THE WALKING DEAD: WORLD BEYOND
Beyond DeadW W W.SCI FI N OW.CO.U K |^041
Q&A WITH
JULIA ORMOND
Julia Ormond plays The Walking Dead:
World Beyond’s mysterious Elizabeth.
We try to get her to spill the beans...
WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR
CHARACTER ELIZABETH?
She is a leader of a very strong community.
She’s pretty intimidating I guess, to other
people... She’s defi nitely on the pragmatist
side – or apparently. [Laughs] For me,
‘pragmatist’ as a character, I think that
becomes very intimidating when that take on
the world is played by a woman, because it’s
just not traditionally female colours.ELIZABETH’S TEAM OF ZOMBIE KILLERS
LOOK LIKE THEY KNOW WHAT THEY
ARE DOING...
Yeah. We know what we’re doing but I think
it’s that separation. We’ve worked out how
to obliterate people, but have we worked out
how to save them yet? [There’s been a] step
back for so many characters in The Walking
Dead to a much simpler life that doesn’t have
access to modern things, but to see this lot
fl ying in a helicopter says a lot about them.WHAT STORIES AND THEMES ARE
THROWN UP BY THE GENERATIONAL
DIVIDE BETWEEN THE CHARACTERS?
It asks is the older generation’s approach not
good enough because they’ve settled for an
approach that is harsh? Is there something
about the innocence of their youth, is there
something about them starting the journey
again that gives us another opportunity for the
human race to do it differently, and better?AFTER SEEING THE WALKERS ON SCREEN,
HOW WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE OF SEEING
THEM IN THE FLESH FOR THE FIRST TIME?
(Laughs) Oh, god, is was surreal... They’re
slightly different in this version because they’re
ten years on and so there’s a different level of
decay to them. I don’t think it’s too much of a
spoiler to say I do actually get to kill one, or
take one out, as it were. The crew have been
doing it for so long that... they just assumed
that I would know what I should do!OVER THE YEARS THE WALKING DEAD HAS
ATTRACTED SUCH AMAZING ACTORS –
WHAT IS IT ABOUT IT THAT DRAWS ACTORS
LIKE YOURSELF IN?
I saw lots of performances [in The Walking
Dead] that were compelling, so that reassures
you that you’re either going to be given that
opportunity in terms of script, or you’re going
to be given that space to get there on set,
because sometimes TV fi lming can be quite
tight... There’s something about the basic
story of Walking Dead, the basic apocalypse
story, that the drama, every episode, is about
how you live your life to the best, how you get
through life-threatening circumstances. It’s not
like Doctor Who, but Doctor Who has that.
Every episode is saving the world. It’s not just
a cop story, are we going to fi nd the person
who did it – not that that isn’t great too – but
it’s just at a different level of consequence...World Beyond centres on two sisters, Iris
(Aliyah Royale) and Hope (Alexa Mansour).
Negrete tells us that Iris is “trying to fi gure
out what she wants from life, even after
the apocalypse... There’s this need to try to
build the world back up and make it better
and you fi nd yourself living for other people,
but that then begs the question of what do
you want personally? How do you live life
for yourself? And that’s a question that Iris
will ask herself.” Hope, on the other hand, is
“a bit of a troublemaker, she likes to get her
drink on”, Negrete chuckles. “I think that
she and her sister in a lot of ways couldn’t
be more opposite, but at the same time they
love and respect each other, and it’s that
bond between them that’s going to carry
them through when they choose to leave the
safety of the place they are from.” He hints,
though, that there are unspoken secrets
between Hope and Iris that could “change
the dynamics” of their entire relationship.
Joining them on their quest into the world
beyond their community walls are Elton
(Nicolas Cantu) and Silas (Hal Cumpston).
Elton, the youngest of the group, “hasn’t
seen the world, really, since he was fi ve years
old, except through a telescope... He thinks,
‘okay, we may die out some time soon, I’m
going to see the world before that happens’.”
Silas is the most mysterious member of the
group. “He’s this hulking guy who, becauseof his large frame, and because he’s a loner, a
lot of kids are scared of him. For that reason
he retreats into his own shell, and people
haven’t really reached out to him.” Negrete
adds that “rumours are swirling around
him about things that he might or might not
have done in his past,” which will become a
“critical” element of the fi rst season.
That fi rst season will actually be half of
the entire show, as it’s only set to run for
two seasons of ten episodes, making it a
fi nite series. “It wasn’t ever designed to be a
show that goes on and on,” Negrete explains.
“We started talking about it and we were
exploring it as it if had an ending... and we
followed our goal and stuck close to that
ending.” Rather than that being a hindrance,
Negrete found it freeing. “The fact that this
is two seasons and done allows us to have
this arc, and to know where we started the
characters, but more importantly know
where they’re going to end up.”
There’s something thrilling about a show
that already has its own end in sight, not
least because it means they have little
reason to keep their characters alive for
long. Which, in the world of The Walking
Dead, bodes very badly for the poor zombie-
fodder characters...The Walking Dead: World Beyond launches
on Prime Video on 13 April.The younger generation have
never had to kill the undead...World Beyond feels
very fi rst world.THE WALKING DEAD: WORLD BEYOND
Beyond DeadW W W.SCI FI N OW.CO.U K |^041
Q&A WITH
JULIA ORMOND
Julia Ormond plays The Walking Dead:
World Beyond’s mysterious Elizabeth.
We try to get her to spill the beans...
WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR
CHARACTER ELIZABETH?
She is a leader of a very strong community.
She’s pretty intimidating I guess, to other
people... She’s defi nitely on the pragmatist
side – or apparently. [Laughs] For me,
‘pragmatist’ as a character, I think that
becomes very intimidating when that take on
the world is played by a woman, because it’s
just not traditionally female colours.ELIZABETH’S TEAM OF ZOMBIE KILLERS
LOOK LIKE THEY KNOW WHAT THEY
ARE DOING...
Yeah. We know what we’re doing but I think
it’s that separation. We’ve worked out how
to obliterate people, but have we worked out
how to save them yet? [There’s been a] step
back for so many characters in The Walking
Dead to a much simpler life that doesn’t have
access to modern things, but to see this lot
fl ying in a helicopter says a lot about them.WHAT STORIES AND THEMES ARE
THROWN UP BY THE GENERATIONAL
DIVIDE BETWEEN THE CHARACTERS?
It asks is the older generation’s approach not
good enough because they’ve settled for an
approach that is harsh? Is there something
about the innocence of their youth, is there
something about them starting the journey
again that gives us another opportunity for the
human race to do it differently, and better?AFTER SEEING THE WALKERS ON SCREEN,
HOW WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE OF SEEING
THEM IN THE FLESH FOR THE FIRST TIME?
(Laughs) Oh, god, is was surreal... They’re
slightly different in this version because they’re
ten years on and so there’s a different level of
decay to them. I don’t think it’s too much of a
spoiler to say I do actually get to kill one, or
take one out, as it were. The crew have been
doing it for so long that... they just assumed
that I would know what I should do!OVER THE YEARS THE WALKING DEAD HAS
ATTRACTED SUCH AMAZING ACTORS –
WHAT IS IT ABOUT IT THAT DRAWS ACTORS
LIKE YOURSELF IN?
I saw lots of performances [in The Walking
Dead] that were compelling, so that reassures
you that you’re either going to be given that
opportunity in terms of script, or you’re going
to be given that space to get there on set,
because sometimes TV fi lming can be quite
tight... There’s something about the basic
story of Walking Dead, the basic apocalypse
story, that the drama, every episode, is about
how you live your life to the best, how you get
through life-threatening circumstances. It’s not
like Doctor Who, but Doctor Who has that.
Every episode is saving the world. It’s not just
a cop story, are we going to fi nd the person
who did it – not that that isn’t great too – but
it’s just at a different level of consequence...World Beyond centres on two sisters, Iris
(Aliyah Royale) and Hope (Alexa Mansour).
Negrete tells us that Iris is “trying to fi gure
out what she wants from life, even after
the apocalypse... There’s this need to try to
build the world back up and make it better
and you fi nd yourself living for other people,
but that then begs the question of what do
you want personally? How do you live life
for yourself? And that’s a question that Iris
will ask herself.” Hope, on the other hand, is
“a bit of a troublemaker, she likes to get her
drink on”, Negrete chuckles. “I think that
she and her sister in a lot of ways couldn’t
be more opposite, but at the same time they
love and respect each other, and it’s that
bond between them that’s going to carry
them through when they choose to leave the
safety of the place they are from.” He hints,
though, that there are unspoken secrets
between Hope and Iris that could “change
the dynamics” of their entire relationship.
Joining them on their quest into the world
beyond their community walls are Elton
(Nicolas Cantu) and Silas (Hal Cumpston).
Elton, the youngest of the group, “hasn’t
seen the world, really, since he was fi ve years
old, except through a telescope... He thinks,
‘okay, we may die out some time soon, I’m
going to see the world before that happens’.”
Silas is the most mysterious member of the
group. “He’s this hulking guy who, becauseof his large frame, and because he’s a loner, a
lot of kids are scared of him. For that reason
he retreats into his own shell, and people
haven’t really reached out to him.” Negrete
adds that “rumours are swirling around
him about things that he might or might not
have done in his past,” which will become a
“critical” element of the fi rst season.
That fi rst season will actually be half of
the entire show, as it’s only set to run for
two seasons of ten episodes, making it a
fi nite series. “It wasn’t ever designed to be a
show that goes on and on,” Negrete explains.
“We started talking about it and we were
exploring it as it if had an ending... and we
followed our goal and stuck close to that
ending.” Rather than that being a hindrance,
Negrete found it freeing. “The fact that this
is two seasons and done allows us to have
this arc, and to know where we started the
characters, but more importantly know
where they’re going to end up.”
There’s something thrilling about a show
that already has its own end in sight, not
least because it means they have little
reason to keep their characters alive for
long. Which, in the world of The Walking
Dead, bodes very badly for the poor zombie-
fodder characters...The Walking Dead: World Beyond launches
on Prime Video on 13 April.The younger generation have
never had to kill the undead...World Beyond feels
very fi rst world.