As Series Three comes to Channel 5, she talks having dirt thrown at her and kissing Andrew Lincoln (please be aware this article contrains SPOILERS for those who have not seen Series Three)
To recap from series two – ‘walkers’ have overrun Hershel’s farm, Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and the other survivors are searching for a new home - and Lori is due to give birth…
Yes, I’m not supposed to talk about where we exactly pick up, but our next home is a prison, and Lori is pregnant – I keep wondering if it can get any darker! Filming the birth was pretty heartbreaking, I don’t want to give too much away but let’s just say no one is safe.
The cat’s already out of the bag – we know Rick starts seeing his dead wife dressed in a white flowing wedding gown, just staring at him..
Playing Lori’s ‘ghost’ was so disorientating for everyone. For two whole series I’d been used to 20 minutes in hair and make-up – they threw dirt at me, sunscreen and maybe a touch of mascara if I was lucky. Nobody really knew what to do with making me pretty – and I’m afraid that takes more than 20 minutes!
Before that, was it nice not to spend hours in the make-up chair?
I loved it; I really enjoyed being on a show where vanity didn’t come first. And the longer the season went on, the less time it took to get ready. I enjoyed not having to wear make-up or totter around in high heels and a push-up bra. The only thing that took time was the continuity of getting all the cuts and bruises right – and the severed limbs!
You’re all pretty unwashed and rough-looking on set – it must be weird being dolled up?
The first time we did some press together we got properly done up. By then, Andy (Andrew Lincoln) and Jon (Bernthal, the now deceased Shane Walsh) were among two of my closest friends in the world – but they walked right by without recognising me. Andy looked at me with no recognition, and Jon said, ‘Holy sh*t, it’s a girl!’
Andrew Lincoln is a bit of a heartthrob over here…
He is?
As Mrs Grimes on the show you get to kiss him – tell all!
Well, not to disappoint people too much, he does usually have a rather pokey beard! And neither of us smells very good – but he is without doubt the most wonderful partner to work with, though there’s not a lot of romance in this bloody, sweaty, filthy, gross setting.
Have you become good pals off set?
I’m great friends with Andy; and I love his Britishness. We did a bunch of press together in the UK for series one – he arrived at my hotel to help me get settled in wearing a grey cashmere scarf and a beautiful wool coat, and he was talking about paintings. In Atlanta he wears cowboy boots and we talk about firearms..
Do you hang out with the zombies on set?
The ‘walkers’ can usually be found in an air-conditioned bus, because it’s so hot and their make-up is actually kind of delicate. They spend hours in prosthetics so they have to be careful not to sweat it all off.
Andy and I have been trading mushroom risotto recipes.
How do you stay in shape?
I alternate between yoga and hiking. And when Jon (Bernthal) was on the show he’d take me through a boxing workout – he was a professional boxer for a while. In series one Andy and I decided to play up the hunger of it all. Andy lost a stone and I think I lost a little less than that – but during the course of filming it was exhausting and intensely hot. For every successive season since then, the month before we’ve got ourselves down to ‘Walking Dead weight’.
What do you get up to when you’re not busy filming?
When I’ve got a regular break I’ll go home to Canada with my family (husband Josh Winterhalt, a martial arts teacher, and daughter Keala, six). We live in the forest in British Columbia and we grow vegetables and have chickens. We get out; I like to hike and swim. In Atlanta, I like to cook. Andy and I have been trading mushroom risotto recipes.
How do you do that?
I’m pretty old school with that kind of thing; I take dairy out of my diet – no cheese – and do lots of squats, push-ups and so on.
**The Walking Dead, Sundays at 10pm on 5star
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