SPOILER ALERT! This story incorporates particulars from the season 2 opener of The Strolling Lifeless: Lifeless Metropolis on AMC.
AMC’s starry sequel that includes Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Negan) and Lauren Cohan (Maggie) returned Sunday with extra tales about post-apocalyptic Manhattan, the place two factions are preventing for management of the island. Maggie and Negan are trapped on reverse sides.
Right here, Morgan — who’s joined in season 2 by Gaius Charles, Željko Ivanek, Mahina Anne Marie Napoleon, Lisa Emery, Logan Kim, Dascha Polanco and Kim Coates — explains Negan’s mind-set and whether or not he truly approves of Lucille 2.0.
DEADLINE The actual world is form of crappy proper now, so I’m curious, does working on this make-believe crappy world really feel like an escape for you?
JEFFREY DEAN MORGAN A little bit bit, yeah. One of many causes I turned an actor was to flee some actual life stuff. And definitely the world of The Strolling Lifeless has all the time been an excellent form of escapism, not only for us as actors, however I feel for our viewers, as nicely. The one downside I ever have with working is being away from my household. But it surely’s form of the deal. Most of my household is used to it. My daughter isn’t, and she or he simply desires to be with dad on a regular basis. However yeah, I imply, I feel I’ve used appearing as a solution to escape all types of stuff via the years, and positively now could be no totally different.
DEADLINE How would you describe Negan’s mind-set going into this season? Is he resigned? The place’s he at?
MORGAN I don’t know that Negan has ever felt resigned, however I feel he’s in a spot that we’ve by no means seen him earlier than. I’ve been saying this about Negan for years. He’s a chess participant and he’s all the time a transfer or two forward of everybody. And I feel for the primary time that I can bear in mind, he’s in a spot the place he’s not a transfer or two forward. In actual fact, he’s dropping the sport. So it’s a darkish spot. In every single place he turns, he’s having to do one thing that he doesn’t essentially wish to do, he doesn’t consider in, and he’s on the lookout for an out, and so they’ve form of received him underneath their thumb proper now. So he’s going to spend so much of time attempting to determine find out how to get again concerned within the recreation once more.
I feel he’s simply been in a spot the place he hasn’t figured it out and it retains getting worse. It’s slightly little bit of a pile-on for Negan. In order that was fascinating. That was enjoyable to play, form of not seeing the top recreation. I imply, we had slightly little bit of that in season 9, I consider, once I was in jail and asking Maggie to kill me at a sure level. I feel that is the bottom that Negan’s ever gotten. He’s not that low now as a result of he’s nonetheless attempting to determine how he can get out of right here, how he can repair his life, no matter that could be.
DEADLINE The best way that you just drop Lucille towards the top of the episode makes it look like you assume all of that is form of bullshit.
MORGAN Yeah. It received reduce out, and I don’t know why, however I threw the bat throughout the cell as a result of he’s been working for years to get away from that Negan, to not be the top cracking man. Lucille and the leather-based coat, all that stuff reminds him of that Negan. He’s been working arduous to be another person or get away from it least, that a part of who he needed to turn into throughout the apocalypse. Now these persons are blackmailing him into turning into that man once more, and he’s preventing it. On the finish of the primary season, you see him attempting to be another person and transfer away from that a part of his life. Right here he’s being requested and blackmailed to be the man that he doesn’t wish to be, which is a cool factor to must play.
DEADLINE So he isn’t that impressed with the brand new and improved Lucille, then?
MORGAN No, I don’t assume he’s. I feel he had a particular relationship with the primary bat for lots of causes having to do together with his ex-wife Lucille. This bat wasn’t his creation, and it was a present from The Croat [Ivanek], Lucille 2.0. However I don’t assume he ever refers to her as Lucille. I imply, there’s a sure level that he has to make use of her, I assume, but it surely’s not the identical because it was.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan. Robert Clark/AMC
DEADLINE The place did you shoot that cool scene within the church?
MORGAN That’s St. Jean Baptiste Church in Lowell, Massachusetts. It’s the place Jack Kerouac had his funeral. It’s been closed for years and is in a state of disrepair. I certain hope they resolve to repair it. And I feel the Kerouac Basis is attempting to lift cash to repair it. It’s a tremendous church. It’s stunning. I really like that little bit of trivia. It was a wonderful place to shoot
DEADLINE Kim Coate’s character, The Bruegel, doesn’t look like the nice and cozy and fuzziest form of man. Will you go mano e mano with him later?
MORGAN Yeah, we go slightly mano e mano, for certain. Towards the top of the season issues get slightly robust between the 2 of us. However Kim Coates on the whole is likely one of the most particular individuals I’ve ever recognized in my life. I’ve recognized him for a very long time, and to lastly have the chance to work with him … I really like watching him do his factor. I feel the largest downside that I had was I possibly loved watching him an excessive amount of and I might neglect that I’ve to be Negan. I’d be laughing at Kim placing on this efficiency. That was wonderful. However yeah, Bruegel and Negan don’t get together with lots of people this season.
DEADLINE Are you able to say if we’ll see Negan’s spouse and child this season?
MORGAN We speak about them and so they’re positively a part of the story. I’ll let you know that.
DEADLINE Is it going to take some time earlier than we see you reunite with Maggie?
MORGAN You will note us reunite [in episode 4].
DEADLINE Is there any motion or massive loss of life scene that you just’re trying ahead to followers seeing that’s developing?
MORGAN Yeah, and we even have some pretend outs, too. By the top of the season, issues are going to return to a head and there’s going to be some carnage and other people will die.
DEADLINE Vacation spot X lastly debuts this month on NBC. What itch did this scratch for you?
MORGAN The one that actually wished me to do it was my spouse. She was like, you’ll like it. In some way she thinks I’m this individuals individual and it could be a extremely enjoyable match for me. And it was truly, I had a blast. I assumed the idea was cool. I watched the unique Danish collection, although I didn’t know the way it could work. It made extra sense, I feel, for the Danish model. However I had some actually nice writers who received my voice of their head. I received to be me, which is form of a snarky, smart-ass fella. We had an distinctive solid. I don’t know the way they discovered these individuals, however they did. I actually appreciated messing with them. For me, that’s all the time an excellent time.
