zap2it: ‘Walking Dead’ Season 3: Danai Gurira...

Monday, October 15, 2012

‘Walking Dead’ Season 3: Danai Gurira talks Michonne’s strength, befriending Andrea and joking with The Governor

It’s rare enough for a woman to play an action hero, but for women of color these roles are almost non-existent.
That’s what made it so special and so exciting. Not even me getting the role, just seeing the role in existence was really exciting. That’s all a credit, of course, to Robert Kirkman for creating her. I’ve sort of held off on really asking him how he invented her. I’m waiting for that special day when I decide to know. But it’s just amazing that he came up with her.

Did you go back and read the comic books, or did you want to stay away from that?
I’m a researcher, so I wanted to know. I read all the comic books. I was curious about how [Michonne] read on the page and how that can feed my understanding of her. For me to create a character I look for everything that will resonate. I don’t hide myself from information.

How much did you know in advance about Michonne’s arc for the season?
Not too much. I did know some aspects of how she was instrumental in how the biggest conflicts of the season come to pass. I think certain things evolve as we go, there’s a certain degree of planning and a certain degree that even the writers room doesn’t know. I think what’s started to happen in the latter half of the season — I don’t know how anticipated it was in the beginning — but I think it’s really cool.

Will the show explore Michonne’s past, before the walker-apocalypse?
It won’t be revealed in a way that is heavily blatant, but it’s something that can be revealed in her own way of navigating the world.

We immediately have a sense of her strength, but does Michonne have a sense of humor?
She does. You’re not gonna see it right away, I’ll tell you that. It’s a part of a synthesis.