Fear the Walking Dead showrunner Dave Erickson recently spoke to the Hollywood Reporter about cast diversity on the prequel series, and how “the only three black characters on the series [died] off in succession.” He explained, “We want to tell the story in the best way we can and want the best actors to play those parts. It would have been a mistake to go with Anglo actors for those particular roles because I don’t think that’s honest to the world of the show.”
Fear‘s forefather, The Walking Dead, has also been accused of racism, despite the fact that a higher percentage of white characters have been killed off than black characters. Last season, three African-American actors (Lawrence Gilliard as Bob, Chad L. Coleman as Tyreese, and Tyler James Williams as Noah) met their fate, but TWD showrunner Scott Gimple says that was a coincidence. “At the beginning of the year,” he told Entertainment Weekly, “some of those characters weren’t cast. It was always about casting the best person. It’s very difficult.”
To illustrate his point, Gimple mentioned one specific character who was white in the comic, but not on the TV adaptation, and another character who could have been any ethnicity. “Bob wasn’t a black character in the comics, but I wouldn’t wanna miss out on Lawrence Gillard,” says Gimple. “And Noah, when we were casting him, Tyler was the best actor. I loved what he did and what he brought to the show. All sorts of people came in, from all sorts of different backgrounds and ethnicities. It’s tough because I also want to be sensitive to how people feel. Two of those characters were destined to die, and they could’ve been cast in any direction, and I just cast the best people — or at least the people I just felt were best and I loved what they did with the role. It’s weird to imagine not using them. But I did know those characters were dying, and I did cast those people.” (Via)
Zombies get a bad rap — it’s probably the decaying skin, and them wanting to eat us — but you gotta give them credit for one thing: They’re equal opportunity (when it comes to killing people).
(Via EW)
