How Steven Yeun Kept His Big Walking Dead Secret

Spoilers for The Walking Dead are below, but you know you already know what this story is about.

Generally, The Walking Dead Cliffhanger Card lasts for the week between episodes, or the months between seasonal breaks, and one of the reasons why the Glenn storyline rocked audiences throughout November is because it felt strange watching a situation take that long to get cleared up. (Vision of Sophia.) But it was harder on actor Steven Yeun than it was for us, and he had a particular way of dealing with. Namely, hiding out and avoiding everyone.

Yeun appeared on The Tonight Show last night, and Jimmy Fallon obviously kept the conversation geared towards Glenn’s semi-surprising survival, asking how Yeun handled it.

I was in a weird Atlanta apartment jail, so it was good…My little cousin texted me. She’s like, ‘Are you dead?’ And I just…didn’t respond. So I don’t know if I have a cousin anymore.

Given his stint of radio silence after that episode, Yeun must have stayed hidden pretty well. It seems like someone from TMZ would have moved into the apartment next to him just to hit him up with questions every time the actor took a step outside. And it doesn’t sound like actually talking to his family members went that much better, since he couldn’t tell them either. He said his mom tuned into the episode and then turned it back off once she saw he was still alive. Ah, moms.

The best part of the interview was Yeun showing how he perfected the cryptic claw-handed shrug as a way of responding to people when they asked him what was going to happen on the show. Practice it at home, kids.

Yeun is such a genial and comfortably amusing guy, part of me maybe wanting him to be dead involves wanting to see the actor getting a regular role in a smart comedy series. I need to see how he does on Veep. Can’t wait to hear how he sounds as Tony Chu in the upcoming Chew animated movie, which is going to be amazing.

Check out the entire clip below.

Next week is the Season 6 midseason finale, in which we’re going to see someone die. Hopefully Glenn isn’t that person.

Nick is a Cajun Country native and an Assistant Managing Editor with a focus on TV and features. His humble origin story with CinemaBlend began all the way back in the pre-streaming era, circa 2009, as a freelancing DVD reviewer and TV recapper. Nick leapfrogged over to the small screen to cover more and more television news and interviews, eventually taking over the section for the current era and covering topics like Yellowstone, The Walking Dead and horror. Born in Louisiana and currently living in Texas — Who Dat Nation over America’s Team all day, all night — Nick spent several years in the hospitality industry, and also worked as a 911 operator. If you ever happened to hear his music or read his comics/short stories, you have his sympathy.