Of all the actors on "Walking Dead," nobody impressed me more during season two than Jon Bernthal. His descent into madness as former lawman Shane Walsh was brutal and outstanding, if short-lived.
Given his arc and the work Bernthal put into the role, it's no wonder that the actor is being talked about as a serious Emmy contender this year. If any "Walking Dead" cast member deserves a nomination, it's him, without question.
So it's little surprise that the Emmys are a hot topic of conversation with Bernthal right now; he spoke all about his work on "Walking Dead" with The Hollywood Reporter in a new piece profiling his Emmy odds. Read on for some highlights, but a warning: there are spoilers ahead if you're behind on the show.
On wanting to play Shane over Rick:
"When I said that Shane was the character I wanted to play, [producers] said, 'He's not going to be long for this world; this is based on source material.' There's nothing like getting your dream job and sitting down with source material and by the time you finish your sandwich, your character's dead. It was quite a shock."
On the birth of his son:
"After Carl got shot and Andy and I were in the farmhouse and it looked like he was going to lose his son -- that was difficult for me. I got a call on the way to set from my wife that she was going into labor and Andy said he'd cover me, Sarah grabbed my dogs and I jumped on a plane and flew across the country and got there just in time to see my son born. I was with him for three days, but then I had to go back and right after that we had to play all the scenes where Rick is wondering if his son is going to die. I remember trying to play those scenes with Andy, and both of us are young fathers. After shooting one of those, we just walked out of the farmhouse down the road and were both sitting there crying our eyes out."
On the death of Shane:
"The only thing I care about -- and I think the proof's going to be in the pudding next season -- is that this death really resonates and that it affects Rick and sets other things in motion. Just from seeing Andy's performance in Episode 13, I think that you can see that it has; he's already taken on more of Shane's energy. That's really the goal: Rick Grimes needs to harden and become more bold, become more decisive and be rocked by this death and I hope that we earned it."
Read more at The Hollywood Reporter.
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