Fear The Walking Dead arrives on Amazon Prime Video on Easter Sunday in the UK and we’ve got a superb interview with one of the spin-off show’s stars, the supremely talented Lorenzo James Henrie. The young actor spoke of his role of Chris Manowa on the show, growing up in Arizona and his love of the original ‘Walking Dead’ comic books.
What’s the most important thing about your character for you?
Lorenzo James Henrie: For me, I think the most important part of my character is the relationship between him and his father, Travis. You know, this is a 16-year old kid who really looked up to his dad his whole life, but his dad sort of broke a promise to him. And when a father breaks a promise to his son, it really damages and affects his psychology. It affects his view of him as a father figure, as his hero figure.
What was the promise that was broken?
Well, the promise of being there as a dad, of being that superhero figure. He breaks that by getting a divorce form my mom. So this really affects and wounds my character, and with the backdrop of the apocalypse, will this broken character heal the relationship with his dad? And that’s the character’s journey. You know, will he love his dad again? Will he rebel against his dad? There are all these emotions and principles that he is searching for, that his father should be giving him but he can’t have that anymore because his father just lost any credit to him.
Okay, there’s a real father-son drama going on…?
Yeah.
And then there’s a new woman…?
Yeah. Madison.
And she has kids. And one of them is a drug addict.
Oh, yeah. And I don’t like this family. My character does not like this family whatsoever. So that just adds the salsa on top of everything – and creates the nachos! [Laughs].
And you enjoy that? You enjoy playing that?
Yeah, I think father-son stories are my favourite stories. You look at any good Pixar movie, you look at any good, you know, classic movie and they have father-son stories. I really gravitate towards that.
What does your character fear most?
That’s a good question. Um… I think Christopher fears coming together with this other family. I mean, he is scared of the apocalypse of course but I think he wants to live a life according to himself. And I think he fears that, wow, we might actually bond for the first time. I want to be my own man so screw my dad! I think he fears that because all this is happening we’re actually going to come together as a family. So I think he fears these outsiders coming into the life he has with his mom Liza. And that it could be a reality that my dad is going to make them my brother and sister which he really doesn’t want.
And how did you come to be in the show? Did you audition?
No, I just emailed them and said… [Laughs]. No, I had an audition. My agency sent me and when I saw what it was I thought it would be amazing. The character sounded great and I got the opportunity. So I’m giving it my all [Laughs].
Were you a fan of “The Walking Dead”?
Lorenzo James Henrie: I really like the comic books – I’m a really big fan of the comic books. And the original show is awesome. It’s a really good show. I’m a fan of the zombie genre so it really interested me.
What do you think of the new show?
I love the concept. I love the new story and the new take. It’s very unique, and it’s a fun journey. A scary, fun journey!
You mentioned the comic book and the original show. Which one do you prefer? Because there are things that are in the show that are not in the comic books and vice-versa?
Um… That’s like saying I like Coke but do I like Cherry Coke better?! They have the same elements just with a different flavour. I think you can pick and choose what you like from each. But they did a great job in both.
I think the violence that’s in the comics is different from what you see in the TV show. Is this new show very violent?
You’ll have to watch and find out. [Laughs]
Would you like to see this show becoming as violent as the comic books are?
I think that’s up to the writers. I want to see the best story made, so if that means more violence or less violence, whatever suits the story best, that’s what I want to see.
How old are you?
I am 21.
What do your parents think about working on the show?
They’re really supportive. They really like it. And they’re really excited for me.
But what if your character dies?
[Laughs] Well, it could happen… If it does, I want to go out with a bang. Maybe saving someone’s life. I think that would be cool. Sacrificing my life. Yeah, I think that would be cool. If I die… [Laughs]
If you die, right?
You never know.
You never know! Do you have a good relationship with your real father?
Yes, I have a very good relationship with my father.
So what you’re doing in the show, where are you drawing that from?
Well, because I have a good relationship with my father, I think imagining not having that relationship breaks my heart and that’s where I try to draw those emotions from. Imagining what a character would go through, it’s very sad, and it’s a very real and raw emotion. So I think if I never had a strong relationship with my father it would bring a totally different emotion for me; different from the way I’m portraying it now. That’s what acting is.
Do you feel pressure because of the success of the original series?
No I don’t. I don’t think there is any pressure. I think it’s like rooting for your brother and your sister, helping each other out!
Are your friends trying to get information out of you? Asking you to tell them about the show? Is that hard?
[Laughs] You know what? It’s not that hard because I’m in Vancouver and I just don’t text them back! I keep everything on the hush-hush!
Are they excited to see you on the show?
Yeah, yeah everyone’s really excited. They’re really pumped. They’re huge fans of the show and they’re very excited to see their friend in this one. They’re pumped.
Do you like watching yourself on screen?
I do not like watching myself!
Why’s that?
Because, you constantly critique yourself and you think you can do better. I’ve played sports my whole life so I’m very competitive, and I always think I could do better. So watching myself would just drive me crazy.
What kind of sports do you play?
I grew up playing hockey.
Where did you grow up?
In Arizona.
You grew up in Arizona playing hockey?
Yeah, I grew up in the desert playing hockey!
That’s cool. Were you fast?
I wasn’t the fastest, but I was a decent passer. I wish I was the fastest but I wasn’t. I was a bit lazy.
So your competitiveness, have you been able to use that in the show?
Yeah, 100%. I think Chris is competitive with [his father] Travis as far as wanting to be a man and there’s a competitive edge – a real friction going on between them.
What would you like your character to do in the show that you haven’t done yet?
You know what, I would like to eat ice cream in one of my scenes! That’s not the answer we were looking for, right? [Laughs] You’re just trying dig! If I say something I that I’d like to do then that’ll reveal something about the show! [Laughs] But I’ve never seen that – I’ve never seen ice cream on a zombie show!
The first season of Fear The Walking Dead will be available for Amazon Prime members exclusively from Easter Sunday.
