Sawyer
17 and AFRAID of Sabrina Carpenter
- Joined
- Apr 4, 2004
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Not bad for a trailer with a bunch of character I don't care about at all.
I hope Carol tracks you down and cuts your ass.

Not bad for a trailer with a bunch of character I don't care about at all.

I hope Carol tracks you down and cuts your ass.![]()
t:I had been crossing my fingers for Keith David to play Ezekiel, but alas...
That's was from the actual show? I thought that was a misplaced snippet of a bts interview with Melissa.Carol's "I have no idea what's going on in the most wonderful way," was cute. I enjoy seeing her happy.


Entertainment Weekly said:Someone on The Walking Dead is already… well, dead. If you think the impact of the show’s biggest villain ever will end when the identity of the finale cliffhanger victim will be revealed in the season 7 premiere on Oct. 23, think again.
According to Jeffrey Dean Morgan, whose character delivered those vicious brain-scrambling blows, the introduction of the leather-clad lunatic last spring is only the beginning. Says the actor — in the appropriate vernacular of the man he is playing — “It’s a reset on The Walking Dead world. It’s f—ing Negan’s world now.”
EW explores that world in full detail in our brand new Walking Dead cover package. What do the cast and producers have to say about the fan reaction to that controversial cliffhanger? Why were some cast members dreading filming the first episode back? What are Carol and Morgan up to in a brand new community titled the Kingdom? Who exactly is King Ezekiel, and how did producers bring his pet tiger Shiva to life?
We have answers to all that and more, including the massive impact Negan will bring to the show in season 7. “What you’re going to see in the first half of this season is Negan wreaking havoc,” says Morgan. “And some of your characters that you’ve grown to love are not going to be on the show anymore, and it’s going to end badly for them. It’s going to be a whole new beginning for The Walking Dead. Really, we’ve taken the show and just flipped it upside down. It’s a different show now. It’s going to have a different feeling. You’re going to see your favorite characters in a position that they’ve never been in before, which is super vulnerable and victimized.”
You’ve been warned.
It's surprises like this that make me glad I don't read the books.![]()
Entertainment Weekly said:One of 11 Alexandrians is dead, killed by the hands of Negan and the barbed wire-covered baseball bat with which he seems to have a vaguely disturbing obsession. But they seem to be good sports about it.
We found that out when we asked each of the actors to individually pose with a bat out in our EW photo suite at Comic-Con in San Diego. And then we let the whole group get their aggressions out on its on-screen tormentor by returning the favor.
Check out these exclusive shots of the 11 potential murder victims Chandler Riggs, Steven Yeun, Lauren Cohan, Ross Marquand, Christian Serratos, Danai Gurira, Michael Cudlitz, Sonequa Martin-Green, Norman Reedus, Josh McDermitt, and Andrew Lincoln getting their revenge on Jeffrey Dean Morgan. He even assumed the position and got on his knees like the Alexandrians themselves!
Okay, so theyre only wiffle ball bats and not covered in barbed wire, but apparently revenge is a dish best served yellow and lightweight.
Entertainment Weekly said:Hes one of the most colorful and kooky characters in The Walking Dead universe, and he is now making the leap from page to screen. Thats right, all hail King Ezekiel!
The leader of a new community called the Kingdom, Ezekiel insists on being addressed as a king and carries around a scepter while accompanied by his pet tiger Shiva. (We told you he was colorful.) The favorite from the comic book will be making his debut when The Walking Dead returns for season 7 on Oct. 23, and weve got your first photo and interview with the man playing him, Khary Payton.
Read on as Payton discusses how he got the coveted role, his thoughts on the character and his tiger, and what Ezekiel makes of the Kingdoms latest visitors, Carol and Morgan.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: I guess it must be nice to finally be able to talk about getting this role, huh?
KHARY PAYTON: Yeah, man. Im honestly a little freaked out just talking to you. Ive been diving in the backs of vans and having blankets thrown over my head so that nobody catches a glimpse of me and getting in and out of Georgia. Ive got a lot of family in Georgia and I didnt even tell them that I was there, so to have an interview with a reporter is a little unnerving.
Why dont you start off by just telling me how you ended up landing the role. What was the whole process like for you?
The process was relatively simple, honestly. It was essentially a four or five-page monologue that they gave me, so I spent a good 72 hours pretty much by myself cloistered in a cave trying to get everything down. I didnt audition in front of producers or directors or anything. It was all on tape, so it was just myself and the casting director.
I feel like I had a connection with this character in a weird way. I always say that when youre in this acting business, you get a lot of rejection. You get a lot of people telling you no and youve got to get up, dust yourself off, and try again, and I feel like in a way Ezekiel fits that same mold where hes in the hope business. I always say Im in the hope business. Youve got to stay hopeful. Youve got to get up off your behind and try again no matter how many times they tell you its not going to work out. Your opinions got to overshadow whatever negativity might come your way. In a zombie apocalypse one can find themselves getting down about their situation, but Ezekiels not one of those people. He fights with all hes got to make sure he stays positive and stays joyful. Thats what I love about him.
Did you know that you were auditioning for Ezekiel at first, or did you not know who the character was?
It was pretty easy to figure it out. I mean, I knew that I was auditioning for The Walking Dead, and they renamed it in the sides. They changed the name and changed the tiger to a lion, but honestly, it doesnt take a whole lot of detective work to figure it out.
I love that they changed the tiger to a lion, as if that would throw people off.
It was a little weird because when I started reading the sides, I was like, Wait a minute. Did I read that right? Hes got a lion? He just kind of starts talking about his lion, you know? Theres no preface! So it took me a couple of reads to realize, okay, yeah, I need to do a little research here.
How familiar were you with the show or the comic before you got the part?
I actually didnt read the comics, but my wife and I have been watching the show for a few years. We kind of got into it maybe three or four years after it started, and so we binged the first three seasons and weve been fans of it ever since. So when I got the audition, Id been busy and I hadnt caught up with the last half of the last season, so I had to hurry up and catch up and see what was going on.
I really adore the connection that people have with the show. Im not a big zombie apocalypse guy, but I think the acting and the writing of the show is just exceptional, and the fact that I happen to be working with Lennie James and Melissa McBride on the show their characters and their performances are two of the things that really kept me watching the show, so it was really wonderful to have those guys as kind of mentors and hosts introducing me to this world.
Did you go back and look at all at the Ezekiel in the comics or did you just steer clear of it and focus on the TV incarnation of the character?
I looked at the comics, but more to just kind of get a feel for the world and everything. I dont feel like I need follow it exactly. I dont worry about being affected by it too much. I feel like I live in the moment enough that a little bit of information here or there isnt going to kill me if they totally go off the rails and Ezekiel becomes a very different version than he is in the comic books. Its just another reason why I love to do this job, man. Its awesome.
So how do you see Ezekiel? Lets talk about the character himself because hes certainly an interesting cat when you first meet this dude in the apocalypse.
Hes in the business of not losing himself to his surroundings. I dont let things get me down. I brighten the things around me in that its a party when youre going to be around him, and whether it was a party there before itll be a party by the time he leaves. I love even his relationship with the zombies themselves. Hes a guy who doesnt think of them as having a physical disease. Its more that their joy was robbed from them, and that hes one of the few people left on earth whose joy hasnt been robbed, and to him, thats the difference between the living and the dead. If youre still human, but youre letting your joy be taken away from you, you might as well be one of those mindless creatures walking all over. So to him, its kind of a weird philosophy of life that hes developed living in this apocalypse that you dont let this world turn you into something that youre not.
Yeah, hes a guy with a lot of pomp and circumstance. He seems a little like a nut job maybe at first, but theres definitely a method to the madness with him, which is what I like so much about Ezekiel.
Yeah, you first come upon him and you think hes a little bit out there, and he is a little bit out there. But the truth is that everything about this world is a little bit out there, and if you want to survive in it and if you want to survive on your own terms, you need to preach your philosophy and preach it loudly so that it doesnt get drowned out by all the crazy.
We know were going to see Carol and Morgan in the Kingdom. What does Ezekiel make of these two?
Thats a good question. I think he sees potential in them. He sees potential in them for understanding his way of living and spreading this gospel of joy and light in a dark situation. I think he considers his Kingdom a lighthouse, and if you use it the right way, itll keep you from crashing on the rocks.
So let me ask you about Ezekiels tiger Shiva. I know you guys are doing some sort of mix of animatronics and CG to bring Shiva to life, so whats it like for you in terms of working with that?
Its just another beautiful way that I get to use my imagination. As far as Im concerned, Shivas as real as the people standing next to me as Morgan or Carol or any of the other people who move among the Kingdom itself. So I really dont think of it as CG or mechanic. All I know is that shes real to me. Ive done a lot of video games where theres literally nothing standing in front of me. Ive done, you know, a lot of voiceovers where theres literally nothing standing in front of me, Ive got to make it all up, so this is just another situation where my imagination gets to be used in another context, so no matter how good they bring it to life, its already alive in my head.
Talk about what Shiva means to Ezekiel and how Ezekiel uses Shiva.
Shiva is the beginning and the end for Ezekiel. Shes one of the reasons that he didnt lose hope when this whole thing started. Shes this beautiful unique creature in the middle of this dark, dark time, and so shes beloved, and shes also a symbol to him of what it means to be different in the context of the world that youre living in. Its like shes a constant reminder every time he looks at her that theres beauty in the world. She started off as his protector and now he feels like that relationship is reversed and shes this giant, powerful symbol that he feels a real kinship with and a need to protect. So shes kind of the end all, be all for him. I think Shivas a really appropriate name for her because shes hallowed in his eyes. Shes holy in his eyes.
Someone please take a scissors to Carl's hair.