Michael Cudlitz
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/walking-deads-michael-cudlitz-abraham-747361

 

Josh McDermitt
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/walking-deads-josh-mcdermitt-eugene-747363

 

[h=1]The Walking Dead's Michael Cudlitz and Josh McDermitt Break Down That Shocking Reveal[/h]
Nov 9, 2014 10:00 PM ET
by Adam Bryant

The Walking Dead

[WARNING: The following story contains spoilers from Sunday's episode of The Walking Dead. Read at your own risk.]

Lots of secrets were spilled on Sunday's episode of The Walking Dead.

First, via flashbacks, viewers learned exactly why hardened soldier Abraham (Michael Cudlitz) came to be so rigid and driven. After his wife and kids witnessed first-hand just how deft a killing machine Abraham was in the post-apocalypse, his wife took the kids and left. Unfortunately, they didn't make it far before they were killed — and once Abraham realized as much, he began contemplating suicide. The only thing that stopped him? Meeting Eugene (Josh McDermitt) and learning about "the cure" Eugene could create in Washington.

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"Hopefully it opens up a door of understanding," Cudlitz tells TVGuide.com of the revealing flashbacks. "You hopefully really sympathize with this guy and just go, 'Holy sh--, he lost everything' and basically was at the point of taking his own life and found another purpose: to save the world. I think you understand how driven he is, because [the mission] is the only thing that he has left to live for."

However, this episode's other big revelation potentially renders Abraham's completely meaningless. After the church bus carrying Abraham, Eugene, Rosita (Christian Serratos), Tara (Alanna Masterson), Glenn (Steven Yeun) and Maggie (Lauren Cohan) malfunctions, Eugene confides in Tara that he purposefully disabled it to stall the trip to Washington. But when Abraham doggedly continues forward — even to the point of suggesting that the group move straight ahead through a huge herd of walkers instead of backtracking — Eugene reveals the truth: He is not a scientist and there is no cure. It was all a lie Eugene made up so someone would protect him.

Naturally, Abraham reacts violently, beating Eugene unconscious before the group can stop him. But is that relationship toast? "Eugene was definitely the closest thing that [Abraham] had to a friend and for the longest period of time," Cudlitz says. "There's a very interesting symbiotic relationship. Let's not forget that Eugene saved his life. At some point, I'm hoping Abraham will realize that."

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And more importantly, can Abraham continue to move forward now that his purpose for living has been revealed to be a lie? "He has seen people love in this world," Cudlitz says. "He has seen people have compassion. He has seen people fight for things that they believe in and put people before almost anything else. So he is being introduced to new thought processes and people that he can respect. So we'll see how he comes back from this, in what way, and what other conflicts come out of this, because he still has more to process. He not only went on this mission, but he killed a lot of people to save Eugene, and it was all a lie. ... But I think there's a part of him that will try to fight to find something to live for. I hope so."

TVGuide.com also chatted with McDermitt to get Eugene's side of the story. Keep reading to find out what really forced Eugene to come clean, and what his next move may be. Plus: What's up with Eugene being a Peeping Tom!?

Since this storyline, including Eugene's admission that he's been lying, comes out of the comics, did you always know he was full of it? Or did you think the writers might go another way?
Josh McDermitt: I knew in vague terms when I took the job that it may or may not be B.S. I mean, they didn't flat-out say it is, but at the start of this season, I sat down with Scott Gimple and he said, "In Episode 5, we'll find out that Eugene's been lying. So, it didn't come as a surprise. I think what came as a surprise is that the revelation came as quickly as it did. This is why I'm not a writer. I though it might be at the end of the season we find out or something. But to know what else is coming in the season, it kind of doesn't bother me at this point just because the rest of the season is so awesome.

Before the lie is revealed, we get to learn a little bit more about who Eugene is and why he's done this. Was that important to you?
McDermitt: Yeah. He's a guy who is just scared. He's a coward and he doesn't know how else to live. He feels like he's got nothing to offer the world as it stands now when really he has a lot to offer. He's still a smart guy. He's not stupid. In fact, quite the contrary. That's why he was able to survive this long in the apocalypse, because he was able to kind of B.S. his way with using real knowledge. I'm interested to see people's reaction to it because people aren't going to be the biggest fan of Eugene at this point. Here we are having some hope of maybe curing this thing and getting life back to normal and that's been taken from us. Not taken, but [now we've] found out that it was never [a real option]. I'm just thankful that Eugene didn't get Daryl killed or anything like that because I think the fans would really hate me.

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Earlier in the episode, we see Eugene finally pick up a weapon and join the fight. Once he sees that he's able to do this and maybe survive, does that play into his decision to come clean?
McDermitt: At that moment, he is starting to believe that, "OK. I can do this thing." But I don't think giving him confidence played into his decision to admit the truth. I think he was obsessed with what the preacher did. He wasn't talking about the atrocity of locking his parishioners out, but the fact that he admitted his sin and was still allowed to be in the group. That was weighing heavily on [Eugene] more than anything else. So, in that moment of, "If we go down here through this giant herd of walkers, people might die," it's like he didn't see any other way out and he had to admit it that moment. Had he not witnessed what the preacher was doing ahead of time, who knows if he would've admitted it or if he would have tried to find another way to stall, which he's been doing this entire time.

Abraham obviously reacts strongly to Eugene's admission. Given their history, which we also saw in this episode, did Eugene expect Abraham to lash out at him so violently?
McDermitt: It doesn't surprise me that he got beat up in that moment, but I think it may have caught Eugene off guard a little bit, especially with the relationship that they had ahead of time. But that's how Abraham works. He's a physical guy. ... I love that flashback at the end, just to kind of show that this relationship that these two guys have isn't just based on, "Yeah. I'll take you to Washington." Eugene saved Abraham's life in that moment. He gave him something to live for. He gave him some hope and there's a bond between those two guys that they don't have with other people. And it just makes the falling away of the relationship that much more powerful.

So, how much has Eugene been lying? Now that the truth is out, will some of the other parts of his character also be revealed to be an act?
McDermitt: I think the Eugene we all see and know is kind of the Eugene that was in the apocalypse as well. He's just this quirky, socially awkward guy who wants people to think he's smarter than he is. But there was a shift. [In the flashback,] he peeks over and he sees this guy sitting there with a gun in his mouth and he sees the family, the dead bodies strewn about. He is able to do the math quickly enough to lie in that moment. But I think as the lie wore on, there were definitely more elements to Eugene that kind of came about that were probably not close to his true personality. He definitely had to play up the scientist part a little bit. But I don't think moving forward we're going to see the magnetic personality of Eugene. [Laughs]He's still going to be kind of weird and quirky because that's just who he is.

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As you said, this removes the one small glimmer of hope from the show. Do the characters now take on a darker outlook, or do they still believe there is some way to end this? And does Eugene personally have any hope?
McDermitt: Those are great questions. We're going to have to find the answers moving forward. I think Eugene's biggest goal is now — once he wakes up from this beating, if he's still alive — how he gets back into this group. What is his place? What his is worth? I think it's very rare for any character to look on the bright side of things. It was really cool to see Bob playing a game with Sasha. It didn't matter what she threw at him that was so dark and horrible about the world, he found the silver lining. I think that's rare in this world. Eugene definitely doesn't think that way.

Eugene says that even though there isn't a cure, he thought D.C. would be a safe place. Is there any chance he convinces the group to keep heading that way?
McDermitt:
Well, I think no matter what he says now, people aren't going to listen to him.

So, does Eugene fear that the group won't accept his sins as they did with Father Gabriel?
McDermitt: I still think there's fear because the relationship between Abraham and Rosita and Eugene was stronger than the relationship that Father Gabriel had with anybody. It's kind of easy to forgive someone's sins and atrocities when you don't have a relationship with the guy and it doesn't affect anyone in your group. This is a totally different dynamic. They've been traveling for a while now and not just Abraham and Rosita but Glenn and Maggie and Tara. He's been lying to all of them.

Especially since Eugene like to creepily watch people while they're having sex!
McDermitt: [Laughs]I loved that, man. I loved that we could do that moment because that was straight from the comics. It's just cool to see moments from the comics come to life on television and that's so creepy and awesome for that character. I absolutely loved it and it was such a fun scene to shoot with aftermath of getting caught by Tara and that sort of thing. It was so fun. It was such a great, great scene.

 

Michael Cudlitz
http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/11/09/walking-dead-michael-cudlitz-abraham-self-help/

 

[h=1]The Walking Dead's "Can of Whoop Ass" Michael Cudlitz Reveals What's Next and the Truth About His Casting[/h]by KRISTIN DOS SANTOSToday 7:02 PM PST

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AMC

Just when you thought you'd seen it all onThe Walking Dead, they go and do an episode that not only emotionally guts you, but makes it so you will NEVER LOOK AT A SOUP CAN THE SAME WAY AGAIN.
Spoilers Ahoy for anyone who hasn't yet seen tonight's installment, but we got the backstory for Abraham (Michael Cudlitz), which wasn't pretty: He decimated some "bad guys"with a soup can and his wife and small children were so terrified they fleed him, only to be found later on devoured by walkers. He put a gun in his mouth and was ready to pull the trigger, but found new purpose in meeting Eugene, who said he knew a cure that would end the Zombie Apocalypse.
Only problem: Eugene was a liar, liar pants on fire. And Abraham nearly killed him.
Michael Cudlitz's performance in this episode was stunning and effortlessly multi-layered (all the awards, please!). Here he talks about what comes next…
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AMC
Congratulations. I'm throwing away all my soup cans.
Ha! I saw on Twitter that they think I opened a Can of Whoop Ass, which is so funny and that they think I have gone completely ABE S--T. Which is my favorite thing I have seen in a long time in social media. #ABES--T
Well, the episode was gut-wrenching. Poor Abraham is in a very bad place. What did you think when you got the script?
Hellll Yessss! That was my first thought. No, it was awesome. I knew it was coming but I didn't know how specific it would be. When I got the role I asked [executive producer] Scott Gimple, ‘Is there any benefit for me to read the comics, are we going to be drawing anything specifically from the comics, or is it better for me to not read them?' And he said, ‘No absolutely read the comics. The emotional thrust and the emotional weight is going to be exactly the same. Whether or not this specific story is going to be exactly the same remains to be seen.' And he hit it pretty darn well on the head. There's a couple more graphic things that happen in the comics, that I don't think we needed to see on the show. But I was excited and could not be more happy with the script. I saw it two days ago and I don't think I could be happier with the end result.
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AMC
I love hearing that because this is kind of a derail, but when you were cast, there was a rumor that the producers really wanted you but you were hesitant to take on the role. I think maybe because your name was out there but it took a while for you to sign on. Can you speak to that?
No, I can't. Because I wasn't hesitant! There's always a little bit of truth in there somewhere, though, so let's find it. I wanted to do the show and there was an initialdiscussion that they weren't sure if I, an actor coming off of Southland if I was um…How do I say this without sounding like an ass, because I am not an ass! They didn't want the things that I had done prior to affect the show in any way in the sense that I would take away from it, in the sense that I might be too recognizable because of my previous work. And there was concern on AMC's part that it might distract from the show. But ultimately Scott really wanted me and some of the AMC execs really wanted me and so they figured it out. I was thrilled to even be considered once I knew what it was. At first I didn't know what the role was because that's how they do things, but when I found out what it was I said, OK we've got to make this happen.
Well, I'm glad it did. After tonight's emotional bomb, what is Abraham's mindset at this point? Because we know he lost his family, he was not only suicidal but was ready to pull the trigger and has now lost his reason for living all over again. Can he cope?
That's what we're gonna see, what does he have left to live for? How have his circumstances changed since the end of the flashback to now? Is there anyone in his life, is life worth living? But we've seen him meet people who are passionate about their dreams and find life worth living. We've seen him experience love again. We've seen him be proven wrong specifically by Glenn looking for Maggie. He's had a lot of growth in that time. So how does that affect him now that there's basically the same loss again but the circumstances are different? Eugene talks about all the people who have died along the way, and Abraham is processing that, all the people he has killed to keep Eugene alive. So there's a lot for him to process. And had he not been stopped, he would have killed Eugene.
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Obviously the fans will be hating on Eugene. And ya know, for good reason. Is there any chance for redemption for him?
There's always a chance for redemption for everybody. Human nature is to forgive. You can see, he kind of explains what it is. And that's one of the good things about the way Scott writes is you don't have to like everybody at every time. And that's life. You walk around and sometimes people who are close to you really piss you off. You know? And it's good storytelling. Conflict is good storytelling. Can you imagine the show without conflict? Hey, everybody we're going to DC! And the next week it ends because everybody's cured! You're the best, let's just clean up and go home! High five! Group hug! That would just suck. That's a road map for sh--ty TV.
We saw hints of Rick and Abraham getting closer, as they did in the books. Will that happen?
That may take some time but I would hope so. I would love to see that dynamic of two strong men who have different visions at times but ultimately hoping for the same result in the sense of making things work. But right now if Abraham is ever going to get to that point, he has a tremendous amount of healing to do and has to get right with purpose in life. He is completely purposeless.
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Spoiler Alert, but Abraham is one of the characters who dies in the books. And we don't know if the producers will go that route with the show, but do you ever feel like you're living on borrowed time?
When I started the show, I was like, ‘I'm going to die. Everybody dies.' And I just put that in my mind. In the book, he dies. And they're not following it, so they could speed things up or they could slow things down, but you know. Andrea is dead on the show and not dead in the comics. Tyrese is no longer around by the time Abraham comes around but in our world it is. So there are a lot of things that are different. The DNA is taken from the comics, but the actual storylines and what trajectory all these characters are on is not. But I try to keep it in the back of my mind, because you never know, and I don't want to pretend that I'm going to be around for a long time because I'm having so much fun that it would be emotionally…crappy. It's gonna suck when I get the news but the news is coming and that's gonna hopefully soften the blow.
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Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
I miss Southland. Do you keep in touch with Ben [McKenzie]? And now happy are you that you both landed on such strong shows?
Ecstatic. I just saw Ben at the Rangers game. We went to the Rangers opening night, the same weekend as Comic Con in NY and it was the night before he got the news of the pickup of the back half and I could not be more happy for him. He deserves it, he just plain out deserves it. Really good guy, really talented and I'll work with him again. Our paths will cross. There will be something in the future. Gotham needs to have me on as some crazy arch villain we just see here or there and then 5 or 7 years from now I come in and do half a season and big his big nemesis. I would love that.