Hershel Greene has been faced with his share of tough decisions on The Walking Dead, from killing off his barn full zombie family members to leaving his farm behind at the end of season 2. Scott Wilson shares his thoughts on his character’s resilience.
After an unfortunate run-in with a walker in the season 3 premiere of The Walking Dead, Rick chopped off part of Hershel’s leg in order to save him. Scott Green thought his character was going to be a goner after that, but it looks like showrunner Glen Mazzara had other plans.
“When Glen told me they were going to chop my leg off, of course my first thought was, ‘Oh, there I go!’ But just the opposite: He said he wanted someone with a disability and I understand that.”
We haven’t seen how someone with a disability would survive in this world, but we’ll get to witness that now with Hershel. Good thing they seem pretty set in the prison. Wilson shares with AMC his perspective on the situation.
“It’s also very interesting that Hershel was the first one to have survived a bite. The question I think for Hershel is whether he is going to become a liability for the group. Is he going to be able to carry his load?”
So how did they create the scene in which Herschel lost his limb?
“They did a cast of my leg, Greg Nicotero and his group, and that’s the leg you see a part of after they chop it off in Episode 1. It’s a pretty brutal scene; I got some responses from people who were really taken aback by it!”
Going from a traditional farmer to a survivalist warrior has changed Hershel’s character, but how does he fit into the group with his new decreased mobility? Will they craft some sort of prosthetic leg for him?
“He needs to show that he is combat ready and that he can contribute. His age and his life experience helps a bit. But I’m hoping right now that sometimes he’ll have a prosthetic.”
After the suspense of Hershel’s survival in Sunday’s episode, we don’t think he’ll be leaving anytime soon. Plus, they need Hershel to help deliver Lori’s baby. We predict that his role within the group will only grow now.