The Walking Dead is known for many things, ranging from the willingness to kill off major characters in epically gruesome ways to the wide variety of zombies and even Carl’s hat. One aspect of the show that has been quite literally building up for some of the characters since the show began is the grime in which they are covered. While it would be easy to say that the actors are very good sports for having filth applied to them every day for work, actress Lauren Cohan recently stated in an AMA that she actually finds the grossness helpful.
It gets as disgusting as you can imagine. But in the weirdests way all the grime is relaxing. It’s permissible and expected to be grungy, and it helps you feel in character.
Lauren Cohan’s reveal that she’s on board with the blood and grime is kind-of awesome. Although Maggie hasn’t exactly reached Daryl Dixon levels of filth at any point, she has been covered in a whole lot of bodily fluids in her time on the show. Of course, Lauren Cohan is also so gorgeous that the spatters of zombie blood on her face aren’t enough to make her look too bad, but I'm guessing zombie goo takes a special kind of shampoo to get out of the hair.
The grime helping Cohan get into character makes an awful lot of sense, really. The fact the show films in Georgia has already brought more isolation to the set than might be found if filming in Los Angeles or Vancouver like many other series; throw in several layers of dirt and ambiguously sticky fluids, and the set of The Walking Dead must feel like an entirely different world.
Given that Cohan is also excited about the story possibilities of Maggie’s pregnancy, however, it should be interesting to see if Maggie cleans up a little bit in the second half of Season 6. Normally, a pregnant woman trying to avoid being covered in zombie blood would probably be a good idea, but Lori wasn’t exactly the queen of cleanliness back during her pregnancy with Judith, and Judith has turned out to be awfully good at surviving for somebody who can’t even walk yet. Maybe a bit of filth is good for the immune system in the zombie apocalypse. Who knows?
Lauren Cohan may appreciate the grime, but she’ll never manage to outdo Andrew Lincoln or Norman Reedus at their grimiest. Between Rick ripping out a bad guy’s throat with his teeth while sporting the bushiest beard in Walking Dead history and Daryl’s apparent allergy to both soap and haircuts, it’ll take an awful lot for anybody to outdo them in sheer grossness.
Sadly for Walking Dead fans, the show has been on hiatus since the end of November. Happily, the show will be back with all of its fabulously filthy characters for the second half of Season 6 on February 14 on AMC. You can find out more about Lauren Cohan in her full Reddit AMA.
For a look at when all of your other favorite shows will be returning to the airwaves in 2016, check out our list of midseason TV premiere dates.
