Lauren Ridloff, Eleanor Matsuura, Paola Lázaro & Khary Payton – The Walking Dead

By starrymag | February 20, 2022

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

Q) Lauren, will we be learning about what Connie went through with the walkers when she was missing for a long time? I feel like there’s a story there.

Lauren Ridloff: Ah, well, I think it’s safe for me to say that, yes, we will find out a bit more about Connie in the second part of the season. And I can’t wait for you to see what Connie has been facing.

Q) It’s sort of interesting how the series, especially with the Commonwealth and what we’re seeing here, the way they’re controlling the individuals that are there is trying to devolve you back to your previous life in a way to control you and to use you even though it’s obvious that all of you have evolved to being the stronger individuals with survival instincts intact. Can you talk about how that is as a character experiencing that and seeing how that plays out?

Lauren Ridloff: I guess I could say one of the things that I have found very interesting about this season is that  now as we actually enter the Commonwealth, we know kind of go back to who we were before the apocalypse occurred, and we are expected to put on our own clothes, our old clothes again, as if no time as tasks as if the Apocalypse was just a bad dream. And I think what you will see is that it really is a challenge to go back to what once was normal. And I think what we actually will see during the season is we touch on a lot of different genres – thriller, a lot of suspicion, some romance, some comedy, which really reflects real life now.  And I think one thing that I really do that really touched me about the shift to the Commonwealth, is that for such a long time, we’ve seen the family and what I mean, by family of survivors, you know, from Alexandria from The Kingdom, from The Sanctuary…I mean, all of them working together. And class didn’t really mean anything at that point. But now when we enter into a society so to speak, which has been decided by an established by the Commonwealth, we find those same old issues – those same old items that might have been resolved during the apocalypse, especially when you’re talking about class.

Lauren: For Connie, I think we all know that in her previous life she was a journalist, and I think what journalists in general tend to value are chasing the truth. And I think that is the value that she believes in. And I think this is where, when it becomes really interesting in the Commonwealth, and at what cost do we maintain or preserve our values or beliefs.

Q) In regard to the Commonwealth, obviously a big factor going into part two, for your respective characters what does the Commonwealth represent? And on a follow up to that, what was it like going from “The Walking Dead” where you’re in the woods and you’re in the dirt and you’re in the mud, you’re in the mess and it almost feels like a Wizard of Oz type and now we’re presenting you with this Technicolor world. That is such a contrast to what you’ve been used to?

Eleanor Matsuura: Well, for Yumiko the transition into the Commonwealth is so sharp and so massive. We see her sort of left in the in the woods on this journey where they meet Princess (Paola Lázaro) and Eugene (Josh McDermitt) and Ezekiel (Khary Payton) and now all of a sudden, she’s been fast tracked to a really high position and she’s got like all this status and we’ve literally seen her walk on with this outfit – with the whitest shoes I think I’ve ever worn or anyone’s ever worn on the show. I remember the first day I walked onto set and like Josh and Paola are like just screaming like, “What are those shoes? Why are they so why? Why are they covered in blood? It’s so weird.” So, it wasn’t hard to imagine how bizarre like for the last two seasons I’ve spent in the woods covered in mud. And now all of a sudden Yumiko has really been pushed into this role that she’s not entirely happy with. But nevertheless, there she is to help her group and to survive she’s stepping into the part and playing her playing her part of the lawyer. And I think going into the Commonwealth is a kind of double-edged sword or a better way of describing would be like, two sides of a coin because on one hand it’s kind of amazing having like, for starters, she’s really reunited with her brother. And that’s a huge thing. And it’s kind of appealing I think being back in a world where there’s order and justice and all these things that she believes in. Her brother’s. They can get ice cream. He works at a bakery. There’s a hospital. There are great things to be had. But she’s also seen too much and she’s a pursuer of the truth, I think and she’s a loyal friend to her chosen family to the end. So, I don’t think that she will ever a be completely comfortable in pretending that past never existed. So, she’ll really have…You’ll see the struggles not just for the human her with everybody. The struggles of how people reconcile that.

Paola Lázaro: Yeah, I think for Princess, she’s trying to assimilate in a way. You can see it and how her hair is like styled different. Her clothes are different. I think she’s really trying to fit into a society which she hasn’t fit into, probably ever, even when she was a kid because of her wild nature. But I think she’s really trying and also really sketched out by it – really like “there’s something that’s not right here,” but she’s trying to make the best of it. And we’ll see what happens with that

Q) Khary, the next two episodes sort of make it seem as if Ezekiel maybe on his way out and in sort of sowing some last roots by giving Carol (Melissa McBride) the box of Henry’s things. Can you speak about Ezekiel future if possible?

Khary Payton: I mean, I think we can talk about somebody who’s trying to say goodbye and is trying to say goodbye without saying goodbye. So many of us have people that we’ve that are close to us that have dealt with cancer and died from cancer and survived cancer and it’s that not knowing how to…There’s a thing where you want to, you want to like give what you can because it might be over tomorrow. And I think that I I guess in this instance, Ezekiel is just trying to cover his bases and make sure that you also don’t want to leave the people that you’ve left behind with a whole lot of crap to do after you’re gone. It’s like, “Who wants Shiva’s leash?” It’s like you don’t want people fighting over Shiva’s leash, why not give it to somebody now. That will make them happy. And that’s one conversation. But it’s very real. And I think it’s he kills trying to think about others even in this moment where his days may be numbered.

Q) Khary, what would Rick Grimes have thought of the Commonwealth? And the rest of you haven’t really met Maggie yet, so what do you think your characters will think of Maggie when you come across?

Khary Payton: What would Rick (Andrew Lincoln) think of the Commonwealth? I think I think he might smile for about ten seconds and then and then and then not trusted at all. I think he’s learned to you know to be pretty wary of anybody new. Famously, “The Walking Dead” has it’s taught us to fear the living more than you feel the dead, right? So, I don’t care how clean these people’s clothes are. There’s got to be something dirty up in here. I think that’s what Rick would think.

Lauren Ridloff: Yeah, it doesn’t matter how wide Eleanor’s shoes really are.

[Khary laughs]

Eleanor Matsuura: Sorry, I wasn’t saying they were really, really, really white.  Some of us on the show like when me and Lauren [Ridloff] first joined, we joined the episode that rig length. So, we might be like, “Who’s Rick? Why does everyone keep going on about this guy?” I’m kidding. Obviously, we know who he is. But it’s funny because even on our time on the show, there’s so many actors that we still…Well, I can only speak for myself I still haven’t worked with and Lauren Cohan is one of them. Jeffrey Dean Morgan is another.

Khary Payton: That’s so crazy to me!

Eleanor Matsuura: I’ve never worked with Ross [Marquand] and I find it wild actually because I know them off offset. Before this show wraps up, I hope that there is a way of getting everyone together somehow because I just think – just for selfish reasons I just think that would be rad.

Khary Payton: That just blew my mind. I don’t know why it just seems so obvious to me …Yeah, that’s crazy that you and Lauren [Cohan] haven’t worked together. Paola, you’ve hardly worked with any of the old crew. I mean, I feel like you’ve been around forever now. You know what I mean? That’s so crazy to me.

Paola Lázaro: I would love like it if Princess meets Rick like the same as a comic books where she’s like, “Dude! Wow! I’ve heard so much about you, man. What an honor man! What an honor man!” That would be awesome.

Q) There is so much speculation about how this long series is going to build up an end. And you have talked about how there is there has been a change already from the general aesthetic of the show to what it has become. So, I wanted to ask how do you feel about the change both as a character on the screen as well as a person who has worked on this off screen?

Eleanor Matsuura: Well, I mean, with this show like, this is Season 11, which is just the most extraordinary thing for a show to have. Not just survive this long, but like thrive as long. And I think there are lots of reasons but one of them is because it’s not afraid to go and do some really weird things. It will go into places that you didn’t expect it to go. And I think even though the Commonwealth is in the comics, I feel like we really embrace it and we really lean into it. It’s allowing the story of the show to open up in a way that is completely unexpected and invites in all these new dynamics and all these new storylines and new stories that we get to tell, the kinds of characters that we would never have seen before on the show. And the fact that that we still get to do that in Season 11 and still have surprises I think is one of the reasons the show has been as successful as it’s been. And terms of it coming to an end, I don’t know. We get asked so much about what it’s feeling like ending but the truth is, I mean, we’re still in it. And I’ve said this all along, I feel like we haven’t landed the plane yet. Like we’re still in flight. So, it’s really hard to talk about what it feels like to land it when we’re still flying.

Khary Payton: Great analogy because this flight is also barreling toward the ground. It’s not it’s not like, “Alright guys, everybody just sit back. Put your seatbelts on.”

Eleanor Matsuura: Yeah, there is no happy landing.

Khary Payton: We’re coming in hot people.

Lauren Ridloff: It feels like “The Walking Dead,” they always keep the pulse of what’s happening in the world, to everything. I remember the very first time that I heard about “The Walking Dead.” My husband told me about the show – Zombies and walkers. “It’s supposed to be good. Let’s watch it together.” And I remember watching the very first episode, and everything about that – everything about the show just felt so gritty. I remember thinking, it was a film. It vibed as film. Over time I think that esthetic has evolved – the characters have evolved. And I think the people you love, we lost. People that we hated are still around. I mean, I think that now I’m on the show has been so crazy to me. And just to see how it’s changed over time it just as me as a person has evolved, as a viewer. And I know that for “The Walking Dead” what was so important to them is to be a reflection of people who are actually watching the show. Therefore, with the diversity, all the representation that we see on the screen, is so powerful and I think that that is one of the continuing things that have happened. One of the factors that hasn’t really changed throughout the show, then just as Eleanor just mentioned, we haven’t really landed the plane. We haven’t even gotten to the end of the show. And so, it’s so hard to say where we are going to be when it ends, but I do feel that the Commonwealth really has brought forward a fresh feeling, over all of these years, it’s definitely a new feeling. And then again, it parallels with everything that’s happening with our recent experiences whether it’s political or with everything that’s happening with the pandemic. I mean, all these conversations, cancel culture. There’s a lot of things that we’re seeing that actually now we see on the screen and that’s where “The Walking Dead” really excels.

Q) Eleanor, can we expect to see some closure maybe between Magna and Yumiko? Or will their new roles in the Commonwealth continue to keep them at odds?

Eleanor Matsuura: That’s such a good question. I think I think both of those things…I hope…Well, one of those things I know will happen and the other one I hope to be true. I think they’ve been split apart for the right reasons. I think it’s very realistic. Relationships in the apocalypse are hard, guys. There’s one thing we’ve learned about this show. But I think they broke up for the right reasons and they’re on completely different paths. But I think Yumiko has never ever forgotten her chosen family outside of the Commonwealth. That group that she first started with – she feels like are her heart and soul. It’s challenged more because she has the pool of her brother keeping her in the Commonwealth and that keeps her invested in wanting to do well there. But I think we will see Yumiko really struggle with where her loyalties lie and what she’s doing in the name of survival. And Magna (Nadia Hilker) is a huge part of that because there’s still a lot of love there. I honestly don’t know. I mean, obviously if I didn’t know I couldn’t tell you but I actually honestly don’t know but me, personally, I really hope they get to resolve…Like I don’t know if there’s happy endings in “The Walking Dead” but I really hope that they get like resolve and go full circle because I want that for them and want that for their journey.

Lauren Ridloff: Yeah, also what I think what I do know is that Magna looks hot in her new work uniform.

Eleanor Matsuura: See, now you’re saying that to me, Lauren. Like this is the kind of information that is going to keep Yumiko checking in on her ex. She can’t let go. So, this is a problem.

Q) Over eleven years of this show, what is your favorite moment and also specifically a favorite moment for your character?

Khary Payton: I’ll just say that my favorite moment was first coming on to set and seeing everyone. I was a fan of the show so many people were and there was a moment where most of the cast was…I think it was my second episode. We were all kind of onset together. And they had everybody set up and it was like a poster. I mean, literally, just 12 of your favorite people from the show. And I was pontificating, looking away from him and I slowly turned to look at all of them. And it was like my television had come alive and Rick Grimes was standing there in the foreground and Carl (Chandler Riggs) was there and Rosita (Christian Serratos) and everybody and Jesus (Tom Payne). It was probably the weirdest, most surreal feeling and I don’t just like lose my lines very often, but I absolutely lost my lines then. And I won’t forget that. I won’t forget that somehow, I found myself dropped in the middle of this fantastic world. And I will not soon forget it.

Lauren Ridloff: Yeah, I think I think that my favorite moment probably would have been just recently when I shot on the inside the final scene when Connie is reunited with Kelly again and Magna. I think you know, and Carol and Rosita. I mean, I think it’s such a significant moment. Other than the obvious we’re all together again, but for me, it was the first time that I actually saw that group again after such a long break, such a long hiatus. I had to go away for filming and then the pandemic hit, and I hadn’t seen anybody for such a long time. And before we actually started shooting that episode, I reached out to Greg [Nicotero] and asked if I could not see Kelly (Angel Theory) until that final day that we shot that scene where we finally are reunited. And Greg made that happen. And I think that scene is probably one of my favorites because it’s one of the most real scenes.

Eleanor Matsuura: It’s funny that the moments that I keep thinking about now…I have so many so I’m guessing I’m spoilt for choice but they genuinely like involve you guys who I’m on the call with. I think one of my happiest memories was Paola’s first day. Like it was so the energy was just incredible. We were all doing something different that we our characters don’t normally do. It was like meeting Princesses like a shot of adrenaline. It was really exciting. We were filming in the city. We don’t normally get to film in the city and everything about it felt different and new in a really exciting way. And that really stands out has been one of my fondest days of work and my other one recently was actually with Lauren [Ridloff]. We have a scene which is completely in ASL, which is something that I’ve always (probably to Lauren’s annoyance) is something that I really like to do and I always like to practice it with her. But I’ve always just felt like that was the most…It’s just like the dopest way. It’s like such a brilliant superpower where if you don’t want anyone to hear you, particularly walkers or people who are alive that you also should be afraid of, like, we have this thing where we can communicate and have this really intimate important conversation. And no one can hear it and I just think it’s incredible. And I was really lucky that me and Lauren got to do that together because I wanted to do that the whole season just have the scene completely in ASL and I’m so glad I got to do that.

 

*CONFERENCE CALL*