The Walking Dead Season 3 has introduced us to many new recurring characters, and we've seen Martinez play a bigger part in the second half of the season. If he survives this week's finale, hopefully we'll learn more about the character in the next season. Until then, you can hear more about Jose Pablo Cantillo's experience playing the character in the latest Q&A feature from AMC:
via AMC- "Q: Martinez gets some great moments with his baseball bat this season. Did you have to dust off any little league skills for those scenes?
A: I did have to practice, although I have a background in martial arts. I studied Jeet Kune Do and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. On element of Jeet Kune Do is that I had several of years of practice with the kali stick -- a stick with a size and length similar to a baseball bat. It might be a little bit different, but a secret that I'll let you in on is that on-set we'd swap out the bat for a rubber bat, which is actually weighted like a kali stick. It's sort of to protect you from hurting yourself so that you can wield it with a little more confidence. I was able to have fun and make it look kind of flashy because of that.
Q: Martinez seems to get a real release from taking down walkers. What's the closest thing like that for you?
A: Martial arts and surfing. In martial arts, the way that they train really does channel that killer instinct. We used to put motorcycle helmets on and go full force at each other with these sticks to train. Or we would put on the gloves, and the other guy would wear a motorcycle helmet and we would just rip into him. Knees, elbows, head-butts -- you don't have to pull your punches in those situations. There's a little bit of an element of acting in it as well. You always motivate with a training scenario, like there's a loved one that you're defending or something. But in terms of my own personal enjoyment these days, surfing is the big release for me; less martial arts now that I'm getting a little bit older.
Q: What's the secret to a great walker kill?
A: There are so many different departments at play when you do a good kill. The writers write it. Then you sit down with a stunt coordinator, and they figure out your skill set. On location they bring in the effects person, and he'll say, "It'll be great if you can actually wield the bat in this way, and then we'll make an even more awesome splatter." It's a team effort; you really have to trust all the different departments and collaborate to make the kills epic."
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To read the rest of this Q&A and others from AMC, visit their official website for The Walking Dead TV series.
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