FanX 2022 brought together a dream pairing of actors from "The Walking Dead," who never officially met on-screen: David Morrissey and Ross Marquand. Morrissey played the dastardly Governor in 20 episodes between Season 3 and Season 5, and Marquand's character, Aaron, has survived for more than 100 episodes, down to the episodes leading up to the series finale. The pair took the Grand Ballroom stage to chat with fans about their time on the show, some behind-the-scenes hijinks and the ever-popular "what if?" scenarios.
Here are some of the highlights from their Thursday afternoon panel:
A fan asked Morrissey what it was like to film an infamous Season 4 episode between the Governor and Hershel.
Morrissey: Whenever anybody goes on the show that you’ve spend time with, it’s really hard. Scott [Wilson] was a special person. He was a great man. When I joined the show, […] to be working with such a wonderful actor, who I had been seeing for a long time, in films like “In Cold Blood,” “The Great Gatsby”… This was an actor that I’d admired – not just as an actor but as a man – for many years. So when I read that episode, yeah, my heart sank because I knew everyone was going to hate me, but also because it was a tough thing to do. The day we did it, all the crew turned up and they all had, like, Hershel suspenders on and stuff like that. It was a mixed day for everybody, but that happens when a lot of people die on the show. They become your friends. You become very close to them, so it is hard to see someone go, after so long. The good thing was that I did that and then I died quite quickly, so I thought that people would see that I’d suffer, so that was good. [Scott Wilson] was a great man, he was a great actor and a really great friend. It was hard to do [on the show] but it was hard to lose him in real life, as well.
A fan asked what the relationship between The Governor and Aaron would have been like if their paths had crossed on the show.
Morrissey: Well, I think it depends on when they meet in their arc, really. I think I could see [Aaron] working in Woodbury. At one point, Woodbury was a really successful place. It was working well, it sort of had a community. It was sort of a dictatorship but it was working ok. In that point of our story, I think we would have got on very well. I think what the Governor was looking for was a good, solid community, and that’s what I think [Aaron] would have brought. Later on, […] once the Governor went psychotic, I think everybody was up for grabs, really.
Marquand: I think Aaron’s always been desiring of community and helping rebuild the world, but he’s also a great judge of character, so I feel like, if it was the early days, he’d be like, “This guy seems all right but I’m gonna keep an eye on him,” but much like Michonne, as the series goes on in Season 3, I think she’s the one that first starts to kind of poke holes in [the Governor’s] world. It’s Andrea that’s kind of like, “He seems fine!” And they sleep together and it’s all good! [Uneasy laughter from audience]
Morrissey: It was wonderful, after we slept together. It was fine. [Audience laughs] What could have gone wrong?
Marquand: But I think they would have gotten along, at first, too. I agree.
Morrissey: But, also, I think what the Governor was doing was he was presenting one personality to his populous, and what you saw was him doing something else privately. I think, for a while, the people in his community thought he was a good guy; only the audience knew that he was scheming behind and doing things he shouldn’t have been doing. But yeah, I think if we would have met at that time, Aaron would have fit in really well.
Morrissey: Yeah, I feel that about 20 times a day. I used to feel that way a lot. As a younger actor, I used to think, “This is ridiculous, that I’m earning money like this” – particularly when I thought about how my parents went to work. I thought, “Here I am, dressing up in a costume.” But I feel that less now. [Now,] I’m very proud and lucky to do my job. I do this thing – Andrew Lincoln and I used to do this a lot – we’d be somewhere in the middle of some field, boiling hot, covered in blood, sort of sweating [due to] having done scenes of running away from zombies and stuff, and Andrew would turn to me and go, “Isn’t this great?” And you had to do that. I constantly, now, as an actor, remind myself that I am living my dream! My dream, as a kid, was to be a working actor, and that’s what I’m doing. I have to remind myself to appreciate every moment of the day [that] I’m doing it. There are aspects of my job – our job – which [are] ridiculous, but how great is that? That’s great, as well. I have to […] really remind myself[,] whereas, as a younger actor, I would slightly think, “What are you doing, David? You should be building things. You should be… look at your hands! You’ve never done a day’s work in your life.” I don’t think that now. I’m really proud of my job, and I know it’s hard work, as well. I’m much more in tune with it than I used to be.
Marquand: I think, for me, Season 6, where Maggie and I are trying to find Glen and we get stuck in the sewers and I was covered in fake poop… That, for me, was one of those moments where I was like, “Wow. I made it.” [Audience laughs] It was just such a surreal thing because the art department on our show is probably the best art department I’ve ever worked with and they do such a good job. From what I understand, they took Snickers bars and ground them up in a blender, but only so much, and they just poured gallons and gallons of what looks like… Sorry, if this is grossing you out. You watch “The Walking Dead,” so it probably isn’t grossing you out. [Audience laughs] But we’re just covered in this stuff and we’re swimming around in this, and it was really low lighting. I remember the zombie that was going to kill me was coming out, right between my legs, and I was like, “[Exclaims]” I didn’t have my glasses on [and] I had terrible vision before I got LASIK, and this thing swiped at my face and got a chunk of my eyeball and everything. He, immediately, was apologizing profusely because he couldn’t see because he’s got lenses on his eyes, and we’re both just in this apology cycle: “I’m sorry!” “No, I’m sorry!” “No, I’m sorry!” We’re both covered in crap. “Oh no! I’m sorry!” “No, I’m sorry! I should have reacted faster!” It was just, like, what are we doing? We’re both just covered in poop and we’re apologizing to each other, and he’s a zombie. It was cool. So yeah, that was a moment for me.
The panel moderator asked Marquand what TWD fans can expect from the final eight episodes of the series.
Marquand, doing an impression of Donald Trump: Everybody dies. Everybody dies. It’s very sad. It’s a very sad day for everybody. Literally, everybody in the show, they just all die. [Audience cheers and hollers] It’s very sad, the ending. You gotta believe me. Believe me: you’re gonna cry your hearts out, ok? You’ve never seen something so sad in your entire life. It’s all death. Nothing but death. Blood, sweat, tears. Everyone dies. It’s very sad. You’ll love it. You’ll love it. [Audience cheers]
*****
Have you stuck with "The Walking Dead" to the end of the series? Do you have a favorite character from the series? Let us know in the comments section, on Twitter (here and here) or on Facebook.
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