From Fear The Walking Dead to Army of the Dead, Garret Dillahunt Is Still Fighting Zombies – TV Insider

Were still mourning John Dorie on Fear The Walking Dead, but Garret Dillahunt has another undead-filled adventure coming this month. In Zack Snyders new movie Army of the Dead (hitting Netflix May 21), hell play another survivor battling his way through the dead-infested world albeit, as he says, not quite with the morals of John.

We chatted with Dillahunt about his work in the zombie genreand nabbed a nifty tease about whats next for June (Jenna Elfman) on Fear The Walking Dead.

Ill start by asking you the obvious question: What is it with Garret Dillahunt and zombies? Youve gone from Fear The Walking Dead to Army of the Dead.

Garret Dillahunt: I dont know if there is a thing, theres only two of them! But I like the world. I like the genre. I like sci-fi and fantasy stuff, in general. This is pure coincidence, in a way. I mean, when did zombies startin the 70s? I dont know what the fascination is, but we all have it, it seems. I think its more about, what would I do in that situation? And maybe its more fantasy, you know. Like I can take care of those people Ive always hated, if they become zombies. [Laughs]

What drew you to Army of the Dead?

Well, its a Zack Snyder movie. I had always wanted to work with him. I liked that he was operating the camera himself. It seemed like a total reinvention to me, of the genre. Theres a variety of zombies with different capabilities, and thats intriguing. I think he likened the Alpha Zombies, which are the scariest zombies, to a pack of wild dogs. If you watch them hunt in Africa, they are smart. They have a hierarchy and intelligence, and they are incredibly dangerous because they work as a unit. And that [in zombies] would be a nightmare.

Its like it was in the beginning on Walking Dead and Fear: We dont know a ton about them at this juncture, on Army of the Dead. A lot of the team, [my character] Martin included, is learning on the fly. Theyre like, What? Theres zombie animals? Thats terrifying. Theyre bigger, stronger, faster anyway, and now theyre zombies? How do you deal with that?

Clay Enos / Netflix 2021

I was going to ask if you prefer one over the otherfast, smart zombies or the slower Walking Dead-type zombies.

Well, it depends on which way youre asking. If its Which would you rather be dealing with? Id say Fear the Walking Deads walkers. But if Im speaking from an entertainment standpoint, Im much more riveted by stuff like youre going to see in Army of the Dead, or World War Z, that kind of thing. What do you do? Holy cow.

Was it an adjustment for you to step into Zack Snyders zombie-verse, after being on Fear for so long?

I suppose so, but it wasnt a hard adjustment. [I play] a completely different character, Ive got different weapons and its a different set of circumstances. But it wasnt any weirder than doing any other job after youve finished a job.

Tell me about Martin. Does he have anything in common with John Dorie? What is he like?

Theyre both played by Garret Dillahunt, but thats probably about it! Martin has a little more money behind him, but no one has the morals of John Dorie.

CLAY ENOS/NETFLIX 2021

What was it like working with Zack Snyder?

Its great working with Zack. I always wanted to work with him, and Ive been a fan of his movies, and Ive worked with so many people who have worked with him and speak highly of him. It was a lot of fun to finally check that off the bucket list. I hope I get to work with him again. Hes a very athletic guy, so he would demonstrate things he wanted me to dojust making them up on the spot. And he would do it immediately, and then it would take me about five takes to do it! I just trust him. You know its going to look great when youre working with Zack Snyder, so its about getting the scenes right and playing your part. I like that he also likes to infuse humor into the most dire situations. I really appreciate that.

Post-Army of the Dead, do you see yourself doing more work in the post-apocalyptic or zombie genres?

Im not against it. Ive got some things lined up [right now], my own TV show, which Im very excited about. Its not post-apocalyptic, but it is post-pandemic. [Laughs] But yeah, Ive always been a fan of sci-fi and fantasy and all that kind of stuff. And there very well might be post-apocalyptic stuff in my future. I hope Im lucky enough to have those choices.

Theyre doing that Tales of The Walking Dead spinoff, and it would be cool to see John come back for an episode.

Who knows? I really like [executive producer] Scott Gimple as a person, and you never know what hes got up his sleeve.

Well, I hope theres more John! Fans do miss you on Fear

Ah, its only been a couple of episodes! He was a great character, and I really enjoyed playing him for three years of my life. He exists, hell be part of the universe forever now.

And June now has his hat. And his gun.

Jenna [Elfman]s a great actor. While Im sure this is not the most wonderful of circumstances, this is going to spawn some great stuff for June. I happen to know theres some stuff coming down the pike that fans arent going to want to miss. Im not going to spoil anything, but Im going to say keep watching, keep supporting. I love those people.

Tell me about your upcoming projects.

Well, Im pretty excited about the TV show [IMDB TVs Sprung]. Thats something [Raising Hope executive producer] Greg Garcia and I have been working on since last March; we just started throwing ideas out. I was telling him about the guy I wanted to be and the type of show I wanted to be in. I wanted to do some comedy, and we get along so well, and we think so much alike. Its so easy to work with him. He came up with this great idea [about a group of formerly incarcerated people aiming to do some good with their criminal expertise], and we started casting the thing and came up with such a great cast [including Illeana Douglas and Phillip Garcia]. Im nervous, theyre all so good! And right now, Im in New Orleans where Im shooting Where The Crawdads Sing [based on the Delia Owens novel]. Im really proud of this one.

And I finished the movie Ambulance, which Michael Bay directed, right before thistheres a lot of car chases and explosions and even a few laughs in that as well. I enjoyed myself on that. And after that, Ive been working on a movie myself. I have a property that Im very excited about that Im starting to adapt. Its by an author I really love, named Kevin McColley, and we struck up a friendship over the past year. He sent me a manuscript, so Im trying to position myself to get this movie made. Im starting to look for a director to attach to it. I feel really good, and Im really happy about where things are going. Im excited for this next stage of my life and to be focusing on things that I really, really want to do.

Army of the Dead, Movie Premiere, Friday, May 21, Netflix

Fear the Walking Dead, Sundays, 9/8c, AMC

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From Fear The Walking Dead to Army of the Dead, Garret Dillahunt Is Still Fighting Zombies - TV Insider

Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero