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Interview: The Walking Dead's McDermitt, Matsuura, Shaw, & Robins Look Back

The Walking DeadTomorrow night marks the end of an era when the hugely popular series, The Walking Dead, airs for the final time. To promote the series finale, SciFi Vision caught up with cast members and asked them to look back at their characters’ journeys and talk about what the defining moment was that changed their characters and how.

For Josh McDermitt, this season his character Eugene was most affected by finding out the truth about Stephanie/Max. “[I]t's just finding out the truth about the decoy Stephanie (Chelle Ramos), who turned out to be Shira, and who Max (Margot Bingham) really was,” the actor explained to SciFi Vision. “I think that that brought him down to his lowest point, but then meeting Max kind of brought him up again and gave him a new outlook on life…When he came to the Commonwealth, it was definitely when he felt like all hope was lost that he saw this little tiny light off in the distance, and that light has grown to then shine the light on all the misdeeds and the bad things going on in the Commonwealth.”

For Eleanor Matsuura, who plays Yumiko, it was finding her brother Tomi (Ian Anthony Dale)’s picture on the wall. “It was the beginning of drawing everyone into the Commonwealth by virtue of making the group that I was with stay in that moment,” said the actress. “It was this glimpse into her past, this pull that was keeping her from leaving with the group, an opportunity to sort of see where she came from. How that's unfolded in this season with the courtroom stuff and representing Eugene, it felt like the past and the present were all just brought together.”

The Walking DeadIt was his sister Max refusing to sign the forced confession for Mercer, according to Michael James Shaw. “I think that sets him into motion,” said the actor, “and he's plotting things in his own head but not really allowing people in, but he's definitely still starting to make moves at that moment, because she's everything to him, and if he lost her, I don't think he’d have any purpose anymore. So, that's a big moment for him. It shifts the balance.”

Laila Robins, who plays Pamela Milton, thinks her character was most affected by her son becoming a walker, as well as accidentally shooting Judith (Cailey Fleming) in the last episode. “Something shifts obviously when you shoot a child,” Robins told the site.

We also asked the performers what they thought their characters’ biggest regret was.

For McDermitt, it was Josh not doing more to stop Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and the Saviors. “Eugene is the type of guy who will continue to think through problems, game plan, [and] figure out a way to get in the cracks so that he can continue to survive or the people that he cares about can succeed, and that's one where he lost. He really lost, and I think that does eat at him, because of what happened. In the end, he lost two people that were very close to him.”

“I think probably it's something to do with not being able to do enough…because something about Yumiko is that she's relentless,” Matsuura told the site about her character. “She truly doesn't ever give up, even in the face of such adversity…Even though she knows it's kind of pointless, she just keeps going and going and going.”

For Shaw, it was that he didn’t “put eyes on Hornsby (Josh Hamilton) sooner,” whereas for Pamela, it was not being the best mother. “[It was] my inability to communicate with my son or to get through to him or to guide him properly or to have him care about the family's legacy or somehow to inspire him, that I lack the ability to inspire my own son to greatness, I think is a regret, and, obviously, what it led to, his demise, ultimately, his death,” Robins told SciFi Vision

For more from the cast, read the full transcript below, and be sure to tune in tomorrow night to AMC or AMC+ to watch the finale.


SCIFI VISION:  
In your own opinion, what do you think is the most defining moment for your characters that changed them, and how did it change them, for each of you?

LAILA ROBINS:   I would say when my son became a walker; I think that was a big one, to see him in that shape and form. And then again, I think, last [week]. Something shifts obviously when you shoot a child. So, I would say those two things.

ELEANOR MATSUURA:   For me, I'd say it's probably seeing my brother, my brother's picture on the wall looking for me at the beginning of this season. My god, that was the first episode of this season. It feels like a second ago. Yeah, I think, for Yumiko, that was the beginning of, I mean, it was the beginning of drawing everyone into the Commonwealth by virtue of making the group that I was with stay in that moment. It was this glimpse into her past, this pull that was keeping her from leaving with the group, an opportunity to sort of see where she came from. How that's unfolded in this season with the courtroom stuff and representing Eugene, it felt like the past and the present were all just brought together, like smashed together. So, I would say, probably for all the seasons I've done, that's probably been the most pivotal moment for Yumiko, seeing that picture on the wall.

MICHAEL JAMES SHAW:   Oh, for Mercer, I think a defining moment in this last couple of episodes is when his sister Max refuses to sign the forced confession. I think that sets him into motion, and he's plotting things in his own head but not really allowing people in, but he's definitely still starting to make moves at that moment, because she's everything to him, and if he lost her, I don't think he’d have any purpose anymore. So, that's a big moment for him. It shifts the balance.

JOSH McDERMITT:   I mean, it's hard, just because I feel like the guy is changing so much throughout. And we're talking about just season eleven, right? We're not talking about for the series?

SCIFI VISION:   No, I'm meant overall, if it's something else important.

JOSH McDERMITT:   That is such a hard question to answer.

SCIFI VISION:   [laughs] Then do this season. We’ll make it easier.

JOSH McDERMITT:   Yeah, well, I'll tell you, this season, I mean, there were kind of two moments, but they were kind of joined together, so more like a sequence, but it's just finding out the truth about the decoy Stephanie, who turned out to be Shira, and who Max really was. I think that that brought him down to his lowest point, but then meeting Max kind of brought him up again and gave him a new outlook on life, even though it's kind of the outlook that he wanted, when he came to the Commonwealth, it was definitely when he felt like all hope was lost that he saw this little tiny light off in the distance, and that light has grown to then shine the light on all the misdeeds and the bad things going on in the Commonwealth. I really think that kind of sequence, those two things together, were were defining moment for at least the season.

QUESTION:   For all of you, what was it like to kind of break new ground into The Walking Dead and to actually have courtroom drama, as opposed to hunting walkers and all that? What was the vibe on those days? That must have been pretty neat to shoot something so different like that? It’s for everyone.

The Walking DeadELEANOR MATSUURA:   It was wild. It was so weird. I mean, I found it weird. I know I spent most of those scenes next to Josh. So, I remember we would turn to each other a lot and be like, “This is wild, right?” Because we could almost look down the barrel of like, if we'd had even more time and more episodes, [if] this part of the storyline had happened at a different like earlier or something, this could have gone way far down into like a whole courtroom drama. It just was so bizarre. I mean, just when I thought the Commonwealth couldn't get any weirder, I was standing in a courtroom. I mean, I suppose there's been so much talk about Yumiko as a lawyer, how good she was, I sort of feel like we had to see her in action at some point. It was inevitable that we'd get the courtroom scenes. And in some ways, even though it was weird, I wish we'd we had gotten to delve into them even more, but, I mean, if I found it strange, Josh, you must have found it even more strange. Mind you, this show’s taken so many different iterations, maybe it's not weird to you anymore.

JOSH McDERMITT:   Well, I mean, the show continues to surprise me in the new territory we jump into, and this was no different. It always feels weird when you don't have blood and guts [on you]. When you can work on the stage and not be sweaty.

ELEANOR MATSUURA:   And your clothes are clean.

JOSH McDERMITT:   Yeah, like that's great, and really, to just kind of be still and not not have a bunch of action and business that you're supposed to be doing where you're walking around and taking a horse and putting the horse over there. You can just sit at a table and just do your thing. That was weird. But I know we have a lot of people on the show, cast and crew, who have all done courtroom dramas, other series at some point. So, that was fun to talk to them, because there is a specific way you kind of have to shoot a courtroom scene to keep it interesting. I mean, the storyline isn't always interesting enough. There're camera movements; there's a pacing to it. There're all these other things. So, it was nice to, in a sense, do an episode of Law & Order without ever having to leave Atlanta, Georgia.

LAILA ROBINS:   [laughs] Okay, I’ll piggyback on that. I've done so many Law & Orders, and I've worn so many suits and so many high heels. I was praying for a job where I thought, “Oh, I get to be out in nature and the woods.” Watch out for what you wish for [laughs], because when you're shooting out there under the sun in Atlanta with a wig on and a wool coat and boots and a gun. It isn’t so pretty. I was like, “Oh my God, thank God we're back in the courtroom.” [laughs]

MICHAEL JAMES SHAW:   It was surreal the whole time. We kept looking at each other like we're in The Twilight Zone. You know, just, what show are we doing today? [laughs] It was good fun though, good fun.

QUESTION:   Mike…I know [the fans] are not all one minded about anything, on this show, [but] do you think most of the fans will like the ending?

MICHAEL JAMES SHAW:   They're going to love it. [laughs] I loved shooting it. Yeah, I can't really say much about that, but some shit’s going down, and it’s good.

QUESTION:   Anyone else like to give their opinion on that?

ELEANOR MATSUURA:   …It's so hard to answer. I feel like we've been asked this a lot, and I always try and summarize like, are we going to be able to please, every single person on the planet? I don't know. I don't know if we are, but then this show wouldn't have gotten this far without people's total commitment to it. It's eleven seasons of a show; that is a huge amount of time, I think. I really do think if you've dedicated your life to the show in the way that so many people have, and you've come this far, I don't think you're going to be disappointed with the end. You might have certain things that you would have hoped turned out slightly differently. You might have bits and pieces that might not be the perfect package, but I do believe in the integrity of how we finish the show. I feel like it's a good ending, even though we know that we've got a bunch more spin offs, which I'm sure people can, like, fill their boots if they need to go and get more, if they didn't feel like they were satisfied with what we've done. That's all we can say. We tried to finish it out in the best possible way that we could. I believe in the integrity of that. Whether or not everybody will think it's the perfect ending, that would be an impossible thing to quantify, but I think we've given it a damn good shot.

LAILA ROBINS:   Yeah, I think it's a very emotional show. All of these people who have invested themselves in watching it, I'm just thinking of all the actors who have been there for eleven years and how they must feel. I can't even get my head around that idea, knowing that you won't see each other as often as you normally do, and that they’re a real family. I mean, I'm a late comer; I even feel emotional about it. I can't even imagine someone like Josh saying goodbye to it. It's unbelievable.

QUESTION:   Josh, you have been on the show since season four, and then you mentioned how the show has changed a lot; your character has changed a lot. So, what are some of the few things you'll miss about playing Eugene?

JOSH McDERMITT:   Definitely, what you just said, the fact that he hasn't been a stagnant character. I think every time you kind of jump onto another production, and you're playing a new character, you fall in love with that character, and you hope that the writers change the person a lot to keep it fresh, because, as human beings, we do change ourselves. I think this one's going to be hard to top with that sort of thing, just because it wasn't just season to season, but sometimes it felt like episode to episode he was having new revelations about himself and that sort of thing. I definitely definitely miss that about it. I would just hope that other characters I end up doing can hold a candle to Eugene, because even if they're half as fun playing, I'll have a great time with it.

The Walking DeadSCIFI VISION:   For each of you, what do you think is your character's biggest regret?

JOSH McDERMITT:   I think for Eugene, [laughs] much like the defining moment, there're too many. [laughs]

SCIFI VISION:   [laughs] Sorry.

JOSH McDERMITT:   No, it's, it's fine. I mean, it just speaks to…just how everything changes, and it's very fluid, and that's what makes it fun. But I think for Eugene, a very big regret for him is that he didn't do more to help his group get around Negan and the Saviors, I guess, that Glenn (Steven Yeun) and Abraham (Michael Cudlitz) died. Eugene is the type of guy who will continue to think through problems, game plan, figure out a way to get in the cracks so that he can continue to survive, or the people that he cares about can succeed, and that's one where he lost. He really lost, and I think that does eat at him, because of what happened. In the end, he lost two people that were very close to him, and, honestly, it wouldn't surprise me if that's a big regret for a lot of the characters on the show. It still haunts everybody, from Maggie (Lauren Cohan) all the way down to Judith. She was a baby at that point, or a kid, a little kid. So, it just I think that was probably his biggest regret, that he wasn't able to do more.

LAILA ROBINS:   I guess for Pamela it has something to do with not being the best mother somehow, my inability to communicate with my son or to get through to him or to guide him properly or to have him care about the family's legacy or somehow to inspire him, that I lack the ability to inspire my own son to greatness, I think is a regret, and, obviously, what it led to, his demise, and ultimately, his death. But I think she does take that responsibility.

MICHAEL JAMES SHAW:   I guess. Mercer's biggest regret is that he didn't put eyes on Hornsby  sooner.

LAILA ROBINS:   He’s slippery! [laughs]

MICHAEL JAMES SHAW:   It could have saved us a lot of trouble. He could have saved us all a lot of trouble. That little snake. [laughs]

LAILA ROBINS:   You were just wowed by his outfits. You weren’t looking deep enough. You got all caught off in his outfits. [laughs]

MICHAEL JAMES SHAW:   Where's he getting these fabrics from?

LAILA ROBINS:   Pink!

ELEANOR MATSUURA:   That’s a hard one to answer. I think probably it's something to do with not being able to do enough…because something about Yumiko is that she's relentless. She truly doesn't ever give up, even in the face of such adversity. There're so many moments with Eugene and Pamela where you see her, and you're like, “There is literally no way out of this.” Even though she knows it's kind of pointless, she just keeps going and going and going. So, I'm thinking to myself, “Well, I wonder where that comes from?” And because the pivotal moment with her brother, like I spoke about before, seems to be such a important core thing for Yumiko, I guess there must be something from her past that may be something that we haven't seen in the show. It would be something that I have probably been playing without even consciously realizing it, just like this feeling of…striving to be the best, because she comes from this very prestigious, educational background, but I don't think she sees it like that. I don't think it's about the competitive [nature], trying to be the best. I think it's about more not feeling enough, therefore not giving up. I'm sorry; I know that's not a direct answer to your question. That's the best way that I can answer.

QUESTION:   What life has been like after The Walking Dead is over and kind of transitioning to leaving the air, leaving Atlanta and all of that and kind of going back to some semblance of real life? What’s that been like, for all of you?

JOSH McDERMITT:   I cry less. That's a big one. [laughs] I mean, I still cry. It's just less. It's been nice for me to come home and reconnect with people. It's hard to maintain some relationships when you're away. Texting and calls do so much but it's it's really that face to face interaction is what I think we were craving, and so it's nice to be home and to be in my own home, to be in the nice Los Angeles weather and that sort of thing. There's a peacefulness about being at home; it's kind of nice.

LAILA ROBINS:   It's been nice to come back to New York and catch up on all the plays my friends are in, shows that I wanted to see before they closed, theaters having a tough time these days. So, it was fun to to go see some plays, but it is weird when you're on a set for a long time. It's almost like a safe zone, because your your life is scripted, and I always find that weird slight anxiety when I'm wrapped for the day. As to, “Oh, now I’ve got to go be myself.” [laughs] I’m boring, you know? So, it's been interesting to reenter and kind of go, “Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Here I am; here I am,” when you're playing a character more than you're being yourself. Also, that was the other thing I wanted to say, that why I couldn't think of it. It was during COVID, so we weren't as social as perhaps we might have been as a cast. I mean, one of my regrets is I didn't get to hang out with all the actors or really get to know them all that well, because we were unable to do that, perhaps, as much as normal. So, that was a regret.

MICHAEL JAMES SHAW:   To speak on that, life since The Walking Dead, so we wrapped the show, and I stayed around in Georgia practicing jujitsu, and I broke my knee. I have a theory that if we would have just kept shooting the show, I never would have broken my knee. I ended up having meniscus surgery back in August, and now I'm like, 80% recovered, killing it, but if we would have kept shooting The Walking Dead, I probably wouldn't have broke my knee. [laughs]

ELEANOR MATSUURA:   I was just going to say, when I first joined the show, my first child was, I think, six months old, so, really tiny. We moved my whole family. We uprooted, and we moved to Atlanta, and everything just felt like my life had been sort of just flipped upside down and all just like shaken about. Then, over those these last four years, I totally fell in love with Atlanta. I totally fell in love with Georgia. Then, I had my just had my second baby. I mean, I was pregnant most of the shoot of this last season. So, it's so integrated into my life, the show; it's become like our families. It's just a part of our life that it's feels weird now that I'm not going to be like trundling back to Atlanta next month. It's really weird. It's weird, because that has been the rhythm that I’ve been used to for the past four years. I think it's just been starting to hit me these last few episodes. I really think it will only truly hit me hit me the finale next week, when when we're all together. Then, like Josh was saying, [just] everyone's faces in real life for the last - not for the last time. Of course, we can all like meet up and whatever, but it's different, because it's like, this is our celebration of the show. We're not going to have another like, “Oh, okay, I'll see you next month, see you next season” kind of thing. It's ended now. So, it's like, for me truly, I'm just getting used to this, almost a whole new rhythm of life.

The Walking DeadQUESTION:   Josh, when did the filming actually wrap, and what were your feelings when you finished with it?

JOSH McDERMITT:   It was in the spring, but I don't remember specifically. Sometime in March or April, I guess…I mean, it was overwhelming. That's something that's been a part of my life as a job for the last decade and even longer as a fan of the show. Like, I felt overwhelmed when Seinfeld ended [laughs]; you know, maybe more so with this just I have a more personal connection to it, but, yeah, it was just it was overwhelming, but kind of like what Eleanor was just saying. I mean, I'm looking at their faces right now, and we can call and chat anytime and like, I could go to New York, and Laila and I could go see a show. So, these people are not out of my life. It was just kind of this, “Oh, this chapters done, but the story continues, in a sense that that's kind of how I was overwhelmed, I think.

QUESTION:   With the three spin offs that are upcoming, will you guys be watching any of them? Any of them at all?

ELEANOR MATSUURA:   Sure.

LAILA ROBINS:   Yeah.

MICHAEL JAMES SHAW:   Hell, yeah.

ELEANOR MATSUURA:   Yeah, definitely.

MICHAEL JAMES SHAW:   I want to see what happens in New York.

JOSH McDERMITT:   I'll only watch it if they give me a screener.

MICHAEL JAMES SHAW:   Better call Pix.

JOSH McDERMITT:   I mean, I'll help you write the blog about it.

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