Lesley-Ann Brandt Talks Walking Dead Binge, Previews Her Debut as The Ones Who Live’s Steely Capetonian
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There was, most understandably, a precise moment where it hit Lesley-Ann Brandt, “Oh s–t…. I’m on The Walking Dead.”
Fans of the prolific franchise will get to experience Brandt’s arrival in this walker-riddled universe when The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live debuts this Sunday, Feb. 25 at 9/8c on AMC and AMC+.
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The Ones Who Live promises an epic love story of two characters — Rick and Michonne (played by TWD vets Andrew Lincoln and Dania Gurira) — changed by a changed world and kept apart “by distance, by an unstoppable power, and by the ghosts of who they were.” The cast also includes Pollyanna McIntosh (back as Jadis), Terry O’Quinn (as Major General Beale), Matthew August Jeffers (as Michonne’s ally Nat), Craig Tate (as Lieutenant Colonel Donald Okafor) and Andrew Bachelor (as Bailey), among others.
The series opens with the episode “Years,” penned by TWD COO Scott Gimple off a story by him, Lincoln and Gurira, and in which Rick, wanting to escape the CRM (Civic Republic Military) but with hope dwindling, tries to find his place in this new world.
A major presence in Rick’s newfound orbit is Pearl Thorne, a onetime sailor for the South African Navy. TVLine sat down with Lucifer alum Lesley-Ann Brandt during the TCA winter press tour to get the inside story on her road to The Walking Dead, how relieved she was to not be thrust into any “love triangle,” and more.
TVLINE | Where were you at when this opportunity presented itself to you? And what was the pitch like?
I had not watched [the original Walking Dead] myself, but I knew how big the show was. And originally the character was French, and I asked if they were open to other accents. Like, could I give them South African? Could I give them Kiwi? And they were like, “Yeah, South African is cool.” Unbeknownst to me, Andy [Lincoln] is half South African — his Mom is South African — and one the directors of the first episodes is South African, and the costume designer, Eulyn Hufkie, is from Cape Town. So, we had a whole South African conglomerate on this!
TVLINE | That’s amazing.
At the same time, I was actually up for The Hurt Unit pilot they had just booked Ben McKenzie on. We were trying to make both things work, but one shot in Vancouver, the other one [The Ones Who Live] shot in New Jersey. It got to the point where I basically had to choose projects, so I asked Lincoln — we’re both at CAA — and he sent me a really lovely email through his agent that said, “Look, we really want you to do this.” And I think I made the right choice, let’s just say. The other project was great and sadly it didn’t go. Things worked out the way they were supposed to.
TVLINE | What interested you about the character of Pearl Thorne? And did you have any questions going in?
Having an opportunity to play a South African on a huge [franchise] show was wonderful, especially one from my community. Danai [Gurira] studied in Cape Town, so she was excited too. It’s an accent you don’t hear very often. People have this idea of African accents, but it’s so different and so specific to Cape Town. Also, I was interested in the idea of exploring a platonic friendship in this world. I was very afraid that they would set this up as like a love triangle, and I was like I don’t want that heat. [Laughs] This is their [Rick and Michonne’s] love story, so I was happy.
Then, when I finally did get to New Jersey, getting to work with [Lincoln and Gurira] and collaborate with [TWD franchise COO] Scott [Gimple]…. Twelve years in, they care so much about the show. I’ve worked with people who are a bit jaded, but that’s not them. I came in having binged [The Walking Dead] from pilot to end, because I wanted to do right by the material, I wanted to understand the world and see how the show was shot, understand how [Rick and Michonne] get together. I felt a sense of responsibility, and I feel that way with all the work that I do — like, I read the comics for Maze on Lucifer, because I wanted to “get” that world as well. [With The Walking Dead] they truly created, like, one of the most epic television shows in history.
TVLINE | Oh, it’s huge. It was huge.
Huge. And when I think of my favorite moments on that show, it’s always about their relationships. It’s always moments of tenderness. When Norman Reedus breaks down as Daryl, it crushes me because you see that character and what he’s had to go through, that sense of vulnerability. When we lost Glenn, I was right there screaming at the television, “What the f–k are we killing this guy for?!”
TVLINE | Talk about choosing the specific Cape Town accent for Pearl, because it’s not the way you’re talking with me here right now. Her voice a little more clipped. It has edges to it.
Yeah, that’s what a Capetonian accent sounds like. Mine has softened over the years because, you know, I lived [in the States] — though now that I’m talking about South Africa, it will start to come out! [Editor’s note: It did.] South African accents are very hard. When my husband goes to Cape Town, he’s like, “My ear is always listening because I’m trying very hard to understand everyone.” But I chose it [for Pearl] because you had never heard it before on a big show like this. It’s different than [the 2009 sports biopic] Invictus and listening to Matt Damon do his accent. It was a huge help in actually crafting the character, because South Africans will be very… they’ll just get to the point. [Laughs] It can interpreted as being abrupt and rude.
TVLINE | That’s totally Pearl.
It’s like, “I don’t have time to give you rainbows and ponies,” know what I mean? It sounds harsh because I’m just getting to the point. There’s a brutal honesty to the accent as well. It’s not melodic, like Irish; this is very guttural, straight from the groin.
TVLINE | What’s important to Pearl when we first meet her?
Surviving in the world that she’s chosen to come to. We don’t see the backstory, but in my audition piece she was stuck on this boat after trying to get back to her love for years. She kept trying to cross the ocean to get back to Cape Town. And when Okafor (played by Snowfall‘s Craig Tate) meets her — I think I posted photos of me in my audition, where I had done some makeup on myself to have her look withered and beaten down — she decides, “OK, I’ll go with you, I will join [the CRM].” Coming from a military background, it’s easy to fall in line, I suppose.
TVLINE | How does she regard Rick Grimes? Is she sympathetic to his cause, his mission?
Yeah, but she does it in a very South African way. I think there’s a scene where she’s like, “Let’s get a drink before we kill each other.” It’s like, “I get it, I understand, those people that you loved they’re gone. But this is our world now, so we either are going to find some kind of joy while we’re doing it, or you’re going to keep trying to leave.” There’s a true friendship built there, where they really do believe that they’re doing the right thing. And that’s a metaphor, my God, for so many human decisions in the world! But yeah, I think she recognizes that he’s struggling a bit more than her to fit in, so she nurtures this friendship. And then the dynamics start to change.
TVLINE | What’s the coolest thing you got to do on The Ones Who Live?
One of the coolest moments was my first day on-set, Week 1. We started with night shoots, which is brutal — a 21-degree wind chill in New Jersey, and my African bones are not made for that East Coast living, Matt! I’m telling you right now! But I walked on-set and all of a sudden the walkers are there, and I was like, “Oh, s–t”. Andy’s standing next to me, the loveliest, most welcoming guy, and I’m like, “I’m on The Walking Dead. This is pretty dope.”
My other favorite moment is… my first scene with Danai, where it felt like two alpha women circling each other, saying things that aren’t being said but are being said. It’s like” game recognizes game.” Danai has such a presence onscreen — even when she’s not saying a lot, she’s saying a lot — so I had so much fun working with [her] in that way.
TVLINE | Lastly, how do you think Lucifer’s Maze would size her up?
Oh, these two would go toe-to-toe, for sure. They’re similar in a lot of ways, but I think where Maze is able to evolve her understanding of human experience, Thorne is stuck in the system.
Want scoop on The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, or for any other TV show ? Email InsideLine@tvline.com, and your question may be answered via Matt’s Inside Line!
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