Lennie James – Fear The Walking Dead

By: Jamie Steinberg

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

A) The only other thing going on is a television show that I wrote for the UK. I wrote the first season, which went out about a year and a half ago. And I just finished writing the second season, which will start shooting in August in the UK and it’s called “Save Me.”

Q) What can you tease is in store this season for Morgan on “For The Walking Dead?”

A) Literally all I can do is tease what is going to happen to Morgan in Season 5. As a group, we are going to take on the challenge of now that we’ve pretty much got all the skills and know-how of how you survive in this particular post-apocalyptic world, we’re going to investigate what it will take to build a life now – to live, to think about the future and possibly rebuild a version of civilization. So, we’re going to take the early steps to do that, with all of the dangers that come along with that and the conflicts and the roadblocks – both literal and metaphorical. For Morgan, in Season 5 he will face (I believe) his biggest challenge and the biggest threat to who he is and what he has been trying to do. He will come up against something that will literally shake him to his core and challenge everything he’s tried to make of himself and everything he has thought of himself. It will come from an unlikely place, but it will be his biggest challenge.

Q) Do you have much say in Morgan’s character development?

A) Sometimes yes and sometimes no. In some particular areas yes and other particular areas no. In this season in that area that I’ve just described about, what is Morgan’s biggest challenge, I had lots of on-going conversations with our two showrunners Andrew [Chambliss] and Ian [Goldberg] just to map through because it has a lot of to do with what Morgan has been through before and I am a source of what Morgan has been through before and what we can use and what memories he might have and what instances we might be able to create. So, a chunk of the journey of Season 5 I’ve been part of the discussion. I wouldn’t say I make any of the decisions, but I certainly am a voice around the table.

Q) Were you going into the new season hoping to share scenes with anyone in particular?

A) One of the things that I get to do in Season 5 that I didn’t do a huge amount in Season 4 is there is a building of a relationship between Morgan and Alicia (Alycia Debnam-Carey). That has been a lot of fun. I’ve really enjoyed working with and getting to know Alycia. In Season 4, everything was literally kind of thrown in the air and her character suffered some great losses. I think it’s created an affinity with Morgan and they have kind of a growing friendship that I have been and am enjoying playing. Any day I get to do a scene with Garret Dillahunt. Any day when Morgan and John Dorie are in a scene together is a good day for me. Morgan has spent quite a bit of time with Maggie Grace’s character, Althea, and that’s been a lot of fun. We have two main characters rejoining this season with Ruben Blades and Austin Amelio. Doing stuff with them has been great, especially with Austin because as we discovered when we did our first scene together on “Fear” it was actually the first time our two characters had spoken to each other at all in either show. So, that was a huge amount of fun!

Q) Colman Domingo got to direct a couple of episodes. Do you have any interest in stepping behind the camera?

A) Do you know what? I’ll be absolutely honest. I’ve watched him do it. He did one episode last year and he did an episode this year. He’s really grown in confidence. He’s always known what he’s wanted to do, but it really is something that Colman wants to do and he’s a kind of every man as far as the entertainment industry is concerned. He’s a writer, producer, director and actor. Although I will at some point because I’ve been offered it and I like to challenge myself, hopefully direct one of the episodes. In all honesty, it’s not something I’m burning to do. I have other ambitions. I want to write and there are people I want to play. There are things that I may well want to direct, but at the moment I have much more fun watching Colman doing it. There is one other actor talking about stepping up and doing it as well. I’m glad we have that opportunity and I may take up the opportunity, but I’m in no hurry.

Q) What do you think it is about the show “Fear The Walking Dead” that continues to make it such a fan favorite?

A) I think because it is an exploration of the human spirit wrapped up in the genre television show that it’s slightly like a really good magic trick. You think you’re watching something, but actually you’re experiencing something very, very different. I think it is about heart and I think it’s always about people who care about each other or are fighting for people that they care about. I think it is a fantastic investigation of people – an exploration of people and characters. And I think over the years, on both shows, they have grown up amazing characters. Not least amazing female characters; amazing characters of colors and diversity of the people that populate our stories and the depth in which our characters are allowed to explore themselves. I think it’s almost unparalleled.

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and the work you do?

A) I would just like to say that we are aware of your support. We are grateful for your support. We hope very much that you enjoy this season we’re about to put out there. I think it follows in the traditions of the way we do our storytelling and this universe. But it has a particular Austin, Texas twist on it this time and I hope the fans enjoy it. Get ready to be surprised, frightened and have your heart broken just a little bit.