Actor Jon Bernthal plays Shane on AMC's The Walking Dead. He left his partner to die in a zombie-filled hospital and banged the guy's wife. What's he got to say for himself?

AMC's The Walking Dead has been hailed as the "best new show" of 2010. It gave Boardwalk Empire a run for its money and became the most-watched show of the year, with over 5 million people tuning in to watch Frank Darabont's version of the zombie apocalypse unfold every Sunday. Based on the comic series of the same name by Robert Kirkman, it's the first zombie-centric TV series we've ever seen, which also makes it the best zombie-centric TV series we've ever seen.

The show is centered around Andrew Lincoln's Rick Grimes, a police officer who wakes up in a hospital to discover that the world's been overrun with the undead. After gathering his things and hitting the road, Rick discovers a pocket of survivors living in a campsite just outside of Atlanta...including his wife and child. As if dealing with a zombie apocalypse wasn't enough, Rick's wife— Lori— was under the impression that her husband had died during the zombie outbreak, and she's shacked up with his old partner, Shane, in the aftermath. Ruh-roh!

Rick's supposed to be the lead on the show— the guy that the audience identifies with and roots for— just as they did in the Kirkman's comic series. Lincoln does a great job on the series, to be sure, but Jon Bernthal's work as Shane Walsh has been an unexpected joy to watch each week. "Unexpected" because, in the comics, Shane was a one-note character: He's just the guy that took a shot at his best friend's wife the moment he had the chance to do so. He also doesn't stick around for very long once Rick comes back into the picture.

But in director Frank Darabont's televised version of The Walking Dead, Shane has managed to make it through the entire first season (which, admittedly, was only six episodes, but still...), and it doesn't look like he's going anywhere any time soon. I sat down with Jon Bernthal to ask him a few questions about The Walking Dead, what it's like to know that your character (read: your job) could cease to exist in each new episode, what the deal was with that rumor about the show's writers getting canned, and why the hell we have to wait until next October for new episodes of AMC's best new show.

Apparently, Bernthal had read a review I'd written of the show's season finale, liked what I had to say about his work, and dropped me a line to thank me for the kind words.

First of all, thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me. I'm a huge fan of the show, and I was kinda flattered that you'd even take the time to respond to a review like that.

Oh, dude, look, I appreciate the review, and all the stuff you wrote about the show! My old man sent it to me, and it was really cool, so I wanted to reach out and say ...you know, I'm a total monkey when it comes to computers, so I can barely check my own email, but I really appreciated what you had to say.

Hey, you deserved it. The show is really good. And it's beyond popular: it's pulling in ratings that are overwhelming, breaking records, it's ridiculous. So, I set it up to where people could submit their own questions for this interview. Some of 'em are mine, but some of 'em are also reader-submitted. The most common question you were asked was, "Why aren't you dead yet?"

(Laughs) Yeah, man, I don't know. I can imagine that would be a common question. I don't know what I can say about that. I hadn't read the comic before I read Frank (Darabont)'s pilot script, and— for an actor like me, who's at the beginning of his career and going through pilot season— when I read the script, it blew me away. It was better than anything else out there. And I really felt that, for this part and for this project, I should say "No" and not commit to anything else before I got my day in court on The Walking Dead.

I didn't know anything about the comic or Robert Kirkman...I knew about Frank, of course, but that was it. But it was also Gale Anne Hurd, and it was Frank, and it was AMC, and it was...y'know, it was a fuckin' rad-ass script! They did tell me that Shane was a character that does die (in the comics), but it didn't phase me. I just really wanted to be a part of this thing. There was no specificity whatsoever about how long I would last in this thing.

I think that (Shane's death) is essential for the story, and it's essential for Carl, and it's essential for Lori, but I just wanna get a chance to earn it, to put his mark down on the group. And I think they're doing that. He's going to have had an effect on the group when he...y'know, when he does go. But I have no idea when, or how, if he is...I know as much as you guys do.

They've been willing to go pretty far off the source material. The pilot was, like, panel-for-panel the same as the comic, but since then, they've gone pretty far out from where Kirkman's series was at the same time. And if that's the case, I don't think it'd be impossible for them to keep you around...y'know, for another full season, or longer. Who knows what they're gonna do at this point? If you were a sh-tty actor, you probably woulda gotten shot a long time ago.

(Laughs) Yeah, and I appreciate that. That would be awesome, and I know that Robert's kinda expressed that. That was something in the comic that...he wrapped up Shane a little more quickly than he would have liked to, and he didn't get as much as he could out of it. But with the (show), he's able to get more out of it and kinda revisit the whole thing, you know? That's just how cool of a guy he is. Some guys get really precious about their stuff, especially when it's as popular as his comic series is. They say, "We don't want anyone putting their hands on this" or "This is The Bible, don't fuck with it", but I think that Robert's letting Frank have his say, letting him do his thing, and letting him bring his own color and vibe to it. He very well could stay around for quite awhile, I just have no idea...

And it's tough, not knowing. Y'know, for planning my life and my career and everything, but I think it's pretty cool. I did a movie with a bunch of people that were in The Sopranos, and they told me how they'd react whenever they got a new script, and they didn't know whether or not it was going to be their last one. And it seems like the same situation here, and that just adds to the acting atmosphere of the whole thing. I think it's pretty cool.

Well, in that situation, what happens? As an actor on the show, if your character could be killed at any moment, would you only get, like, a week's notice? Three weeks? A few days? Or would they tell you three scripts down the line that that's what they're working towards? How does that process work for you?

Probably what will happen is...that's a good question. I'm a series regular, so I'm part of the show, contractually, so there's nothing that can be done about that. But they can kill you any time they want. But I don't know the answer to that. I'm close to everyone, and I think that everyone would want to know...but then again, maybe Frank doesn't want us to know, and he wants it to be a surprise. My job is to just get the scripts as they come and play through them. I don't think it would necessarily help as an actor to know two or three episodes ahead of time that he's gonna get killed...unless you wanted to sorta chart his mental breakdown or something.

But I assume that before we get started, Frank and I will sit down and he'll let me know what he's thinking. But for now, dude, I just don't know.

A couple of weeks ago there was a big uproar online about the situation with the writers on the show. We heard that Frank Darabont was basically wiping the slate clean and taking scripts for the second season on a case-by-case basis from new writers and scrapping the writing team from season one. Can you tell me anything about that, and what the situation is now?

Y'know, I know what you know. I read about it, but I haven't talked to anyone about it. The one thing I can say is that every person who's a writer on the show is fucking awesome. These are some of the best screenwriters in Hollywood. And it always sucks when someone loses a paycheck, especially in this economy...but these guys are really, really in-demand writers, and they'll get snatched up really quick if they don't already (have worked lined up).

But this is Frank's show. Like all really good shows on TV— like Mad Men with Matt Weiner and The Sopranos with David Chase, or Breaking Bad and Weeds— there's sorta one central figure that's meticulous and detailing everything that goes down on the show, and for us that's Frank. And Frank was really hands-on with every part of the show, and if that's his decision, I stand by him. He's the man, it's his baby, and he knows what he's doing.

I'm sure he does. I think— given the quality of the first six episodes— he's kinda earned the benefit of the doubt.

I don't know what's going on— the show was shot in Atlanta, the writers were (in Los Angeles), and we never met the writers— but I don't think it's one of those Hollywood situations where you're dealing with some fucking egomaniac douchebag. Frank's a really good guy, he's honest, and he's talented, and I don't think he'd just make some decision out of...look, he's had lots of success, so I'm sure it's not some thing where success is going to his head and he's making rash decisions. He knows what he's doing.

What's the response been like from the cast so far to the success of the show? I mean, I know when you're working on it, you're probably like, "Oh, this is gonna kick ass", but when the response is as overwhelmingly positive as it's been in this case, and you're breaking records...is it shocking? What is that like?

Well, look, the whole cast is...there's not a single person on the cast that's, like, an asshole. All the actors are super-talented, and we all really dig each other, and I think we all know how blessed we were to be there and to have those amazing scripts. We all knew how lucky we were when we were there and we had a ton of fun doing it, and we worked really hard. We knew the pedigree of AMC— which, I mean, fuck, dude, I think it's the best network on TV— and one of the coolest things about AMC is we didn't need to do huge numbers to stay alive. We could do two or three million viewers per week and be good.

The cast all live in different areas and different places, so we haven't had the chance to celebrate it together yet, but I think the cool thing is that there isn't much Hollywood in this cast, so we're just really happy and ready to get back to Atlanta and start working on it. It's a really fun show to work on. We're just excited that we get a chance to do more episodes.

Y'know, I've never been a part of a show that all my friends and family actually liked.

(Laughs)

Yeah! Y'know, shows I've been on before, I've been kinda embarrassed to tell people about. Last Thanksgiving I was on this show, and when my family went around the table to say what they were thankful for, my Uncle Steve said he was thankful for the network (that the show was on) cancelling the show because no one tuned into that piece of shit. It's so cool to be on something that my friends and family really dig. I'm really psyched.

They announced the second season almost immediately. I think it was only two or three episodes in that AMC greenlit a second, full-13-episodes season. And then, a few weeks later, they announced that the second season wouldn't arrive until next October. When you hear that, are you like the fans, where you just say, "Fuck, that sucks", or are you just...I dunno, happy to be involved? In other words, does the long time in-between seasons bug you at all?

(Laughs) I'm happy to be involved. I'm doing a really cool movie right now, it gives us all a chance to do other stuff, and...y'know, I don't know all that much about this Hollywood stuff. I've only been out here a few years, so I don't know everything about it, but the one thing I have learned— over and over again, and especially with independent film— is that you don't rush shit.

Y'know, we could've rushed it, and we could've gone right back to work and made a bunch of episodes while the show's really hot and get 'em out there by the summer, and I think that we probably could have kept the ratings and most of the quality of the show...and that'd be great. But I think the quality of the show could've been jeopardized, and that's just not how Frank rolls at all.

He puts so much into this show, and— y'know, it's been a whirlwind. We just got finished doing the press tour, so he wouldn't even have had any time to write anything...and I just think that it's "Quality First". If we lose a bunch of viewers, well, that's a risk that I think they're willing to take, because the quality of the show will bring those viewers back. It's daunting, I guess, because I'd like to get back to work, but I think to maintain the quality of the show, it's important.

And we're gonna have more money next season, too, which I think can only help make the show even better. It was unusual for them to greenlit six episodes sight unseen, but now that they've seen the ratings and stuff...I think that next year they're just gonna hand Frank the checkbook and let him get at it. I'm excited for it.

Fair enough.

(Laughs) Look, I know, I know as fans it's hard, and you want more of the show now. I get it. I know that six episodes is a really short season. I dig that people are jonesing for more, and I understand what you're talking about, but—

Well, people that are really big fans of great TV— shows like The Sopranos or Mad Men or what have you— they're used to be lag-times in-between seasons. I mean, hell, The Sopranos would sometimes be off the air for, like, eighteen months! When you're used to that kinda down-time—

Yeah. And it was like an event when it would come back! And I don't think that we can talk about The Walking Dead in the same way that we talk about The Sopranos, not at this point, but at the same time I think that it's a decision only aimed to maintain the integrity of the show and to keep the quality high. You also gotta remember that the promotions team at AMC are really good, and they did a great job of getting the show out there, and—-

I don't think anyone's going to be confused about when the show's coming back.

(Laughs)

Y'know? I think in the month or two leading up to that season premiere, there's gonna be billboards in every living room, commercials on every channel—

 (Laughs) Yeah, you're right.

Well, let me get to a few of the questions that got sent in. One asks, "Do you think that Shane is, at heart, a good guy?"

Yeah, man, without a doubt.

When I first started auditioning for this thing and I first got introduced to Shane, the character kinda blew me away. At his core— what this guy is— is a really good friend. It's something I really relate to. The guys that are my really good friends are the guys I grew up with, and I think that in the TV show Rick and Shane have known each other their entire lives. Like, I think they're probably childhood, lifelong friends that grew up together.

And I think that, naturally, Shane has always been Rick's number-two guy. He's kinda like Rick's pitbull. When Rick says, "Jump", he says "How high?" They were great that way playing football together in high school, or picking up girls in bars, or as partners— as police officers. I think they've probably just always been good that way. And when Shane perceives Rick to have passed, I think that Shane is thrust into this number-one position he's never been in before.

So, he takes it upon himself to go save Lori and Carl. At that point, that's the closest thing to a family that he knows. When he saves them and takes them and those survivors out into the woods, he's their leader, and I think there's something very intoxicating about that. He sorta has to rise to the challenge. He's not used to it. He's more sloppy, more of a number-two guy. He operates really well when he's being given orders.

When Rick comes back, I think he's overjoyed. But now he's been number one, and he's been with Lori, and he's had all these people following him, so now it's, like, that classic tale of what power can do to someone. And I think that there's an overwhelming feeling of guilt mixed with appreciation that he feels towards Rick, and I think that what's gonna happen is we're really going to see Shane come more and more unraveled.

Uh-huh.

But, y'know, the thing about these characters that Kirkman created is, there's no really good or bad guys. Rick's really flawed, and I think that Shane makes huge mistakes. But I think that he's a good guy, and if he were able to he'd take it all back, but he's in too deep to do that now.

Well, it sounds like you've done a lot of mental homework on Shane's backstory, and that you've got his history figured out going back a long way, so you may be able to answer this one. One reader asks about Evil Ed's Walking Dead podcast, and the theory that Shane and Lori were having an affair long before the zombie apocalypse ever occurred. But according to what you've created, that...wouldn't be the case?

No, look, man, I think it's great that people have their theories and their ideas. When I went to the New York Comic-Con and I announced my character's name as Shane Walsh, I got booed. I get hatemail about it. I mean, people hate this dude, and I think that's great. And I think that any theory is...I mean, look, who says that just because I'm playing the role I have any better idea what happened beforehand than anyone else? I will tell you that in my mind, as far as I'm concerned, he absolutely didn't have an affair with Lori before the apocalypse. He never thought about that consciously. But subconsciously? Who knows? Who knows how those things manifest?

But I really dig that all these characters have a chance to fall off the deep end and then redeem themselves in some way. Like in that (next to) last episode, where we see Shane go back into that hospital for Rick. We learn a little about what Shane's all about and what he was thinking at that time, and I think it makes a difference. It's a fair theory, but I don't agree with it. I think he's a good friend, and— whether he thought about it or not— he wouldn't have acted upon it if he'd known (that Rick was alive).

 It's interesting, really, because in the book Shane's a one-note character, and on the show, they've— and when I say "they", I mean you and the writers— really fleshed him out and made him sympathetic. Y'know, there are some people that are proclaiming themselves to be on "Team Shane" based on the show.

I heard about that, yeah.

Yeah, and you wouldn't get that response from the comic. I don't have a question here, I just think it's good that you guys have done that. He was just a sh-tbag in the comics, no one would be aligning themselves with him were it not for the dynamics presented on the show.

I think you're right, but I think that the comic leaves out that, at one point, Shane had to go to Rick's house, get Lori and Carl, shoot his way through hundreds— if not thousands— of zombies. Who knows what went down? The fact of the matter is, he didn't high-tail it out of there. He saved people, even this group of survivors. There's nothing cowardly or villainous about that. He's a good guy.

What happens after that? He comes unraveled and breaks the fuck down, but I think that— given the circumstances— that's fair.

We've seen Lori break down, I think we're going to see Andrea break down, and I think that— like the comics— Rick is going to break down. So, I just think that to play him as a villain would be a real waste, so I'm glad they haven't encouraged me to do that. I think that they want everyone to be pulling for Rick and be wary of Shane, but...I don't think it's as clear cut as "Rick's a good guy, Shane's a bad guy". Surely, with what happened in that last episode between him and Lori, I'm sure he'd wanna take that back.

Well, I was gonna say that: Every time you start thinking, "Ya know what? Screw Rick, I'm on 'Team Shane'", the writers immediately follow that up with something where you just look at Shane and say, "What the hell are you doing, dude?" You're ruining all the good-will that you just built up with us! They go outta their way to balance it out.

Yeah. Not to sound like a high-brow, pretentious, actor-douchebag, but how I like to look at Shane is: He's part Iago, part Othello, and one part Cassio. He's got all three of them in him. He's not as simple as "He's a jealous bad guy". It's all those things. There's a lot of things at play, and it's what made me want to play him so bad. I'm psyched to be playing him, really.

 Are you a fan of zombie movies in general?

I wasn't so much before this, but now I am. I dig 'em a lot.

Do you have an opinion on the "Fast Zombie" thing? As in: should zombies be able to run, or do you prefer the shambling zombies?

I think that they shouldn't be able to full-out run. What I think is cool is, based on the length of their disease— how long they've had it, how long since they've fed— or if they're in a big group, that kinda determines how quick they can get. I kinda like that. The only thing that matters to me, man, is that it's consistent.

Well, I remember in the second episode there was a moment where it looked like a zombie was gonna start climbing a ladder, and I was like, "Oh, what the hell is this—"

(Laughs) Yeah.

But, yeah, I agree. I like that theory: that they're mobility is based on how "freshly dead" they are. I can go with that.

Yeah, yeah. As long as it's consistent, as long as it's been thought out and it's not like there's just some dude on set that wants to get out there and show what he's got by running in front of the camera (laughs). That's another thing with Greg Nicotero (ed. note: the effects mastermind on the show) and Frank: no one's gonna slip through the cracks and be doing that kinda stuff on the show, something they don't want. They're sticklers on that.

Here's another reader-submitted one: If the zombie apocalypse were tomorrow, what three things would you want to have on hand with you?

Oh, man: water, fuel— like, gasoline— and...uh...a baseball bat. Yeah, definitely a baseball bat.

Not a shotgun, maybe some ammo?

No, because a shotgun's great, but I think the shotgun...it'll save you a bunch of times, but you're gonna run outta ammunition eventually. And then the sound's going to attract all those other zombies...so, yeah, definitely a baseball bat.

Speaking of which, the show's really gory. Like, more gory than anyone expected. When it was announced that The Walking Dead was going to AMC, I think a lot of people were hoping that it'd end up on HBO or something, somewhere where they could really let loose with the gore. But AMC hasn't pulled any punches. Have you been surprised by that?

(Laughs) Haha, yeah. Even when we were there, we were like, "There is no fucking way this is gonna get on the air". When they were eating that horse? We were like, "No way, man". But they did it. It's one of those things, though, where Frank was really clear. There were rules about language, and there were rules about sex, but there were no rules about violence and gore. It's pretty weird that we can show someone getting shot in the head or ripped apart an eaten, but we can't even say "goddamn", but that's, uh...

Look, AMC really knows what they're doing, and they knew it wouldn't work if they pulled punches. But even if you're watching, like, Breaking Bad or Mad Men— it's a different kinda show, of course, but still— they're very smart about what they'll allow on the show. There's never sex or violence for the sake of having sex and violence, and they're not idiots. They knew if they made a zombie show without any gore this thing wouldn't fly. No one wanted to see that.

But, yeah, to answer your question: I've been shocked, but I think it's so fucking rad. Norman Reedus? With his crossbow? So badass.

It's jaw-dropping, what you guys are getting away with. OK, finally, I have one last question, and I think I already know the answer but I'm gonna get yelled at if I don't ask it, so here goes: Can you tell us anything about season two? I know it's not even been written yet, but do you know anything about what direction the show's headed in?

Man, I swear to you: I know absolutely nothing. If you want, though, we can talk before the new year starts and I'll tell you everything I got. I know we're gonna start back at the CDC, where we ended, but that's all I know. But we'll talk again.

Absolutely.

Thus concluded my time with The Walking Dead's Jon Bernthal.

The Walking Dead hits DVD and Blu-ray on March 8th, 2011. The second season of The Walking Dead begins in October of 2011.

Photos courtesy of AMC.

Scott Wampler is a standup comic, humor writer, entertainment blogger, and man of constant sorrow from Austin, TX. When he's not mainlining vodka tonics, he's contributing articles to a variety of entertainment websites—Chud.com, Collider.com, Gawker.com—and operates primarily as the National Comedy Examiner for Examiner.com, where he specializes in a form of entertainment reporting that can best be described as "frequent jokes made at Jay Leno's expense". If you feel like contacting Scott about anything-advice, naming your child, learning who your favorite character on Arrested Development should be—feel free to contact him here.