Surviving a zombie apocalypse isn’t for everyone. Just ask Josh McDermitt, who plays the mullet-rocking random fact-spewing Eugene Porter. In this interview with USA Today he discusses how he think he’d fare during an apocalypse along with a rapid fire question involving sports, slang, and corn hole.
Q: What was your worst pre-fame job?
A: I worked for an industrial painter and it was the worst job because it was over the summer in the Arizona heat with a guy who was absolutely insane. He was always sniffing paint fumes. We’d ride around in rush hour traffic with the windows up, with the heat blasting and he’d be screaming the whole time. Worst job ever!
Q: Nicely done. Do you find yourself out at dinner thinking about what you’d grab in the event of an instant zombie apocalypse?
A: Oh all the time! I’m constantly looking at blunt force objects and figuring out if it’s something I can carry for a long period of time. It can’t just be a heavy object; that would only work in the short term, so I think about things like that. We talked about this on set one day, but the hammer that the character Tyrese had would be the best weapon for the apocalypse. It’s got a nice grip, it’s round on one side and has the hook on the other; that thing’s gonna do a lot of damage. I make sure I know where a hammer is at all times.
Q: So how would you fare in a zombie apocalypse?
A: I feel like I would die pretty quick. I feel like I’d be all excited and ready to survive like, “Here we go,” and those would be my last words. I hope it would be saving someone, but, let’s be honest, I’d totally get them killed with me.
Q: Your character Eugene is really intelligent; how similar are you to him?
A: (Laughs) Dude, I’m like the dumbest guy in the world. I have to look up the words that Eugene uses all the time. I’m always like, “What?” I have a lot of street smarts that he doesn’t have, but we’re both cowards. I’m just a wuss! We definitely have that one in common.
Q: Awesome, and we’ve got The Walking Dead Season 6 kicking off on Oct. 11, talk about what fans can expect and the development of your character Eugene.
A: Well, Season 6 is gonna be the biggest yet, and I know we kinda say that before each season, but there’s no exception here. I mean it’s massive! I don’t think we’ve had as many walkers as we have this season. In terms of Eugene, he ended last season saving Tara and Glenn and I hope he’ll continue along that trajectory; I guess we’ll have to tune in and find out.
To learn much more about Josh McDermitt check out the rest of the interview at USA Today.
