Danai Gurira Talks How She Handles Both ‘Walking Dead’ Super-Fans And Her Katana With Similar Ease

Danai Gurira doesn’t just play a badass on TV — she is a badass. But not just any kind, she’s an actress who’s currently starring in two concurrent New York plays, all while slicing and dicing her way to safety on AMC’s The Walking Dead. Gurira plays the katana-wielding Michonne so well, it’s hard to remember that she’s just a normal person, and she isn’t actually the one survivor you’d want next to you during a zombie apocalypse. She’s as good to her legion of fans as she is brutal to walkers, and can handle their enthusiasm and disconcerting tattoos of her bust etched permanently into their skin with ease.

Remember when she killed zombies non-stop for what felt like forever back in season four of The Walking Dead? There’s a cool story behind that scene. The legendary Greg Nicotero was directing Gurira, who was only supposed to kill eight zeds, but instead of calling cut, he let Danai go wild, and let her improv the highly-skilled zombie butchery of dozens of shambling zombies. This is why we love Michonne.

Needless to say, Danai Gurira’s appearance wasn’t nearly as intense as expected. It seems like if you spend your days chopping off heads (and picking off ticks), you can bring a real calmness to the rest of your life.

(Via Team Coco)

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