We caught up with Brighton Sharbino last month to talk about her role on The Walking Dead Season 4, but that took place before her big part in Episode 414, which was easily one of this season's best episodes. Our friends over at The Walking Dead Cast recently interviewed Brighton and plenty of discussion took place around that episode, so we wanted to give our readers some of the highlights:
When you are playing Lizzie and as long as they’re not being super aggressive, if they are just hanging around, what does Lizzie see when she looks at a zombie?
Brighton Sharbino: I think that Lizzie sees them like people, not like a specific person, but in one episode she said that there was someone or something… she still thinks they are somewhat alive. I think it’s a hard concept for her, where her hard-wiring doesn’t wrap around the fact because there are people that are dead, there are walkers, and there are people - a new transition in that. I think she thinks of it as a new kind of being.
That’s interesting. We talk about this show a lot and we talked about Lizzie a lot, and I was thinking, “Well, if she just thinks the zombies are like people, then that’s kind of not that big of a deal…”, but then she also did that thing with the bunny rabbit. That makes me think that, like you said, there’s something off.
Brighton Sharbino: I don’t think she does anything out of anger. I think she was just really confused about things. She doesn’t see it as a normal thing, she is off in that way. She doesn’t see [zombies] like other people do, she sees them in a new way. In the last episode, the one where Carol shot her, she said, “I can hear them.” So, I think, in some ways, that her mind is playing tricks on her in that way. She is confused; she doesn’t understand. Even with Judith - it wasn’t out of anger or hatred. I think she was experimenting - trying to figure out about the zombies. All of it was part of her big experiment. Her conclusion was wrong, and I think that led to some bad things for her.
When you say that, it makes me feel even worse about what Carol did. I am curious if you think Carol did the right thing.
Brighton Sharbino: In some ways, I think that she did, and in some ways, I think that she didn’t. I guess it was kind of her decision to make because she was the one looking after [Lizzie] and she didn’t think she could help her anymore
Right, it’s so sad. We were watching it with a few other people, and there was this one woman who I don’t even know, grabbed my knee. She was like [in a distressed voice], “I’m grabbing your knee; I don’t know who you are, but it’s too intense!” [Laughter] It was tough watching it.
Brighton Sharbino: Yeah, it was a sad thing because Lizzy wasn’t trying to be mean. She just wanted her sister to live with her forever. To be with her.
Oh, that’s really sweet and hopeful… in a way. [laughs] Are you sad to be off the show?
Brighton Sharbino: I’m definitely going to miss everybody. I was really upset that we finished shooting, but I just want what’s best for the show, and I think [the writers] thought that it would be a good episode - that it would be a good addition to the show.
What was your favorite thing about working on The Walking Dead?
Brighton Sharbino: I think it was just nice to get to meet everyone and hang out with them. It’s like a big family over there; it’s so welcoming. I had a really good time working with everybody. They are all brilliant actors.
When Lizzie was looking at the flowers, right before the end. Do you think she had any idea about what was going to happen?
Brighton Sharbino: She doesn’t think that she did anything wrong; so, I don’t think she thought that Carol would shoot her for doing nothing. She thought she didn’t do anything.
A couple more questions, when the zombie was stuck in the tracks, was that a real mouse you were holding?
Brighton Sharbino: [Laughs] At the beginning it was a real mouse; it was really cool. It actually peed on my hands a few times, [Laughter] but I had fun with the little rat. We would go right to [the zombie extra’s] mouth, and then we would cut and we would take a foam mouse, with jelly inside, and put it in his mouth. [Laughs]
When you were on the set of The Walking Dead did you hang out with the other kid actors, like Chandler [Riggs] and Kyla [Kenedy] a lot?
Brighton Sharbino: Yeah, Kyla was actually my friend when I was seven; we used to go to the same acting class. Then we were at the same school. We went to the same school together.
Is that one reason why they picked you both because you had a relationship already?
Brighton Sharbino: I think that was… because at the chemistry read we were both there. I think the original role of [Mika] was for a boy, and then they changed it up. We were so excited because we actually had a sleepover the day we got our call back.
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Once again, we want to thank our friends at The Walking Dead Cast for conducting this interview. We've included some previously released behind-the-scenes photos from her last episode. To read our exclusive Q&A with her, check out:
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