Sarah Wayne Callies, who plays Lori on The Walking Dead, shares details on Lori’s relationship with Rick and what it’s like to lose cast members after their characters have been killed off on AMC’s hit horror series.
Callies sat down with World Screen (click to watch the video) to share her experiences as a cast member on one of the biggest shows to hit cable television. One the biggest struggles her character Lori faces this season is the emotional distance separating her and Rick.
“A bomb went off between Rick and Lori at the end of the last season.”
Instead of coming closer after Rick killed Shane (something they both believed needed to be done), they ended up farther apart. It seems like they both feel Rick had turned into the person he was taking out in Shane, because he didn’t feel remorse for killing his former best friend.
“I back off and then he backs off, and it’s like you have two people on an iceberg and a crack just comes through the middle.”
We definitely saw that in the second episode of this season, with the incredible awkwardness of their conversation at the end of “Sick.” Lori thinks Rick wants to talk about their relationship, but Rick isn’t quite ready for that yet.
Callies says that season 3 is about Rick and Lori “trying to find their way back together.” She continues, saying, “I’m a big believer in Rick and Lori. I think they love the living daylights out of each other.”
We’re not convinced of that yet. We also know the audience doesn’t feel much love for Lori. Most people would be happy to see Rick leave her behind, or even have her die.
One of the other struggles Lori faces is the imminent birth of her child. It also causes a strain on the group, and she says the “pregnancy makes the whole third season more acute for everyone.”
The baby is both a source of separation and a connection for Rick and Lori, resulting in a “Gift of the Magi” type situation, if the couple found themselves in the middle of a “cold war.”
“Lori’s central concern is that she be a burden to no one…and Rick puts an incredible burden on himself to try and protect her.”
Callies also shares the difficulties in losing cast members, but understands its necessity, calling it “courageous TV.”
“The audience needs to believe that any second any major character could go. Otherwise, the story has no teeth.”
Finally, she hints toward major cast changes at the end of the third season, much like we saw at the end of the second.
“For better or worse, at the end of the third season the cast is going to look very unlike what it looks like at the beginning of the third season. It’s heartbreaking…but I think it’s also good storytelling.”
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