SPOILER ALERT: Read on only if you have already watched Sundays Evolution midseason finale ofThe Walking Dead.
(More info from showrunner Angela Kang on these mysterious new foes here.)
How does actor Tom Payne feel about having his character killed off?
Gene Page/AMC
Pretty great, actually!
He even suggested to producers they kill him off to up the ante during the war with the Saviors.
Read through both pages for the entire interview, and also verify tocheck out our interview with Kang.
Gene Page/AMC
I called her back and itwasthe call.
I was like, oh, okay.
Like, Hows it gonna be?
Gene Page/AMC
Thats what you want in this show, and Im glad that we could provide that.
That whole episode felt like old school horror.
It looks like theres CGI, tbut here wasnt at all.
You really felt like we were making a movie.
It was really, really cool and we all had a lot of fun doing it.
It was really fun to shoot because we could feel the energy of the episode and the creepy weirdness.
Yeah but they finally give you the man bun and then they take you out!
[Laughs]Oh, I know.
I was pretty intent on it, because I found the comic books and I wanted to get that.
So Im super happy we got into that.
That was before we knew that I was gonna die.
Jesus is kicking ass!
This is amazing!What?
Thats what I want to hear.
This show is a different beast than the comic books.
Like he has a fight with Negan, catches this grenade and throws it back.
But Im happy that, at the end, we put it all in there and thats cool.
Its exciting to be part of this legacy show, and then have really cool moments in it.
Im happy with that, definitely.
You mentioned how Jesus is an incredibly skilled fighter.
So how does he get taken out here?
Thats the only way that you could have gone, I think.
I think thats probably the best way for him to go.
Otherwise, it was either that or get overwhelmed by 20 guys or something.
(Interview continues on next page.)
Tell me about filming your death scene.
Thats always a big moment for anyone.It was really fun.
There are lots of things that could then happen, so thats kind of interesting part as well.
Yeah, they have to get out.
I had big smile on my face the whole time.
Clearly thats not going to happen.
But I think they maybe fooled around a bit, hopefully.
Because you know, six years is a long time and why not, you know?
Thats really nice, and Im really glad that relationship was explored even just a little bit.
Do you have a favorite scene or episode from your time onThe Walking Dead?I have a few.
I obviously think I need some distance from the show to look back on it.
That kind of went away.
I know theyll be upset about Jesus death, but I think theyll love the storytelling of it.
So whats it like to watch yourself die on-screen?Cool.
I just loved how epic the fight is, and then have a death afterwards.
And I cant wait to see the audience reactions and all that stuff.
I love being surprised, I love it when a story takes a turn that I wasnt expecting.
And this is a huge because, as you said, he is still alive in the comic books.
I think its a good story turn, to make the Whisperers as dangerous as they are.
I guess thats always the calculus though when figuring these things out.
Lets do some shocking stuff!
I was like, Whats going on?
Lets kill some people, lets do it.
Lets be what this show is.
And Im happy to be a part of that this season.
I wanna be a part of the shock and the horror and what makes the show great.
Im happy with it.
So there it is.
For all the people that are upset that Jesus is gone, blame Tom Payne!Exactly.
Also check that to check out our interview with showrunner Angela Kang.
And for moreWalking Deadintel, follow Dalton on Twitter@DaltonRoss.
