All eight seasons of ‘Fear The Walking Dead’, the spinoff series to ‘The Walking Dead’, have just been released on Netflix in the US. One of its stars is Michael William Freeman, whose character Blake Sarno is part of a major plot arc in season three. The actor has also appeared in TV shows including ‘The Mentalist’, ‘Bones’ ‘CSI:NY’ and ‘Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders’, as well as a number of films. Here Michael tells us about the bonding experience of working on ‘Fear The Walking Dead’, his best birthday ever, and his nextNetflix show, ‘Pulse’.
For those who haven’t seen ‘Fear The Walking Dead’, what is it about?
“On the surface, ‘Fear The Walking Dead’ is about a blended family trying to navigate the perils of a zombie apocalypse. It’s about how they survive, the price they pay for that survival, and all the colourful characters and mind-bending things they encounter along the way. But really, the show is about the way people react when the guardrails of society fall away. It asks the question: ‘What makes us human?’ And the answer isn’t as simple as you might think.”
Tell us about the role you play in the series?
“I play Blake Sarno. He’s a member of the Broke Jaw Ranch militia, and is Troy Otto’s second in command. He’s an interesting character because, from the start, we see him wrestling with the morality of the militia’s mission – something that doesn’t seem to bother the rest of the Broke Jaw cohort. He’s committed to Troy’s cause, but over the course of the season he starts to see the cracks in the facade. It puts immense stress on his friendship with Troy and he’s forced to make some tough decisions… the consequences of which make for some real fireworks down the line.”
What was it like working with the other stars of the show?
“In the beginning, I worked most closely with Daniel Sharman (Troy Otto). But as the season progressed, my storyline converged with Frank Dilane (Nick Clark) and Alycia Debnam-Carey (Alicia Clark) in unexpected ways. I was lucky to get to work closely with so many members of this talented cast.”
Tell us about one of the most memorable behind-the-scenes moments?
“My birthday fell in the same week as Frank’s and Daniel’s. Celebrating your birthday on location, away from friends and family, can be pretty depressing. We had kind of resigned ourselves to a low-key birthday this particular year. I don’t remember who came up with the idea first, but we decided that we were going to go big and throw a costume party – on two hours’ notice. We didn’t have high hopes for the whole affair considering how little notice we’d given everyone, but much to our surprise the entire cast and crew showed up. They threw together whatever costume they could on essentially no notice and we danced, sang karaoke, and partied well into the night. It was a real bonding moment for all of us. It’s one of my favourite birthdays to date. And the three of us still remember to wish each other well every year… even when we’re in different corners of the world.”
What’s been your favourite project to work on?
“That’s a tough question, as I’m proud of all of the work that I’ve done. I’ve been fortunate enough to play a wider array of characters than most actors, so it’s really hard to pick one. Blake Sarno is particularly special to me because of how much he changed over the course of the show. With each episode we see a little bit more of his humanity revealed. And by the time we get to the end of the season we see someone stripped to his core… and that’s a thrilling thing to experience as an actor. ‘Fear The Walking Dead’ was one of the best working experiences of my life and I’ll always be immensely proud of this show.”
What’s up next?
“I’m currently working on a Netflix series called ‘Pulse’ that I’m very excited for everyone to see. I think it’s some of my best work. “
