The season 5 premiere of The Walking Dead had plenty of action to go around. But take a step back from the explosions and bursts of assault weapon fire, and you’ll see that this episode belonged to Chad Coleman who played Tyreese. [Spoilers up to Episode 501 of The Walking Dead.]
In the AMC series, Tyreese had gotten off to a slow start—clearly an intentionally slow start—as a character who managed to stay largely insulated from the consequences of the outbreak.
But last season, everything changed for Tyreese. He fell in love with Karen and lost her. His sister Sasha came down with the mystery disease in the prison. He found himself in the middle of the woods with Carol, two little girls, and a baby. And we all know how that worked out.
Even in that eventful season, Tyreese was still largely an onlooker. He experienced tragedy and loss, but wasn’t really forced into a difficult moral choice. All that changed in Episode 501, as Tyreese realized that the only way to keep Judith safe was to kill the Termite who threatened her safety. It was clearly a moment of transition for Tyreese, and a moment that will clearly have profound implications for Coleman’s character, and the series as a whole in Season 5.
Coleman, who starred in HBO’s The Wire, as Cutty a former drug gang enforcer who tried desperately to go straight after being released from prison, was in New York last week for New York ComicCon and Paleyfest at the Paley Center for Media. He was gracious enough to sit down and explain how he landed a role on The Walking Dead, discuss Tyreese’s back story and drop a hint about an episode that's even better than "The Grove."
I thought you were amazing on“The Wire” and I was so happy to see you on The Walking Dead. How did you land the part ?
It’s really simple. Robert Kirkman was a huge fan of The Wire and said “That’s Tyreese.” He went to AMC and said I want to bring that character on the show and it’s Chad Coleman. And AMC is like “We have to see other people.” And he’s like, “You can see whoever you want, but it’s Chad Coleman.”
Tyreese has changed as much as anyone in this show from the beginning of season 4 to now. Where was his head at in the beginning of last season?
He was contemplative. He was wrestling with his relationship with violence. How much is too much? Just uncomfortable in the whole environment, with what so many others were forced to do.
His hope, to me, was that “We’re going to return to normal, so who are you going to be when you get there if we do all this violent stuff?"
It got a lot more complicated for him after that
He was fortunate enough to find love, a budding relationship [with Karen.] He was open. He was very vulnerable. Then, of course, that train wreck happens, and it just awakens a sleeping giant. He had to negotiate all this rage inside himself. Every character on this show does, as some point, have to negotiate that rage.
What are you going to do with it.
Is it going to get the better of you.
Or are you going to tame it?
Not just anger in Tyreese but a lot of sadness too.
There was a lot of despair. He was reaching a point where he’s “I just can’t do this.” Like when he was inside that car and it looked like it was going to be over.
There was one [simple] aspect to it “F-it, I’m going to go out swinging.” But I think, more than anything else, Tyreese is at his best when he’s of service to others. He heard Bob’s cry and that kicked him to another level.
What’s kind of a guy was Tyreese before the Zombie Apocalypse?
He’s an ex-football player. His father was an upstanding dude in the community, with character, morality. His father was leader. I think his father had a profound effect on his life, the kind of man he’s supposed to be. That’s where he gets his moral fiber from. It was something that was ingrained in him.
I think of his father as somebody like Tony Dungy. He had a huge influence on him, teaching him that as a man you have a responsibility to carry yourself a particular way. Playing football, that was a way for him to use his physical prowess. You can let it out on the field, but when you get off the field, don’t be like Lawrence Taylor <laughs.>
Do you actually read the comics or not so much.
Not so much. I read some of it. I saw how Hershel ended up getting my death. When I first came in they said, “We’ve got the Godfather here, Robert Kirkman.” If there ‘s anything you need to know, we’re going to fill you in.”
They pay homage to the comic, but it’s an entity in itself. You don’t have to be distracted or worry about how you’re going to catch up.
I think "The Grove" may have been the best episode of The Walking Dead. Talk about it from your point of view.
Working with those girls was a super amazing experience. And to me, Melissa McBride is one of the greatest actors to me. period. So working with her was a dream.
Mike Satrazemis, the Director of Photography, it was his first time directing. I was super-excited for him, because as soon as I came on the show, he embraced me with open arms. And Scott Gimple wrote a script that blew me away. I was in awe. And now we had the responsibility to pull it off.
Melissa and I talked and talked and talked. Satrazemis shot it pretty much in sequence, so that each thing we dealt with gave us more fuel. We already had our backstory. We had our relationship. We knew where we were headed. So by the time we got to that little table, no words were needed. Just go. It was the most gratifying television experience I’ve had.
Which brings us to the season 5 premiere.
The most noble thing a man can do is protect a woman and a child. <pauses> They put me in a pressure cooker, me and Chris Coy [who played the Child Killing Termite]. He’s an amazing actor. The room was too small for the weight of everything that was going on there.
You sometimes meet people who can read you and this guy was reading me. He was taking my temperature. It was incredible because made me very vulnerable and I didn’t want him to see that. It was almost like he could see through me.
But it was hard. A guy who could do that to a baby? I loved the suspense of it, getting kicked out. You didn’t know what was going to happen. I loved smashing that door in and driving his face into the ground. At the premiere they applauded….
I was watching it on my laptop and I applauded. So this was a big turning point for Tyreese, right?
It’s the maturation of this guy. He’s moving from being unsure about his position to owning his position. He says “No. I won’t go there.” It brings a gravity to the show.
People want to imagine themselves as super heroes, but to kill someone is not easy. It’s a tough deal. I appreciate the responsibility of carrying that weight.
In the premiere, Tyreese was forced to do something he didn’t want to do.
It’s interesting. Do you get to play by your own rules? No. You really don’t. And we’re going to see where that takes him.
It makes me think about Barack Obama. Dude, it’s a game. There are rules of engagement. You’ve got to learn to deal with the Republicans, and I don’t care how idealistic you are.
We’ll see where Tyreese goes. The idealism that he possesses is going to get tested.
It sets up the possibility of some interesting conflict between Tyreese and Rick.
Andy Lincoln and I, we talked about that. [Tyreese would say to Rick] “We’re not in an argument. I don’t dislike you. We don’t see the world the same way. We have different ideologies.” But [Tyreese would also say] "I love Rick."
You got some warm moments too in the premiere.
We take those warm and fuzzies where you can get them, because we don’t get them that often. <laughs>
I love that moment with Rick. Even though there’s going to be tension between them, I did deliver his child to him. We didn’t need any words. That look between us, I thought that was beautiful. And Sonequa [Martin-Green], we have such great chemistry like she’s my real sister.
But now we’re all out there. We’re all on the railroad tracks. It’s a metaphor for the show. Where the hell are we going?
I think the show is hitting its stride artistically.
Scott Gimple and Bob Kirkman and the whole writing team are on a mission. They are on a mission to top last year. And you know what? They did it. never thought I’d say there’s actually a better episode than “The Grove." But there is.
What did you think of the season premiere? Where would you like to see Tyreese's story arc go? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
