’m really proud of that one. And of course, I mean, there’s that scene that we shot with Norman where he shouts at me because I cut the rope that was holding the boat, and that was still a scene that was kind of unforgettable.

Eriq: Yeah, and pretty touching as well at the same time.

Louis: And I’ve never seen it to this day. I’ve never seen that ever.

Eriq: Even on set that day, everybody was scared because Norman was just out of his head shouting at him.

Louis: It felt really, real, actually.

Eriq: Yeah, really real. But they gave each other a hug afterwards. Yeah?

Q) Take us back to the very first time you saw your first Walker.

Eriq: How about you? You knew the show before. I know you’re too young, but I can’t stand shows with too much violence, first of all. And I couldn’t stare at them, but the first time I saw them, it was at lunchtime. They were at the canteen, all of them full of blood and eating. It was so scary. So scary. I couldn’t believe it. It was in the real world for me. It was real, so real. Then, they started laughing at each other and I was like, “Okay, I should be focused without laughing when I try to kill them.” But it was so scary watching all of them, all of these groups of extras with costumes and everything full of blood and trying to eat food.

Louis: I remember the first time that I ever saw a walker was, I was talking to Greg Nicotero and it was my first or second week on set ever of season one. And we were shooting at the school. So, that was kind of the first time I kind of experienced being an actor and what it was like. And, so, I was just sitting down with Greg in our chairs, and we saw walkers walking just casually. And I’m like, “Is this real?” And I kind of got creeped out because before I used to be afraid of zombies when I used to be a kid, it was always something that really shocked me. And I think that it’s because of the Michael Jackson video. And I think that really shocked me. And I was always scared of the zombies. But I mean, not now, of course.

Eriq: I’m still scared of zombies after nearly sixty years.

Louis: Yeah. And I remember seeing them and I was just impressed by how well it was done. It was just the first time for me to see the actual zombies next to me.

Q) There’s some disgusting ones this year. I will say that

Eriq: Yeah. Yeah. Pretty hectic ones. They upgraded all the zombies in this season. Yeah.

 

*ROUNDTABLE INTERVIEW*