Garret Dillahunt – Fear The Walking Dead

By starrymag | June 2, 2019

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

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

A) I’m pretty excited about this movie called Sergio for Netflix that will probably come out late summer or early fall. Wagner Moura plays Sergio De Mello and Ana de Armas is in it, too. It’s a great group of people and a cool story. It was a lot of fun to make and I’m really proud of it. So, keep your eyes peeled!

Q) Where do we pick up on this season on “Fear The Walking Dead” and with your character John Dorie?

A) We left off with us deciding what we were going to make of ourselves in this apocalypse and this strange world. Are we just going to circle the wagons and fend for ourselves – live and die that way – or are we going to try to make the world a better place? I think it’s a group of people who decided, “Fuck it. What do we have to lose? Let’s try to make the world a better place. Let’s see if we can help people. We have a unique skillset so why not put it to use?”

Q) Was there anything you added to John that wasn’t in his initial breakdown?

A) I don’t know. I don’t know about the original breakdown, but he certainly continues to evolve, grow and change – like people do. I’m anxious for more. I’d obviously like to work all the time and have a show just about John. You know what I mean? You just want to do more and more all the time, but I have to be patient and let things bear fruit at their own rate. They haven’t let me in a whole bunch on what the future holds for John.

Q) Do you have much of a say in how John continues to develop?

A) Well, I certainly have no qualms about emailing the showrunners and asking for things and whining about things or giving my two cents. Sometimes they take it. Sometimes they don’t. They have been very generous in terms of making themselves available for that kind of thing. A lot of shows you can’t communicate that directly with the showrunners since they are not interested. But these guys do their best to try to incorporate everybody’s desires, but [unfortunately] there is no just no way that can be done. There are just too many people to serve and there are a lot of things we don’t know, in terms of the long game. But they accommodate us when they can, that’s for sure.

Q) Was there anything that surprised you to learn about John when you were reading the scripts?

A) I guess not. I feel like I have a pretty good handle on him. It’s just now going to be about how he evolves. Certainly, with some surprises you’re like, “I don’t know if I would have taken him in that way.” But you have to be open to things that are outside your expectations and give it an honest go before you reject them. I’ve really enjoyed working with Colman Domingo as a director. I’ll tell you that!

Q) Was there someone you were hoping to working with more or someone you hadn’t worked with yet at all in this coming season that you had a chance to share a scene with?

A) We like the little bottle episodes just because it gives the audience insight into these characters. We all get them. They are sort of scattered throughout the series and it’s a chance to get a lot of information in a short amount of time. But I enjoy playing with Jenna Elfman, obviously. I liked the one I did with Lennie [James] in the season premiere. We had a lot to do together. I like working with Lennie James. Then, you saw John and Strand trapped on an alligator protected island. They were an odd pair, but I really like the dynamic between them. I think it would be cool for John and Alicia (Alycia Debnam-Carey) to have a story. He could be her Mormont (knight), if you know what I mean. I think she’s really cool and a good actor as well. I feel like John barely knows Luciana (Danay Garcia). That would be fun. We got a little bit to do right after Nick (Frank Dillane) died. I enjoyed working with her and she’s come a long way as well and a lot of her skills are going to be on display this year. Some surprising ones!

Q) Do you have any favorite onscreen moments you are looking forward to fans getting to see from this season or some favorite locations you enjoyed filming at the most?

A) There are both of those things, but I feel like if I told you both of those things it would just spoil it. As much as people seem to seek out spoilers, I don’t think they really enjoy it when they get them. They’d rather be surprised. There is a lot of odd fan theories out there. I don’t know where they came from, but I don’t mind them having them. I hope they are not too disappointed when they are proved wrong. [laughs]

Q) There are some great directors that helm this show. Colman Domingo has done two episodes now. What’s it like being directed by one of your costars?

A) It’s great! I didn’t get to be in the one he did last season. The crew was happy with how much he’s grown and how fast. I didn’t know what to expect and I’ve said this a lot, I think Colman is a great actor. He’s been acting his whole life. And I mean this in the most complimentary way possible, I think he’s an even better director. I think he’s going to do great things in general. I think he’s going to direct a lot of great stuff. I really enjoyed his finesse on set. The way he could communicate his needs to the cast without being in any way offensive. Actors are a fragile bunch and you have to really manage egos and things like that. It’s silly, but he did it effortlessly and get what he wanted. I think people are going to be pretty pleased with the episode.

Q) What have you personally taken away from your time working on “Fear The Walking Dead?”

A) Well, that’s a tricky one. Television is a difficult medium. It’s getting harder and harder to do. You have less and less time to tell your stories and less and less money to do it. So, you work your ass off. You have to do it because you love it. I think this crew, in particular, because we’re out in the elements all day every day (rain or shine and hot or cold) …I think this crew deserves a month-long vacation somewhere nice. Somewhere they can sit on the beach and get spoiled because they work so hard for us. I think I’m learning to just be a little more patient and that you don’t get everything you want. I think those are good lessons to learn. I’m a bit of a workaholic and I like to be busy. And I’ve been doing this a while. I know what I’m doing now. Sometimes you can get lost and insulate yourself against new ideas and that would be a mistake. So, I’m trying to just let go of control a little bit.

Q) We loved seeing you on “The Gifted.” Talk about reteaming with Matt Nix for this show.

A) I was doing “The Mindy Project” at the time and I had worked with him on “Burn Notice.” I am taking these red eye flights and shooting all of my episodes over a weekend or something. Then, taking the red eye back. I feel like I barely got to know anyone on “The Gifted.” It was a tricky experience for me. Then, “Fear” came up and I had to leave because it was a series regular job instead of just an occasional guest star. I was sorry to hear it got cancelled, but I had a very small part in it really.

Q) You have such an incredible body of work. What have been some of your favorite projects to have worked on?

A) I feel like “Deadwood” gave me a career and I’m very excited that it’s about to release a movie after thirteen years. They finally decided to give the fans a wrap up and I think that’s an amazing gift from HBO and I can’t wait to see it. It’s going to be beautiful. (I was lucky enough to get to read the script.) We all have a lot of love for David Milch. We owe him a lot. It’s a real unique thing for that to happen – for everyone to assemble after so much time. We’re older, grayer and fatter, but we also know what he gave us and, in my case, it was a real hard push out into the current that is this business and I’ll forever be grateful. I loved The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. It introduced me to Brad Pitt and Plan B. It’s been great to work with them three or four times in my career. No Country for Old Men was a good one and “Raising Hope” I really loved. I loved going to work every day. We’d try to make each other laugh and make people feel good by telling a story about a family that doesn’t have a lot of money, but has a lot of love.

Q) You’ve worked on a few projects with writer Greg Garcia like “Raising Hope” and “The Guest Book.” What makes working with him so enjoyable?

A) I think we just have a very similar sense of humor and he’s a good human being. I like him very much. I count him as a friend. I would say he’s kind of the David Milch of comedy in his way. He’s a real sensitive person to what makes you tick. He works in things about you into the character that you don’t even know you’re revealing and David did the same thing. But he’s just one of those guys that leads from the front and he engenders a real loyalty and desire to do good in his whole staff. The crew and the actors feel the same. They all want to do good for him. Whenever he calls, I try to work it in for him because he’s just a good guy.

Q) You do slip seamlessly between dramatic roles and comedic roles. How are you able to balance this so well?

A) I don’t know. I’m certainly not the first to do it. I think it’s a thing that most of us can do. I’m most blessed, I’ll say, to be given the opportunity to do that. I think mistakenly a lot of times people think you can only do one thing. I have a good sense of humor and I just like stories. And they’re all stories – funny stories, sad stories, tragic stories. I just like them all. I think the key is to love people and to want to honor their stories. I feel like that frees you up to be as goofy and as insane as you want to be.