On The Walking Dead television series, nothing and no one is ever what they seem. Take Eugene Porter, for example. When fans first met the mullet-sporting character on the series, his introduction claimed that he was a scientist, one who held the cure for the virus that created the zombies. Because of that, a team of other survivors decided to escort him to Washington, D.C., to deliver the cure to the right hands.
Of course, fans later discovered that Eugene lied and that he wasn't really a scientist, but a science teacher. He also didn't have a cure for much of anything. To top everything off, he also proved himself useless in fighting against walkers.
Actor Josh McDermitt, who portrays Eugene on the series, recently spoke to Tech Times about what this means for the character, as well as what the future might hold for his character.
How did you get the role of Eugene on The Walking Dead?
It was an old-fashioned audition with the casting directors. My agent sent me the audition appointment for the next day and I basically had the night before to create a character and memorize a six-page monologue for the character Eugene, which at the time was named someone else. That's how the producers do it. They are secretive in what information they give out. The material for the audition was a made-up scenario in the preapocalypse. They want to focus on character and seeing who this person is. I imagine it would be pretty boring, yet hilarious, to watch a bunch of actors pretend to kill zombies in the audition room. I'm glad they do it this way.
After going through the whole audition process I got the job and was quickly on a plane to Georgia where they cut my hair into a mullet. It was all pretty surreal and fantastic. I was a big fan of the show before I auditioned for it, so to be there among the actors I've been watching for years was a trip. Andrew Lincoln wasn't even in the episode my character shows up in, yet he drove an hour to [the] set to meet with me and welcome me to the show. I'll never forget how he made me feel by doing that. I was pretty nervous showing up to work on this show.... I didn't want to be the guy who screws it up and ruins the show for everybody else. Sometimes I still feel that way. That might be a good thing, though.
You got your start in comedy, and even appeared on Last Comic Standing. How did that prepare you to tackle a series like The Walking Dead?
Comedy is where I got my start and it continues to shape every character I play. Whether I'm doing a drama or comedy, my approach is from the standpoint of 'how do I make this person seem real?' or 'how can I bring out the truth with this guy?' I get asked a lot about the comedy that Eugene brings to the show. I never really look at it that way; I think it would be a trap to think of it in that context. Because the fact is, people are funny, especially the most serious people. Now, granted, there is a bit of a heightened performance with comedy, but if it's not grounded in truth, then it's not funny or believable. It's the behaviors of this character, who they are as a person, that makes it funny. So in that, we find a lot of truth and honesty in the characters; therefore, my approach to comedy and drama remains the same.
So last season, Eugene admitted that he lied about being a scientist. In this season, do you feel he's finally earned the trust of his fellow survivors or is he still working on that?
I think Eugene is still working on who he is and how he fits into the group. Until he figures that out and demonstrates a level of trust through his actions, he will never fully earn the trust of his fellow survivors. This is a scary world these people live in. You need to be able to determine whether you can trust someone or not right away; otherwise, you could lose your life or the lives of others. I feel like Eugene is in a bit of a gray zone with that philosophy right now. If we were still outside the walls of Alexandria, the progress of earning the truth would be accelerated. But since they have a 'safe' place to live, people can go off and do their own thing. Figuring out what to do about Eugene has been put on the back burner, so to speak. That may actually work in his favor.
I'm fighting for Eugene, I'm rooting for him. I want him to be able to step up and be a contributor to the group. But he's scared and he lacks confidence. So the struggle with him is internal and, thankfully, the rest of the group has bigger problems to worry about.
What does the future hold for Eugene on this season?
Well, it goes back to what I was saying about lacking confidence to live in this world as a contributor to society. Until he figures that out, it's going to be a bumpy road for him. We saw in the episode "Start to Finish" when the walkers plunged through the walls of Alexandria, Eugene panicked and didn't get inside a building for safety. Even with a walker approaching him to take a bite, Eugene was scared and a bit helpless, even though he had a machete in his hand. He's always had others protecting him. He's scared of dying, but as Rosita told him, "dying is easy." She goes on to explain that continuing to live knowing you didn't do everything you could to help people is the hard part. I think that struck a chord with Eugene. I want him to come around, but it won't be something that happens overnight. He's at a bit of a crossroads with his future and it all depends on him.
What's it like working on the series?
I feel like I won The Walking Dead fan lottery. Working on TWD has been so fulfilling in the creative sense. It's awesome to go to work every day and be around people who are filmmakers. We're surrounded by people who want to be there and deserve to be there. The thing I was surprised about immediately was there are no egos or divas. It starts with Andrew Lincoln, our humble leader. I explained how he drove an hour to set just to meet me on my first day when he wasn't even in the episode. I've never met the lead of a show who would do that. This is a grueling job and he placed more importance on that moment than on resting up on his day off. It's a very supporting set, and everything is a collaboration between the crew, the producers, and the cast. We've captured lightning in a bottle and I only hope my next job could be half of what this job has been. If I could get at least half, I feel like it'll still be a fun place to work.
What other projects do you have going on that you can talk about?
I did a movie, a dark comedy called Middle Man, that's about to start making the rounds on the film festival circuit. The director Ned Crowley was old pals with Jim O'Heir from Parks and Recreation. I worked with Jim on a movie in 2014 and he's an awesome guy. So Jim and Ned get together to do this movie and were casting the other lead and they went with Andrew J. West, who played the cannibal, Gareth, during season 5 of TWD. I'm slowly realizing that Hollywood is just one giant web of friends working together. Middle Man is about a guy who is pushed to the limits in his life and the decisions he is forced to live with once he's at that point. I'm really excited for people to see it. And Jim and Andrew crush it in their performances and I think TWD fans will see another side to me they haven't seen before.
The Walking Dead returns to AMC in February.
