The Alpha in Walking Dead
SAMANTHA Morton is the new face on the award-winning postapocalyptic horror series, The
Walking Dead, which returned to SA’s small screen last month for a ninth season.
Movie-goers will recognise her from Minority Report and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which is a spin-off and prequel to the Harry
Potter film series.
With several big and small screen releases to her name, the 41-yearold British actress has been cast as Alpha, the leader of the Whisperers. They blend in among the undead by wearing the skins of “walkers” to conceal their presence.
On the gravitation to the genre, Morton says, “Yeah. Growing up, I was probably too young to watch, but my stepdad and mum used to like horror and zombie films.
“I sneakily used to watch things when I shouldn’t. I’d put the video on when they were out, watching
things like The Hills Have Eyes, The Fog, They Live, The Exorcist, The
Omen, Hammer films – and all of the
Dawn of the Dead zombie films. They were massive for me.
“I was far too young to watch A
Nightmare on Elm Street, but I used to feast on that. So I liked that genre of fear. I was too young to associate it with the deeper meanings of what they were saying. I just liked to be afraid, I suppose. So that was my childhood. I never saw them at the cinema. They were just on dodgy VHS or Betamax videos.”
And so a childhood fascination went on to become a reality for the seasoned actress.
Shortly after initial conversations with show-runner Angela Kang to gauge the appeal, as well as the impact of the character, she was cast for the show and touched down in Atlanta, where she bonded with Greg Nicotero, the show’s make-up head.
She adds, “I would ask him for help and advice, and certainly I needed to get my walk right. With Alpha being a Whisperer, she needs to know how to become a walker. So Greg Nicotero was my go-to and really helped me with all of that. He was extraordinarily kind and generous with his time, which I was very grateful for.”
Regarding her multi-layered character, she shares: “Alpha has make-up underneath the mask, all the time. But that make-up is: ‘not washing’. She doesn’t wash, she lives amongst the bugs and the trees and the undergrowth, because she’s feral.
“In episode 10, you get all of her back stories. It’s her daughter Lydia talking, after she’s been captured by Daryl, and describing these flashbacks. But you’re not totally sure what’s a real flashback or an imagined flashback. So when I was performing it, I was performing a dream within a dream within a dream. This is Lydia’s version of events, rather than Alpha’s. But you see my character transform on-screen from a woman and mother into Alpha, this soldier. It’s really deep. It’s really mega!”
Alpha joins the league of extraordinary villains – The Governor, Terminus, Negan and the Saviors – on the show.
Although Morton doesn’t agree with the villainess tag, she’s proud of one thing, “What I love about it is it’s a woman. That’s awesome. These parts are normally written for men.”
That said, Morton proves to be a force to be reckoned with. The writers ensure there’s plenty of thrills for fans in the ninth season.
airs on DStv Channel 125 on Mondays at 8.45pm.