Michonne is the closely guarded warrior woman on AMC’s The Walking Dead who is now stuck in Woodbury with Andrea and the Governor. Danai Gurira shares how she moves in and out of character on set.
As far as loners go, Michonne is a classic example. She cares only for herself in this dangerous and chaotic world, and she has the strength to get along on her alone. Her relationship with Andrea is the one exception, but even that’s being tested now. When the St. Louis Post-Dispatch asks Danai Gurira what it was like to be TV’s most badass character, she responds:
“I don’t think that’s really the case. I guess she’s a badass woman, but she’s also very complex. She’s not just one thing. Her heart is very pure. She’s not needy. That’s a rare thing for women characters. The fact that she’s as capable as men is right up my alley in my search to play strong black women on screen.”
We love to see this type of woman portrayed on screen. In general, The Walking Dead gives us a lot of strong female characters who are more complex than many ladies we see on television.
So how was it for Gurira to wield a katana on screen?
“I got to a point where I was very comfortable and the sword wasn’t just this heavy thing that hurt me.”
We’ve heard that Andrew Lincoln often stays in character for Rick on set (understandably, considering he needs to keep his accent), but does Gurira do the same thing?
“It’s funny. When the wardrobe guys are prepping me, they have to come at me gingerly. When I feel like I don’t want them to touch me, I know she’s around. But when I step out of her, I can be the goofiest person on set.”
It would be tough to be so serious on screen all the time. It would also be hard to jerk around a couple of other actors as pets. How does Gurira interact with these actors on the set?
“We’re cool. The first day I met them, they were in character and someone handed me their chains. We’ve actually become buddies. We had to. I’m yanking on them, and they have to be cool with that. The actors have to wear these colored contacts, so they can’t see that well and they have to rely on me to get around.”
We’re incredibly excited to see more of Michonne this season, and we think Gurira is a perfect fit.