It’s easy to forget Nicholas was struggling to survive after the last episode of The Walking Dead season 6. Nicholas put fan favorite character Glenn in a dangerous position that lead to an ambiguous fate, but he’s not the only who's to put Rick’s group at risk. At one point, Eugene was the one who carried the burden of not being able to defend himself in dangerous situations.
The Walking Dead’s Josh McDermitt talked to iDigitalTimes about the infamous Glenn scene from season 6, inappropriate mullet-touching and what’s next for Eugene. Unlike Nicholas, Eugene has slowly been able to come to terms with the zombie apocalypse and learn he must do unspeakable things in order to survive.
McDermitt said the great thing about The Walking Dead is it’s a show that gives its characters a chance to redeem themselves no matter what they’ve done. Eugene wants to figure out where he belongs in Alexandria and fans might get to see the character’s confidence continue to grow.
iDigi: I have to ask, is Glenn alive or dead?
McDermitt: "That was an incredible episode wasn’t it? Looking at it as a fan- I was a big fan of the show before I started working on it- I would put that episode in the top five episodes of the series. There’s just so much going on and so many questions left open. I know we’re going to see some version or some part of Glenn whether it’s in the present or a flashback."
Let’s talk about Nicholas. In some ways, do you think Eugene could have ended up like Nicholas had he not had that moment with Tara in season 5? Tara getting hurt was a wake up call for your character, a moment where he realized he had to change or he wouldn’t survive.
"Way to pick up on that. It’s always fun to jump into the hypotheticals because you can argue that stuff all day. There are few times where I feel like one of those hypotheticals is so set in stone that everyone in the argument would be on board with that. What you’re bringing up is one of those situations. Eugene is still battling his cowardice and being scared and afraid. I think without a doubt he could’ve ended up like Nicholas. However, I don’t think [Eugene] would have ever been going out on runs the way Nicholas was or had been given a gun he would’ve found himself in another weird parallel storyline.
"[Eugene] was someone like Nicholas where he would’ve just bailed on people right away. He doesn’t have the physical strength or abilities to survive in this world long. That’s why he needed Abraham and Rosita to protect him. That’s why he lied. It’s an interesting point to draw those two characters together like that. Let me just say the Michael Traynor, the actor who played Nicholas, is amazing. He did such a great job with that character. I can’t wait to see more work from Michael, such a great guy and incredible actor."
Right now Eugene’s in this weird place where he’s not ready to pick up a gun, but won’t run away from danger. What do you think is next for Eugene?
"[Eugene] is less of a burden [to Rick’s group] than he used to be. When the Wolves are attacking Alexandria and they say ‘we have to get out there and help,’ Eugene says ‘I feel like my services are best rendered here [with Denise].’ They’re like, ‘What? You’re just cowering out?’ and they leave. If Eugene had stepped up and helped there’s a good chance he would’ve died because he’s not ready for that sort of thing. He knows his place. He knows where his services are best rendered and...he needs to be out of the way. It looked like he’s gained some confidence last season and I would hope that confidence continues to build."
Father Gabriel and Nicholas took the heat off the Eugene for a while. How do you think people feel about Eugene and his worth to the group now?
"It depends on who you ask. All the fans I’ve talked to love Eugene. He redeemed himself a bit by saving Tara, Glenn and Nicholas. Unfortunately, he couldn’t save Noah but Eugene stepped up in that moment. That was a huge step for his character and I think a lot of people forgive you in that moment.
"I think people are upset with Father Gabriel because he was kind of a prick trying to usurp Rick’s authority. I think 99 percent of the fanbase feels it’s a Ricktatorship and it’s his way or the highway. Anyone that gets in the way of that they’re going to hate you right away. The great thing about the show is it allows the characters a lot of opportunities for redemption. Whether the characters are allowed to redeem themselves or not is up to the writers."
What’s the most difficult scene you’ve had to film so far?
"Honestly, the most difficult scene was a scene I was barely in. If you have a lot of lines or action you tend to focus on that and get through the day. But when you’re the background and all you have to do is stand there you’re fighting your mind from wandering, you’re fighting this heat and humidity, those are always the hardest. The hardest thing I’ve had to shoot so far was when Eugene was knocked out in season 5 episode 6 or 7 and they showed Eugene laying on the ground. It was 100-and-shit outside with ticks and spiders crawling all over me and I’m laying on the hot asphalt acting like I’m knocked out when it’s the last thing I want to do...and they only show me for 5 seconds. [Laughs] That was a difficult scene to shoot."
Eugene’s a funny dude. Is that something you brought to the character or did the show runners always intend for him to have a dry sense of humor?
"That came out of a lot of conversations with Scott Gimple and Robert Kirkman about who this character is and where he lives emotionally. Eugene’s not very deep. I based his voice on my brother who is very dry and sarcastic. My brother could be so excited about something and you can ask him 'Zack are you excited?' and he’ll be like 'Yeah.' I found that funny. I feel like we all know people like Eugene...there’s a realness to him."
We can’t talk about Eugene and not mention the mullet. Do you get any weird requests from fans to touch it?
"People want stroke it, they want to take pictures with it and do all this stuff. I had the weirdest request from someone who wanted to put my hair in their mouth. I thought that was kind of disgusting. They were like reaching for it and I was like, 'I don’t know where your mouth has been and you don’t know where my hair has been...' [Laughs] I love having this ugly hair style on TV. I want to look as ridiculous as possible with any job I do."
