With The Walking Dead on a season break until February, we're talking to members of the cast and crew about the first eight episodes. For the first feature, we have our exclusive interview with Vincent M. Ward who plays Oscar on the show. He talks about his favorite moments from the first half of the season, as well as his role in the mid-season finale, "Made to Suffer":
*Spoiler Warning: This interview contains spoilers from episode 3.08*
How far ahead of time did you know of Oscar's fate in episode 8? Did you know before the episode started filming?
Vincent M. Ward: You usually get the call about your death, but I ended up reading about it. I say that is my fault because I was in make-up that day and the new script was just sitting there. So, I started reading and..."Oscar dies???" [laughs] I was in shock, but that's how I found it. I've known for maybe three or four months now and I kept it quite. I didn't want to spoil it for anybody.
Was it tough to leave the show after having only been on for such a short period of time? What was it like for you to shoot your death scene?
Vincent M. Ward: It was hard, man. It wasn't just hard for me, but for everyone because it was a bit of a shocker. Oscar just joined the group and showed that he's trustworthy, and now he's dead. There was something funny, though...
When you get shot, you're wearing one of those blood packs. I was near the bus, pushing Glenn up to the top. I raised my arm and the pack was supposed to explode, but it didn't go off. When nothing happened, everyone is looking at me, so I just got on top of the bus, jumped off and said "I'm free!!!! It didn't work... everyone can go home right now..." [laughs].
It broke the ice and everyone was laughing so hard. It's always a tough time when a cast member dies, but I think that's the hardest we laughed the whole time I was there.
Was that your final day of filming or did you have to come back after your death for additional shooting?
Vincent M. Ward: We shot the whole gun fight scene again and again, so I had to come back for two or three days. Even though you know you're dead, you have to give 100% for your fellow cast members.
That gunfight seemed really intense and you usually don't see that kind of action in a TV series. Did you enjoy filming that segment?
Vincent M. Ward: I think we all had a blast. It was just so exciting, man. Even though they were fake bullets, you could still hurt somebody. You had to always make sure there was a clear path before you shot your gun. It's loud, smoke is all over the place, and everyone is shooting. It was probably the best scene I have ever been in and reminded me of that huge shootout scene from Heat. It's something I'll never forget. That was my first time meeting Jon Bernthal also, unfortunately... [laughs].
I recently talked with Lew Temple, who had nothing but great things to say about you and the time you two spent on the show. What can you tell me about working with him?
Vincent M. Ward: I can only say great things about Lew. He's a down-to-Earth guy and I can say he's a friend of mine now. I loved working with him and I learned a lot, because he's been in the business for a while. I miss working with him, but we do stay in touch.
Looking back at your work on Season 3, what are some of the moments you'll always remember?
Vincent M. Ward: I'll always remember when I walked outside of the prison for the first time and saw all of the zombies. I stood there and thought, "Wow, what have I gotten myself into." [laughs]
Even going back a little bit further than that, I'll remember meeting all of the guys for the first time. It felt like we were a team and as time went on, it felt like a family. It wasn't just the cast either, but the crew. It was everybody, from the executive producers to PA's.
I can only take good from this because it was all good. It was work, but it was also something I loved to do. It doesn't seem like work and I would have stayed there 24 hours a day if I could.
Of course, I'll always remember the shooting scene from the last episode and also, the scene where I could have shot Rick. I'll never forget it because Lew showed me how to twirl the gun and Andy kept giving me his gun to practice.
Many of our readers were probably first introduced to you in The Walking Dead and may be interested in seeing you in other projects. What do you have coming up?
Vincent M. Ward: You'll see me in GQ magazine next. I'm the face of a clothing line and I'm flying out to New York this month for it. I have a play next month in LA, called The Conversation, and I just had a huge audition for a show called The Americans, so hopefully you'll see me as a character on there. I've also been asked to appear at conventions, which I'm really excited about.
---------
I'd like to thank Vincent for taking the time to talk with us once again. If you're near the Burbank area this weekend, you can meet up with him on Saturday afternoon for a signing event that is taking place. For more details, visit: http://ekcomicsandgames.com/
We have more special features on the way, including an interview with showrunner Glen Mazzara to discuss the first half of Season 3 and the future of The Walking Dead. Catch up on our recent coverage with the following article links:
Daily Dead's Official Podcast! Daily Dead's Official Podcast!
