I love that story.
JEFFREY DEAN MORGAN:Me too.
So how excited were you to get into this?
Credit: Gene Page/AMC
I remember you and I talking about this issue before we started season 7.
And you asked, Whats the storyline that youre anticipating the most from the graphic novel?
And it was absolutely the Negan-Carl stuff.
When I first read it, I remember just getting excited, you know what I mean?
And I remember hearing that going, Oh, no, what are they going to do?
I really want the Negan-Carl stuff!
And to have Carl busting out with the machine gun at the compound was a pretty cool moment.
And my friend Rosemary Rodriguez directed the episode as well, so that was a pretty exciting time.
There are so many different iconic moments to pack in the one episode.
Ispoke with Chandler Riggs, who talked about working with you.
So what was that experience like?
How did you handle that?
Well, he was great.
Hes been on this show for seven years and hes grown up on this thing.
You know who was super excited about shooting these scenes was Chandler Riggs!
It was a big moment for Carl, this whole episode, and Chandler was very excited.
And I remember talking to [Andrew Lincoln].
I was so impressed with him as a young actor.
I think its the finest work hes done on the show, period.
Thats all you could ask and all you could hope for.
Since he first laid eyes on him, Negan has seemed to be fascinated with Carl.
What is it about this kid that Negan finds so intriguing?
He respects this kid and maybe he sees a bit of himself in him.
Carl never has backed away from Negan.
Negan just simply respects him.
I wonder is that apology genuine or…
I think its genuine.
Yeah, Negan prods him and prods him because thats kind of what Negans MO is.
Thats not a bulls moment for Negan.
And Negan keeps saying stuff like, Hey, I dont want to do this.
I dont want to ever have to do this again.
Do you believe him?
Do you believe that he doesnt take any sort of joy out of doing that?
That is hard to tell.
I feel like this is a show that Negan has put on before.
I think hes putting on a little bit of a show for Carl in that circumstance.
Thats a lot for Carls benefit.
So a couple of things were important in that episode that stood out for me that I really enjoyed.
Why is that the one line he will not cross?
I think hes just got to have a line.
I think its nice to have one.
I can only go off of what I know that Robert Kirkman has written.
But thats what you have to do as an actor.
That being said…
Its only in that way.
Yeah, in that way.
He gives them the choice, but its a loaded choice, right?
Not much of a choice, yeah.
I love that scene between you and Sherry where she says, Go easy on her.
You say, I ever hit any one of you?
and she goes, No, but I know you.
That was another moment from the graphic novel and I was very excited to get to it.
But that was sort of the introduction to his harem of women and how they came to be.
His set of rules and morals are going to be different than what ours are today.
But in his mind, he treats these women really well.
Look what hes going to provide for you.
Yeah, to be his wife is a special treat.
Why would you want anything else?
You get to give Norman Reedus the finger in this episode.How much fun was that?
Oh, God bless him.
It is fun to flip off Reedus because Im usually on the other end of that all the time.
So its always good.
And to do it on camera?
Come on, its great!
What would you say we should be expecting?
We know youre there waiting for Rick, and Rick is going to come back.
Im there waiting for Rick.
Its creepy, man.
Well see where that goes.
Mid-season finale, you know its going to be big.
Also verify toread our episode Q&A with Chandler Riggs.
And for moreWalking Deadintel, follow Dalton on Twitter@DaltonRoss.
