Tonight, the new spinoff, The Walking Dead: Dead City, premieres on AMC. The series follows Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) as they venture into a post-apocalyptic Manhattan that has been cut off from the mainland, hatching a plan to rescue Maggie’s son, Hershel (Logan Kim), who has been kidnapped by The Croat, (Željko Ivanek), an evil man who Negan has dealt with before. Meanwhile, the two must also stay ahead of the marshal, Armstrong (Gaius Charles), who is trying to bring Negan to justice for crimes he has committed.

Ivanek and Charles, along with Mahina Napoleon, who plays the character of Ginny, recently spoke with the media about the new series.

Both Ivanek and Charles’ characters serve as adversaries for the heroes of the story. Charles views Armstrong as an obstacle mostly for Negan. “I want to bring him to justice for something,” the actor told SciFi Vision. “I think anybody that's watched the show really resonates with season seven, [with] Glenn (Steven Yeun) [and] a lot of the other stuff he's done. He's got a long rap sheet. I think it's cool that we're using law and order to try to reestablish this world, and that becomes a huge obstacle for Negan and for a lot of people in this world where right and wrong isn't clear.”

“I think for my character, The Croat, [he’s] being pulled back into a world that he left,” said Ivanek. “…I think that's the last thing he wants to do, unfortunately.”

“I think that Ginny brings out a different point of view for fans and a different side of Negan and Maggie,” added Napoleon. “So, I think Ginny creates this whole different perspective, because normally fans think that Maggie is the hero and Negan is a villain, but I think that Ginny brings a totally opposite, different perspective.”

The actors also talked with SciFi Vision about what it was like working with the walkers. “Through the makeup we get to see how it's built up, and it is an astonishing level of artistry and creativity that goes into that physical look of it and the physical behavior,” Ivanek told the site, praising the creativity. “They could write a manual on what the walkers are like and how they behave. To see someone like Addison [Foreman], who did my makeup, who’s been there I think pretty much from the beginning, just boy do they know this stuff. I think he should give a masterclass on ‘How to be a Walker Lessons 1-10.’ So, it's been fun seeing that kind of whole backstage perspective.”

The actor also talked a bit about watching the walkers while on set. “I just walked into the train station in this vast, vast space and everybody was on break, and it's like all these walkers standing up against the wall and chatting in the corner. It was absurd. It was like watching a bunch of commuters waiting for the ferry [but as] zombies.”
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Napoleon also really appreciated the experience. “I think it's really cool because as a fan, I like to see how everything works, and the makeup was really cool,” she told SciFi Vision, “but it's also really funny, because once we're done shooting a scene, they all go to being on phone calls, eating, drinking - everything. You're like, ‘Wait! They’re just actual people; they're not walkers.’ It's really, really trippy.”

Charles, on the other hand, talked about his first walker kill as Armstrong, and he was impressed. “My first walker kill, like my initiation, is when we're in the laundromat, and I'm hunting Maggie and Negan,” said the actor. “I was impressed. We know that the performance of the walkers is outstanding. The walkers, they’re just sort of getting into the whole characterization of it. But the walker that I killed had to have like a plastic bag on his head. He had like, all this other stuff to do. So, he had all the walkers stuff, the makeup, the performance, but then he had to figure out how to do it all without breathing. Just the curveballs they throw at these performers and seeing how they execute them so well is really great to watch.”

Lastly, for fun, SciFi Vision also asked the cast what character from The Walking Dead universe they would take with them to help them in a real zombie apocalypse. For Ivanek, it’s Daryl (Norman Reedus) from the flagship series. “He [found] a balance early on…[and had] a skill set that this world requires that is beyond my own. So, I'd be right behind him.”

Napoleon chose Daryl and Michonne (Danai Gurira). “I think if I had the correct tools and the correct place to stay and Daryl or Michonne…if I had either one of them with me, I think, oh yeah, 100% I would definitely survive - as long as I could,” the actress told the site.

“I can't leave my man Rick hanging out there! My man Rick does his thing!” said Charles, adding that really, all three would be great.

During the interview the performers also touched on subjects such as why The Croat makes a dangerous villain, their own experience with hair and makeup on the series, what it’s like joining the franchise, their plans for the premiere, and more.

Read the full transcript below, and be sure to watch the premiere, tonight on AMC and AMC+


***Please note that the audio was very choppy and some pieces were missing or may be slightly incorrect***

SCIFI VISION:  Each of your characters, some more than others, provides an obstacle for each of the main characters for both Negan and Maggie. What can you tease about your characters in that sense, like how are they going against them and what problems do they cause?

GAIUS CHARLES:  Yeah, I'd say for me, probably is the clearest one for Negan and I want to bring him to justice for something. I think anybody that's watched the show really resonates with season seven, Glenn some a lot of the other stuff he's done. He's got a long rap sheet. [laughs] I think it's cool that we're using law and order to try to reestablish this world, and that becomes a huge obstacle for Negan and for a lot of people in this world where right and wrong isn't clear.

ŽELJKO IVANEK:  I think for my character, The Croat, is being pulled back into a world that he left…I think that's the last thing he wants to do, unfortunately.

MAHINA NAPOLEON:  I think that Ginny brings out a different point of view for fans and a different side of Negan and Maggie. So, I think Ginny creates this whole different perspective, because normally fans think that Maggie is the hero and Negan is a villain, but I think that Ginny brings a totally opposite, different perspective.

QUESTION:  There have been so many great villains in The Walking Dead universe. What makes The Croat so very dangerous?

ŽELJKO IVANEK:  I think the first thing that comes to mind is the lack of inhibition. Everyone in this universe is always pursuing the same thing. Everyone is in pursuit of safety and protection, and they go about it in very, very different ways. Armstrong uses law and order, and I use fear and intimidation. But the goal is to create this sort of mythical protected universe, because the world is such a fearsome place. You're looking for your allies and you protect your own. So, it becomes about like, how far are you willing to go in pursuit of that, and how much you are willing to divide up the world into us and them? And in the Croat's world, even the us are expendable for the larger goal, and that's a scary point of view on the world.

GAIUS CHARLES:  One of the things that I find that makes him so dangerous, so threatening is that he can see through people's facades. He can see through people's vulnerabilities. He can hone in on their vulnerabilities like he eventually does with my character. He keys in on something that probably nobody else would have thought [of] and uses that against me in a way that we've seen. So, I think somebody who has that kind of high-level psychological manipulation is very dangerous.

MAHINA NAPOLEON:  My character doesn't interact with The Croat that much, but from my point of view, I think that what makes The Croat a big, big part in the story is how he has a really, really big history with Negan and how that can play a part in all of our all of our stories with him.

QUESTION:  Do each of you have a favorite episode you filmed or maybe one you'd like fans to truly keep an eye out for?

ŽELJKO IVANEK:  I don't know if it is episode three or four when we're in Madison Square Garden and the gladiator combat scene, because that whole day was creating this bond and creating this energy in that space and then just sort of feeding into that gladiatorial combat that I've got poor Armstrong into. So, just that energy of that space I think is one of my favorites.

GAIUS CHARLES:  That was actually my favorite episode - filming it - because it was so physical. You know, lots of stunts…it just felt grand, the scale of it, the scope of it, the stakes of it.

MAHINA NAPOLEON:  I like all of them, because I'm a fan of the original series. So, even being able to be on set with everyone is such a privilege. So, I can't choose. They're all amazing.

QUESTION:  I was wondering what it's been like joining this universe? What do you think is so compelling about it?

ŽELJKO IVANEK:  It's crazy all of the fans already, because we had the premiere screening last night. The space was amazing, and I have not been a part of anything that had that kind of fan base going into it, joining after so many years of success. That was an incredible thing, and it's also a few things that have nothing to do [with that] where you're just creating an alternate world. It's the storytelling. It's the physical world; it’s in every aspect of the show, this complete, alternate universe that we're living in, which was interesting to be doing during COVID time. It suddenly seems not so far off, so far fetched. So, that's been one of the thrills for me, is just entering into a whole other world.

GAIUS CHARLES:  Yeah, for me, I would say the show being everything that people know and love about The Walking Dead, in terms of walkers and things like that. But then us bringing this new layer, new characters like a whole law and order, the marshal character and the whole community that I'm from.  I remember talking to the show runner Eli [Jorné] about it, and some other folks. They were just like, “We really haven't seen this perspective in the show before. We haven't seen this kind of character and these kind of characters in the show,” which I thought kind of added something new and interesting.

MAHINA NAPOLEON:  Like Željko said, the event last night - that was really crazy to see how many people are like extremely interested in everything. It was really cool to be a part of that and explore life and how they brought this whole new world of dead and the living trying to survive. That was a really really, really cool experience.

QUESTION:  So, since you guys are all new to The Walking Dead universe and portraying new characters, give us like one trait that you really like about your character to kind of familiarize us with your character?

ŽELJKO IVANEK:  With The Croat it's a sense of humor…But I think it's so much a part of the character. So much part of what he learned from Negan is just showmanship and playing the role and being a leader and pulling people together. And I think it kind of just adds layers to it that he's not just the big bad dictatorial guy. But there's an element that he relishes and very publicly relishes in his position and how he controls and manipulates people.

GAIUS CHARLES:  I like Armstrong's kind of family man side. He is a guy who has a wife and kids, but you also see that in a scene early on with the junior Marshal where you see me kind of like mentoring another marshal, that you see this guy beyond just a tough guy, and it’s law and order, but he's like a guy with a heart too.

MAHINA NAPOLEON:  I like Ginny’s attitude, because since my character doesn't have much dialogue, it helps me portray my character even better, even easier. Because if I'm working with Lauren or Jeffrey or Gaius, that can really help me use my words without [using actual words].

SCIFI VISION:  So, you've each interacted with the walkers. What was that experience like for you? I mean, were you grossed out? Was it just really cool?

ŽELJKO IVANEK:  Through the makeup we get to see how it's built up, and it is an astonishing level of artistry and creativity that goes into that physical look of it and the physical behavior. They could write a manual on what the walkers are like and how they behave. To see someone like Addison, who did my makeup, who’s been there I think pretty much from the beginning, just boy do they know this stuff. I think he should give a masterclass on "How to be a Walker Lessons 1-10." So, it's been fun seeing that kind of whole backstage perspective.

MAHINA NAPOLEON:  I think it's really cool, because as a fan, I like to see how everything works, and the makeup was really cool, but it's also really funny because once we're done shooting a scene, they all go to being on phone calls, eating, drinking - everything. You're like, "Wait! They’re just actual people - they're not walkers." It's really, really trippy.

ŽELJKO IVANEK:  We were shooting in New Jersey at the old Aria building…and I just walked into the train station in this vast, vast space and everybody was on break, and it's like all these walkers standing up against the wall and chatting in the corner. It was absurd. It was like watching a bunch of commuters waiting for the ferry [but as] zombies.

GAIUS CHARLES:  Oh yeah. I would just say my first walker kill, like my initiation, is when we're in the laundromat, and I'm hunting Maggie and Negan. I was impressed. We know that the performance of the walkers is outstanding. The walkers, they’re just sort of getting into the whole characterization of it. But the walker that I killed had to have like a plastic bag on his head. He had like, all this other stuff to do. So, he had all the walkers stuff, the makeup, the performance, but then he had to figure out how to do it all without breathing. Just the curveballs they throw at these performers and seeing how they execute them so well is really great to watch.

QUESTION:  So, I think Gaius mentioned that Negan has a long rap sheet, but each of your characters, including Armstrong, during the series, develops a kind of fascination with Negan, despite all the bad things he's done. What do you think draws so many people to the character of Negan?

GAIUS CHARLES:  Well, it was really cool to see the fans enjoy the first two episodes at the premiere last night, and I was really listening for how they respond to everything, but just their reaction to Negan, like, I mean, comic like laughs, like, hearty laughs at these comedic moments, terrorizing moments, or just really being gripped by just the amount of menace and fear Negan inspires as well. Just like, it's a really, really dynamic character. And it's a character really that everyone in the world is deeply influenced by.

ŽELJKO IVANEK:  Just that showmanship and charisma just pulls you in so much. [For] The Croat, I think that is lesson one in how to be a leader, is to have that kind of influence over people and what it takes to be that and to put on a show, because he does it very clearly and very deliberately and very much for a purpose. And that's clearly made a big impact on fans and everybody watching the show.

MAHINA NAPOLEON:  What both of them said. The way Negan makes things funny, but out of a really, really gruesome scene...I think it was in the second episode he smashes a guy's head into glass and like everyone was just dying. It was really [unintelligible].

QUESTION:  This is such a big series. How will you guys be celebrating the premiere? Are you going to be participating in a big event?

ŽELJKO IVANEK:  I'm going to be in London having dinner with my best friend from drama school and her husband. So, it'll be a little weird. Things will kind of happen without me for a little bit, and then I'm actually going on to the old country, out in Slovenia and Croatia where I grew up and where I was born. So, I'm curious what I will come back to weeks later and see what the show is and how it was received. We had a really nice premiere last night, and so much of the cast is together but next week I'll just have to wait until I get home.

GAIUS CHARLES:  Yeah, I think I may watch some of it, but honestly, I'm just glad I can finally post some of the pictures and videos that I've been saving for months and months that we've been having, that we've had on set, behind the scenes stuff that we had to kind of keep under wraps until everyone has see the show.

MAHINA NAPOLEON:  I did this with my other show NCIS: Hawaii, but I might do a little premiere when the show does come out with my family and celebrate.

QUESTION:  I was just wondering about being part of something that is such huge entertainment but also asks really good questions about our humanity. And also, do you think that people that survive in this world the longest lose their humanity?

MAHINA NAPOLEON:  I think definitely if that person has a lot of family members that they have lost in this apocalyptic world, that would definitely destroy them and their humanity. That would make them, I don’t want to say lose it, but lose it, because family is really important to most people, and I think if someone were to lose everyone and be alone in this world without anyone and trying to survive by themselves, I think that'd be really, really tough for anyone.

GAIUS CHARLES:  I think it's strange that it actually probably cuts both ways, right? So, I think there’re certainly people who lose their humanity in crisis and trauma, and then certain people who find it more deeply. And I think my character is one who maybe finds his humanity through the trauma and crisis.

ŽELJKO IVANEK:  I think this is a central question of the show, basically, is how to survive this world, and survive this world with your humanity intact, and what is the goal? Is the goal just surviving or surviving with your humanity intact? And people have very, very different approaches to it. And also, people think one thing of themselves and what they are capable of, and then events intervene and they play out and they learn different things about themselves. So, that has always been one of the strengths of this show is the extent to which it's a real character story, and you're always trying to figure out on a human level how people are coping with this world and how are they surviving.

QUESTION:  So, there's a lot of early reviews out about this series and several have stated that Dead City is the best spin off in The Walking Dead universe so far. So, that's high praise indeed. I wonder how that makes you feel coming in this universe? There're a lot of spin offs, a lot of hype for a lot of them. How does that make you feel, being a part of something that's getting such high accolades in this fandom?

GAIUS CHARLES:  That's an honor!

MAHINA NAPOLEON:  That's amazing!

ŽELJKO IVANEK:  That's the first I'm hearing of it…They told us the reviews, the embargoes lifted last night. That’s really nice to hear. You want to satisfy the people who have committed themselves to this show and feel so deeply and strongly about it, and you want to [bring in] new people at the same time. So, it’s really nice if you're honoring both and making room for people who are going to challenge you and who don’t know anything [about the series]… Cool.

SCIFI VISION:  If there was really a zombie apocalypse, how do you think you would do and what character from the universe, any of the shows, would you take with you to help you?

ŽELJKO IVANEK:  I would take Norman Reedus.

MAHINA NAPOLEON:  That’s what I was going to say. I would take Daryl with me.

ŽELJKO IVANEK:  He would have found a balance early on in the sector with guns and there were always these core scenes at the same time, a skill set that this world requires that is beyond my own. So, I'd be right behind him.

MAHINA NAPOLEON:  I think if I had the correct tools and the correct place to stay, and Daryl or Michonne, because Michonne is pretty cool too! If I had either one of them with me, I think, oh yeah, 100% I would definitely survive - as long as I could. [laughs]

GAIUS CHARLES:  I can't leave my man Rick hanging out there! My man Rick does his thing! So, either of those three would be great.

QUESTION:  I have spoken to other members of The Walking Dead cast, and they told me that the first time they met Jeffrey Dean Morgan or Lauren, it was quite an imposing task, because they were overwhelmed as fans of the series. What was your first time meeting Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Lauren Cohan like?

GAIUS CHARLES:  I think the first time I met them was on set like when we're about to film and they got into the van to drive up to set, and they were just so generous, so down to earth, so welcoming and warm. Yeah, I was just grateful for their warm heartedness and being welcomed by them to the show.

MAHINA NAPOLEON:  The first time I met Jeffrey and Lauren was the first day of a seven-day shooting. It was the second scene, the first episode, and they were just really welcoming, and they really really, really kind to me. They helped me with the scene, because I was a little nervous, because, like I said, I am a fan of the show. So, I know them, and I was kind of fangirling over them, but yeah, I got over it -  maybe. [laughs]

ŽELJKO IVANEK:  As Gaius, said, I met them on set as well. I remember at one point we were between takes for something and seeing them sitting in chairs talking, I was kind of envying that familiarity they had and how much history they have. And I want that to be me because they were so comfortable in this world and they had so much to prove. And they're both executive producers on the show and are number one and number two on the call sheet, so they set the tone for everybody from the get-go, that was welcomed and encouragement, and there was this giddiness to see where this venture takes us.

QUESTION:  Many of the women from The Walking Dead appreciate the fact that there's minimal makeup, little time in the hair chair, but a little bit bittersweet because they end up caked in blood or guts. That’s their end of the day ritual, just getting that off rather than hair and makeup. What was your experience like? Do you appreciate the shorter time in the chair?

MAHINA NAPOLEON:  I've definitely had a shorter time in makeup, but hair, I had lighter hair, and normally in The Walking Dead World, you don't have highlights. You don't go to a salon. You don't get your hair done. So, every day they had to put temporary dye in my hair and a lot of conditioner to make it look greasy. So, I sat in that chair for a little bit and had a poncho on sometimes, because my hair was a little wet from the dye and conditioner. So, that was a little interesting, because every night I went home, I had a little brown in the shower from my hair. But, yeah, it was it definitely an interesting process.

ŽELJKO IVANEK:  I think Addison got it down to like an hour and [unintelligible]. I'm hoping by the time we go back - if we go back there - that we'll get it to fifty-nine minutes. But essentially…you just sort of very quietly enter into this world, sit back and let somebody else show off their skill set.

MAHINA NAPOLEON:  Also, the process helps you, well, helps me, get into my character more, because it makes me realize like, “Hey, I'm actually getting into this apocalyptic world. This is happening,” especially on the first day of work. I was like, “Wow, this is crazy. Like I'm actually here right now.”

GAIUS CHARLES:  I think, for me, it wasn't so much makeup or hair stuff, although I did have to like carry that scar from when Armstrong gets into that fight with Maggie. Like you're tracking a scar, and it's like, “oh, it's just day one, day two, day three of the episodes.” That's like, six weeks having that scar. But for me, it was like being in the same costume, like the same wardrobe, for almost the entire first season and covered in blood for most of it. Like, most of my time, was just sitting on set or filming with just like, zombie or walker blood all over me. Sometimes that can be a challenge. And so the first time when I got to go back to New Babylon and change my clothes and get clean clothes, I was so happy. I was like, “Yes! Finally!”

QUESTION:  Personally, are you Team Maggie or Team Negan and why?

GAIUS CHARLES:  Oh man. Are they going to see this later? It's hard not to be at least somewhat both, you know? For me, like as a fan of the show, when I went back and started watching the show, like Team Maggie! Like Maggie and Glenn, come on?! Then all of a sudden Negan comes and starts terrorizing my people, and I’m like, “Wait a minute. I don’t know about this guy.” But then, his charisma starts [showing], so, I guess half and half.

ŽELJKO IVANEK:  Yeah.

MAHINA NAPOLEON:  Same here.