Here at Fandomize, we were recently fortunate enough to speak with Matthew August Jeffers about his role in Episode 2 of The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live. Check out the interview below!
Shaun Hood: When Nat first meets Michonne, what makes him believe in her to such an extent right from the start?
Matthew August Jeffers: I think that Nat’s MO is loyalty. I think there’s a saying, “real recognizes real,” and Nat is very highly emotionally intelligent. I think he sees that instantly in Michonne, that she’s searching for this somebody that means a lot to her. Speaking to someone who comes from a place of loyalty and always caring about the people you love – it’s instant connection. I think they become fast friends and acquaintance, the bond grows deep, fast.
SH: What do you have to say about the well done world building in The Ones Who Live? I think the writing is great, and has an amazing flow to the point where practically every plotpoint is executed in a way that makes so much sense. I feel like writing like this is not always guaranteed in the world of television.
MAJ: From the set design to the costuming, the makeup, it is a well-oiled machine over there. They’re all artists, and Scott Gimple and Danai who penned episode four, incredibly talented writer and obviously actress. It’s a joy. To specifically answer your question, when you have good writing on the page, it’s like being in the carpool lane. It’s being in the express lane. The traffic just opens up. You have less cutting down to do, you have less work to do because it’s all on the page. It just becomes delivering the lines, and not necessarily muscling it to make sense, or you know what I mean? So, when you have a well-written script, the whole thing feels lighter because it’s like, “Okay, I’m going to say, these are the sentences I’m going to say, and that’s all I have to worry about because it’s all there.” And that’s the gift of, that’s why we had to take care of our writers last year in the strike because they’re so crucial, so essential to good storytelling.
SH: In your mind, does Nat still feel confident about Michonne in the moments leading into his death? But also, is his death the ending that he kind of knew was going to happen? Was he predicting that that was how he was going to go, something that he wouldn’t get to go back home with Michonne, at least, because he says earlier in the episode, “I know how it ends.”?
MAJ: I was going to say that line. I think, going back to someone who is emotionally intelligent and is really smart and has been around the block a few times, when he says, “I know how it ends,” I think he’s being prescient there, prophesizing. And I think that’s why there’s a gravitas in that line, and a sobriety in that line. And how does he feel about Michonne? I mean, I would like to believe the way I played it, I’d like to believe he’s at peace, and that he is confident that Michonne’s next chapter begins when his chapter ends. And I think it’s that symbol.
SH: He knows that it’s not her first rodeo with craziness in the world.
MAJ: Yeah, I think that when she takes his lighter, that is the poetry of, danger gave Nat the lighter, the fuel to keep going and to build his world. Michonne takes Nat’s lighter to kind of pass that fire on. I think that’s actually one of the beautiful messages of The Walking Dead as a franchise, is amidst this desolate landscape of death and despair, how do people come together to extend a hand to make sure that they keep surviving, and what do they need to survive? And I think in this specific storyline, that lighter is a hugely important symbol of love and extending a hand.
SH: Do you think Nat would’ve gotten along with Rick even though he’s pretty much responsible for the deaths of his family and friends given that Rick is the person Michonne has been looking for?
MAJ: Yeah. I think that Rick and Nat would have gotten along really well because, like Rick. Andy is amazing, and I loved getting to work with Andy and getting to know him as a human being. So, yes, absolutely, I think they would’ve gotten along swimmingly. But I think, like you said, I think Nat trusts Michonne to the point of, if she loves someone this intensely, right, then he must be worth, then they must be worthwhile, right? Then they must be good at heart. And I think that’s why Nat feels at peace, that if this is the guy that you’ve been chasing after, then I’m going to trust you that this is who you’re supposed to be with, and putting that trust in Michonne and trusting that that love is real and it’s there, and that it can continue to grow.
SH: Are you a huge fan of The Walking Dead outside of The Ones Who Live? If so, for how long and to what extent? And I guess, to add to that, if you have anything quickly to say about the emotional intelligence maybe, because I feel like emotional intelligence gets examined a lot in every Walking Dead story, and I love learning about just the concept of the definition of emotional intelligence as a college student.
MAJ: I think that there aren’t many characters in the entertainment industry dwarfism with that have a lot of emotional intelligence. Tyrion obviously comes to mind. There aren’t many. So, I think it’s really profound that Scott Gimple and Danai and these creators have infused an actor who happens to have dwarfism with such depth of wisdom and wit and intellect and ability, just because it’s just so exquisitely rare in this industry. I hope things are changing. This is another notch forward for representation, and I’m very fortunate to be able to have told that story, and I hope to continue to tell more stories.
When I moved to New York in 2013, I was a huge Walking Dead fan. I would have Walking Dead viewing parties, and then we’d watch the Talking Dead afterward with my roommates and I. Would be in acting class during the day and I’d come home and watch the show at night and be like, okay, how do I get from acting class to that show? Because that was the show. 10 years later, I’ve fallen off a bit in the past few years because I’ve started to get some work and I’ve kind of gone my own way. But 10 years later, to have stepped into The Walking Dead and appreciate the level of artistry from the set design to the costuming, makeup, I mean, artists top to bottom on this show. And I think specifically, in The Ones Who Live, it really shows. It’s just so cinematic and rich and textured, and thrilled to be a part of it. Dream come true.
Catch The Ones Who Live every Sunday at 9:00 PM EST on AMC.