The Walking Dead’s 7th season is aiming to hit fans like a sack of bricks. PopSugar recently sat down with Aaron himself Ross Marquand to glean details about the upcoming season along with how it was to shoot the brutal Season 6 finale. Catch the ENTIRE interview over at PopSugar, where Marquand also discusses TWD’s most brutal death and what it’s like to work alongside Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
POPSUGAR: What was your reaction to reading the script for the season six finale? Were you frustrated by it at all?
Ross Marquand: To be honest, I was delighted. Maybe that’s not the right choice of words [laughs], but I watched the finale with Sonequa [Martin-Green], my parents, and Kenric, Sonequa’s husband, and truthfully we put so much effort into that episode. We worked our butts off. Obviously I knew it was going to happen, but I didn’t know how it was going to be cut together. I didn’t know how it was going to end exactly. For me, as a fan of the show, I loved it. I wasn’t frustrated by it in the slightest. I thought it was a great cliffhanger, and a really provocative, brutal way to end the season.
PS: Understandably, a lot of fans were taken aback by how the episode ended. Have any of them reached out to you personally to share their reactions to the it?
RM: Oh yeah, I’ve had so many people ask me who died. It’s been crazy fielding those questions, because everyone wants to know who was at the end of that bat. Even friends and family! But we keep that information very much under lock and key.
PS: It seems like the world within the show is really going to expand next season with Hilltop, the Saviors, and the Kingdom — how is that going to affect the characters?
RM: Well I think the world keeps expanding, and truthfully this is the most expansive season yet. The Kingdom is coming into play, of course we have the Saviors and their compound, and not to give too much away, but there are other groups that we’re going to be meeting up with as well. It’s going to change them immeasurably. They’re realizing although they thought there was just one or two little outposts in the neighborhoods in the Atlanta and Virginia area, it turns out there’s several. That’s an exciting thing. All of a sudden you’re getting choices on where you’re gonna live, who you’ll do business with. It’s the beginnings of a rebuilding of society.
PS: Is there anything about playing Aaron in particular that you really love?
RM: Aaron is such a fascinating character, because he’s diplomatic to a T. He genuinely wants to keep the peace for everybody, but he’s not afraid to fight. Morgan believes that no life should be harmed in any way, shape, or form, and Aaron says, “Well, sure,” but if he needs to fight for himself or others, he will. I think that’s a really wonderful characteristic to have in their day and age, where everything seems so chaotic. He, Deanna, and some other citizens in Alexandria fought really hard to make that community happen, and I love that in the midst of all this chaos, he really fought to protect everyone and protect his loved ones. It’s a beautiful, beautiful trait to have as a person.
How do you feel about Ross’ character in The Walking Dead? Do you think he’ll make it?? Tell us in the comments below and catch the rest of the interview over at PopSugar!
I love the way Ross Marquand plays Aaron; I hope we see a lot more of him.