We spoke to The Walking Dead stars Sonequa Martin-Green (Sasha) and Kenric Green (Scott) on what’s in store for Sasha and the journey she’s been on…
What‘s it been like reading the scripts for the second half of the season?
SMG: I found myself reading them as a member of the audience, and I try and maintain that as much as I can, because I’m a huge fan of the show. I’m on the edge of my seat reading the script.
KG: It’s like our own version of watching the show. What’s cool for me is by the time it airs you only remember the big stuff. Reading it and seeing it on screen is two totally different things.
What’s it like being on the show?
KG: By the time I got on the show it was a fully constructed train at high speed! I tell people it’s only half acting, really. The woods are real, the Sun and the heat are real. The dirt and the ticks are real. As well as they do with the make-up and special effects, when those zombies are in your face, you don’t have to act scared!
What many actors in The Walking Dead say is when they’ve been acting with someone quite closely and then they’re killed off, it’s difficult. Is it like losing a colleague?
SMG: It’s the worst part of the job! We get close quickly, and we say all the time we’re family, but we mean that it’s not a joke, it’s the truth! It’s hard, because these people are your actual friends, and when they leave, they leave your life. It’s hard to link up schedules when you’re not forced to see each other. When someone goes, you might not know when you see them again. It’s real sad! These events are like reunions.
Sacha is one of the very few characters who’s had screen time with everyone. What’s been your favourite pairing?
SMG: Oh man! I really liked everything I did with Chad (Tyreese). We had a great dynamic, and we immediately were brother and sister when we first met. We say that a lot. It was easy, we didn’t have to work at it.
The ratings are incredible and the views fantastic so why doesn’t it get the recognition it deserves?
KG: I think for any actor, it shouldn’t be about seeking awards. That’s not the reason any actor gets into it. This show is for the fans, and that and the ratings are reward enough.
SMG: How people have latched on to the show and it’s influenced them is great. People say it’s what we do as a family, and that’s invaluable and exactly why you do it.
Is it odd to see people in cosplay as Sasha?
SMG: Yeah it’s crazy. I always complimented cosplay, and then came the day someone was cosplaying me! The people that I’ve seen don’t need any pointers. It is surreal, especially when you see the really good ones. It’s the highest honour. I feel very appreciative.
KG: When they dress up as Sasha they have all the little details, and she’d come by my table and I still see my wife. I’m like, “What?” Some of them should be real costume designers.
When they all got to Alexandria, Sasha was really struggling to settle there. Is it difficult when your character is made to keep distance in the show?
SMG: It is actually. The first time I experienced it was in season 4 in the prison when me, Lauren [Cohan, Maggie] and Lawrence [Gillard, Bob] all had to run away. It’s like a party when we’re all together so yeah it is quite disorientating when we split off. For instance, me, Michael [Cudlitz, Abraham] and Norman [Reedus, Daryl] have been split off for a long time. You hear these stories from elsewhere on set and you’re like oh man we were in the car leading the herd! I do appreciate it though because with a cast that big, the writers have to.
There’s something blossoming between you and Abraham. Is there anything there?
SMG: I do love that they began telling this story of the two of them, because anything could happen. It could go a million different ways. I think right now they have very similar experiences. They suffer from PTSD and they are both soldiers. He really is, but she has a soldier’s mind-set. They have a lot more in common then they initially realise.
How well is Sacha opening up to everything now after all she’s been through?
SMG: Sasha is ready to live again. When you first her she’s very hard, distant and pragmatic. Losing Bob and then Tyreese spiralled her all the way down to the lowest place in her life. Now she’s come out of it and she’s realised that since the zombie apocalypse she’s built this wall around her, as she couldn’t handle being connected to people. Sacha is finally ready to live, and for the first time in a long time, she isn’t ready to die.
The Walking Dead: Season 6 is airing now on Fox. For more news about the biggest TV shows, pick up the latest issue of SciFiNow.
