ALSO: Check out our Season Two preview, as well interviews with actor Jon Bernthal and executive producer Robert Kirkman.

Bullz-Eye: I know you won’t remember me, but we met fleetingly at the New York Comic Con, during the press roundtables.

Norman Reedus: Oh, right on. (Laughs) The craziness that is Comic-Con…

BE: Yeah, there’s no way you’d remember me in the middle of all that. But it was a good time nonetheless, so it’s good to talk to you again. And I’ve had a chance to check out the first episode of the new season…

NR: Oh, yeah? What’d you think?

BE: I think I should’ve gone straight on to the second episode.

NR: (Laughs) Awesome!

BE: So when you leapt into Season 2, how enthused were you to get back to work? It seems like it’d be a lot of fun to do.

NR: It’s a blast. I wanted to go a month early and just wait for everybody to show up. It’s such a fun job. It’s by far my favorite job I’ve ever done. The crew and the cast, everyone is so tight there. We’re all just one big family, for real. I just wanted to get back to it. I’ve never really had an acting experience that’s just so…fun. It’s so engaging. I’m really into it.

BE: Do you get used to the humidity down in Atlanta pretty quickly?

NR: You know, you kind of just suffer for the show. The heat and the surroundings are definitely a character on the show, so we’re out there surviving for our lives already. But, you know, I…I’m in Los Angeles right now, getting ready to go back to George to finish the season. But it started getting cold the last night we were there, and I shot ‘til about 4:30 in the morning and took an 8 AM flight to California, so I was exhausted. But it was freezing. It didn’t feel right. I prefer the heat.

BE: I think it was Steven (Yeun) who was telling the story about how he actually passed out his first day of filming.

NR: Yeah, he did. He had a long running scene, and he just sort of fainted. It was pretty crazy. Of course, we all teased him uncontrollably forever after that. (Laughs)

BE: So do you have to get into a Daryl mindset when you go back to work?

NR: Yeah, you know, it’s interesting, ‘cause last season, it was all ‘fuck you, I hate you,’ and this season you sort of see Daryl form alliances with certain members you wouldn’t necessarily expect. Damaged people recognize other damaged people, so they have a kindred spirit going on. It’s not just so one-noted this season. He really kind of bounces all over the place, and it’s really interesting. It’s like he needs a hug, but if you tried to hug him, he’d stab you. He’s really fragile, like a little kid in a lot of ways. You see certain members of the group trying to tell him his worth, that he’s worth more than he thinks about himself, and you find a little bit about his back story, his family history, and you see how truly damaged this guy is. It’s interesting to play all those levels. It really makes for an interesting day of work.

BE: Yeah, I mean, I wouldn’t call him a delicate flower or anything, but even in the first episode of Season 2, he feels like a slightly different Daryl than we saw last season.

NR: Yeah, but, you know, even last season, I tried to tear up between squirrel throws and whatnot, just to make him still be, like, he lost his big brother. Even assholes have big brothers. I tried to make him more than just an angry guy. It was, like, show some reasons why he’s so angry and damaged.

BE: On a related note, I actually got to have dinner with Michael Rooker late last year.

NR: (Laughs) Oh, yeah! That’s funny, ‘cause he keeps texting me. He’s, like, ‘Come on, we’re going to the gun range right now,’ and I’m, like, ‘I can’t, ‘cause I’m at a motorcycle shop getting my motorcycle fixed.’ He’s, like, ‘Stop being a poopybutt.’ He actually called me a poopybutt.

BE: You know, I believe that.

NR: He did. I was, like, “Wow, that’s not very Rooker of you.” (Laughs) He’s an awesome character, an awesome guy, and a great actor. I’m looking forward to seeing everything he does.

BE: When it comes to the zombies, I know you see them all the time, but do you ever hit a point when you suddenly think, “I know they’re just people in makeup, but, damn, these guys are pretty scary”?

NR: You know, it’s wild, ‘cause you see a zombie having a cupcake or a cigarette, and then five minutes later you see them in character. Those guys who are playing zombies, they’re actors. I think people sometimes think they’re just people in zombie makeup, but when they turn it on, they really turn it on. They’re doing such a great job at being scary. It’s interesting, ‘cause the way Greg does the makeup, he’s so good with the effects that when you see a zombie, you actually feel sorry for it. But it’s actually scarier to be in a fight with one when you feel sorry for one.

BE: With the second season, can you speak at all to whether it feels different without Frank Darabont having as much of a presence? I mean, I know he’s still involved, but…

NR: You know, we all love Frank, and we all just totally admire him, but the second season just picks right up and goes so smoothly. Glen (Mazzara) is doing such a good job, and he has respect of all the actors. All the directors that come in are doing such a good job. We’re so close out there, such a tight group, that when we go to work, we all know exactly what we’re doing, we know each other characters so well that I’ll be in a scene with a bunch of actors, and one of the actors goes, ‘What do you guys think? Should I try it this way?’ And not everyone has an opinion, but everyone has each others’ back and wants them to be the best that they can be on the show. That tight family groove…we’re on point and kicking ass.

BE: How trying is the part of Daryl from a physical standpoint?

NR: It’s definitely physical, but it lends itself to the character. The onl episode that really felt out of place was the CDC, and that’s because we were in doors and in the air conditioning. It just didn’t feel right. Part of it is the bugs, the dirt, the heat, the sweat…it’s all part of the show. We’ve all grown very fond of working under those conditions. It’s weird, but it’s true.

BE: So was Daryl always destined to ride a motorcycle, or did that come about because you ride?

NR: You know, I think there was talk of me on a horse, but if you’ve ever seen me on a horse, it’s pretty pathetic. (Laughs) So that probably had something to do with it. But, you know, there’s a motorcycle there, and I didn’t ask if it was Daryl’s or Merle’s motorcycle, but they both ride it. I do like motorcycles. I have a Triumph Scrambler down in Georgia, and I have a Harley here in Los Angeles, so I do ride. But, hey, you know, it’s an efficient way to get around on no gas during a zombie apocalypse. (Laughs)

BE: I wanted to ask you briefly about the autopsy scene in the season premiere. How was that to film? It seems like it would’ve been pretty gross, real or not.

NR: I have to say, I could’ve shot that gross scene all day. (Laughs) I was like a little kid in a candy store. When you put your hands into it, it made a slurping, burping sound. They put little tubes of hot air to blow in our face to show that there’s gas going through the innards of the zombies. It was disgusting, but it was a blast. I went elbow-deep in that stuff, but I could’ve played around all day long.

BE: As far as the other cast members, I’m sure you enjoy them all, but do you have particular folks who are your most favorite to work with?

NR: Melissa McBride is one of my favorite cast members to work with. That girl…I keep telling her she’s one nervous breakdown away from becoming Meryl Streep. (Laughs) She’s such a good actress, you can just read everything in her face. I love watching her work. I really love watching Jeffrey DeMunn work, too. He’s really good. I’m really impressed with what Chandler (Riggs) has been doing. I like working with all of them. They’re all really, really good actors. I find stuff in them every day that they pull out where it’s, like, high-fives all around.

BE: So from your standpoint, do you feel like Season 2 is at least as strong as Season 1?

NR: The second season’s stronger. It’s stronger than the first. Hey, I don’t know if it’s just because we’re so invested in it and now we’ve gotten used to these characters, but AMC was ballsy enough to do a zombie show, right from the beginning, they put up six episodes to see how it would fare, to gauge  interest and see how it would do. And it did so well that I think the second season lends us to getting into the characters more. We sort of set up the tone of the world in the first season, and in the second season, you really find out who these people are, and that’s the backbone of the show, really. It’s not so much the zombies. They can kill you, but so can the people sitting right next to you. The second season is where the alliances form, where you find out who you can trust and who you can’t trust. It’s kind of like “Survivor.” (Laughs)

(NOTE: Portions of this interview appear in the print edition of TV Week Magazine.)

ALSO: Check out our Season Two preview, as well as interviews with actor Norman Reedus and executive producer Robert Kirkman.

BE: I’ve seen the Season 2 premiere, and from what I can tell, it seems like you guys are still playing at the same level that you were in the first season.

Jon Bernthal: Aw, thanks, man, I appreciate you saying so.

BE: So you guys got to play the love triangle in Season 1, and it’s obviously still ongoing in Season 2. Is it a challenge to play something like that in the middle of a zombie thriller?

JB: I don’t really look at it so much as a love triangle. I look at it more as a family that…these horrible circumstances, this disease that’s turned the world into this apocalyptic state, I look at it more as a family that’s been severely fractured by it. I think that it’s not as simple as two guys in love with the same girl. I think Shane is very much in love with Lori, but I think he loves his best friend, too, as well as their little boy, Carl. I think these are relationships that are immensely important to him, and unfortunately, they’re forever tainted and they’ll never quite be the same. In this world that we’re trying to create, all of these characters have lost so many people. I think what’s very interesting for Shane is that the people in the world who mean the most to him are still alive. It’s just that their relationships will never be the same because of what’s gone down.

BE: Shane is a pretty complex character because of his situation. Do you find it hard to find that balance of personality when you’re playing the part?

JB: No, man, I love it. As an actor, it’s the kind of part you look for. When I first talked with Frank (Darabont) about this, our goal was to not just make him sort of this one-dimensional villain straight out of the comic. We wanted him to be a layered, nuanced character that wasn’t a good guy, wasn’t a bad guy, but was a real guy. I think he’s just operating from a place of being a loyal friend and trying to do what’s best, trying to protect these people that he loves so much. I think he’s always coming from a place of trying to do the right thing, but it’s fractured. It’s just such a different, cold, brutal world now. Also, what’s very interesting about the character is that he’s the first one in the series, I think, to just sort of recognize the lawlessness of this world they’re living in now. He does it when he beats down Ed by the water in Season 1, and also when he trains the gun on Rick in Season 1. I think he recognizes that there are no real circumstances for your actions in this world, and I think Season 2 is very much about Rick and Shane splitting on how they feel the best way to go forward in this world is. I think Shane feels that, to survive, you have to make very brutal, very harsh decisions, and you really have to abandon emotion and morality and just do what’s best for survival, whereas Rick, I think, is kind of plagued by trying to do the right thing. They really become at odds with each other over those philosophies.

BE: So were you familiar with “The Walking Dead” as a comic book before you found yourself on the show?

JB: No, I sure wasn’t, man. I read the pilot, written by Frank Darabont, and it just had me there. I’d never read a pilot that good before, that detailed and nuanced, with that much attention to character and atmosphere. You know, I’ve read the comic a little bit since then, but, uh, Shane buys it so early in the comic that I didn’t really find any reason to keep reading! I mean, it’s very good, but, no, I wasn’t a fan before the show.

BE: What did you think when you first heard about the concept of the show? I mean, it’s a zombie show. Were you skeptical before you read the script?

JB: You know, yeah, I was. I mean, I knew AMC was doing it, and at that time, I really felt that AMC was the best network on television. I loved the stuff that they had on there, so I wanted to give it a read no matter what. But as soon as I opened it up and started reading it, and the little girl gets shot in the opening teaser, I was, like, ‘Oh, this is just bad ass.’ (Laughs) Like I said, the writing was just…it never really read to me like a zombie show or a genre show. The attention to detail in creating the atmosphere in that first pilot…there’s very few words. Most pilots are just a bunch of people talking in exposition, telling the audience exactly who they are and introducing people, and this, I felt, was just a slow, beautiful portrait of this world. I just felt that was a ballsy, beautiful thing to do for a TV pilot. I wanted desperately to be a part of this show just based on that writing and based on Frank Darabont.

BE: Well, speaking of Frank Darabont, the question is inevitable: has it been difficult moving forward without him, given how profound his presence on the show was in the first season?

JB: Yeah, absolutely, no question. I mean, Frank’s a dear friend, I believe in him immensely, I think he’s one of the best filmmakers and writers that our country has, so I think to get rid of him is an enormous loss for us. That being said, this cast and crew, I feel like, has responded really well. I’m proud of everybody. I think that everybody’s really trying to keep Frank’s vision and is trying to go at this full force. I’m really proud of the work that we’re doing, but to lose Frank…? That’s huge.

BE: On a non-“Walking Dead” topic, I have to tell you, I was a big fan of “The Class.”

JB: (Laughs) Oh, yeah? Thanks, man, I appreciate it.

BE: I feel like it’s going to end up coming out on DVD eventually, just by virtue of the fact that so many of the cast have achieved post-“Class” success.

JB: Ah, shit, man. Y’know, look, man, it was a really cool, fun show. We were all actors in our early 20s, everybody had basically come from theater, and…it was just a great family. Also, we were trying to one-up each other and entertain each other on set. Everybody would come and watch everybody else’s work, and we were just trying to make each other crack up the whole time. It was a lovely, lovely little family, and everybody’s gone on and done such cool stuff. It’s great. We still all try to get together a couple times a year and have a dinner. They’re really, really lovely people, and…I really appreciate you saying something about it, man. That was a great time.

BE: Yeah, when I talked to Jason Ritter awhile back, he told me about the dinners.

JB: Yeah, I just think that show…I mean, that’s a good example of a show that had a whole lot of bark before it had a chance to have any bite. They over-publicized the hell out of us before we ever came out, and then they kind of abandoned us once the show was actually on the air, publicity-wise. But we loved it. We loved being there, we all had a great time, and we all have remained very, very close. And that’s cool. It’s very rare.

BE: What are your recollections of working on “The Pacific”? I’ve talked to some of the other cast members, and I know it was a moving experience for them, both working on it and meeting actual veterans after the fact.

JB: Look, man, if you’re lucky enough to get involved in a project like that, it’s a real responsibility to get it right, to help memorialize these heroes. It’s a great responsibility, but it’s also a great thrill, because when you’re doing it for (Steven) Spielberg and (Tom) Hanks, they’ll spend the money to do it right. So to go through the boot camp and get trained by the Marine Corps and to experience the things that you get to experience, to live with these other guys and try to emulate a soldier’s life.. (Starts to laugh) You know, every kid dreams about that. WE get to go play war without the real risk. And it gives you such an appreciation of what our heroes, the real heroes, the real soldiers, what they go through and what they sacrifice every day. But it’s unbelievably fun, and it’s unbelievably rewarding, because, again, you get to memorialize these great American heroes and you get to learn so much and make great friends. I had a really great time on that show.

BE: To jump back to “The Walking Dead,” when it comes to the zombies…obviously, you see them around you all the time, but because of the tension and drama in that series, do you ever find yourself getting a little disconcerted when you’re looking at them?

JB: Man, I hate zombies, I’ll be honest with you. Look, Greg Nicotero is a genius, and the art he creates is just mindboggling. It’s just like everything else on our show: it’s sort of centered in being unique and authentic and real. They’re not just monsters. There’s a specific way in how each person has been bit, they create a specific human being who is turned into a zombie, which I think is pretty cool. The people who play the zombies are great artists. Their movement skills and the work they put into playing zombie is taken very, very seriously. That being said, man, I hate them. Call me a douchey method actor,  but I spend so much time hunting them, being hunted by them, looking for them, beating them, killing them…I just hate them. I want nothing to do with them at lunch, I want nothing to do with them off the set. I hate zombies. I love the actors that are playing them, but I hate zombies.

BE: Lastly, I was at the press round tables you did at Comic-Con, and at the time, Sarah (Wayne Callies) talked about how much she couldn’t tolerate scary movies and wasn’t sure if she’d even be able to watch her own show. Do you watch “The Walking Dead” yourself?

JB: I do watch it. That’s one of the cool things about this: I’m a huge fan of this show. I believe in it. I believe in all the people I’m working with. And I love this story. I love what we’re trying to do. I would watch this show whether I was on it or not, and I think that’s really cool. It’s a thrill for me to be on a show that my friends and family enjoy. I was on a show before this that I’m not going to mention, but I remember a couple of Thanksgivings ago, we were going around the table saying what we were thankful for, and my uncle Steve got up and said that he was thankful for the network that the show was on at the time ‘for canceling that piece of shit so I don’t have to feel bad every Wednesday night that I have to sit through it.’ It just means so much to me that now I’m on a show that I can be proud of, that I dig and that my friends and family dig. I’m a huge fan of this show regardless, and I really believe in the people I work with. That’s a very rare thing, and I know how lucky I am.

(NOTE: Portions of this interview appear in the print edition of TV Week Magazine.)

ALSO: Check out our interviews with actors Jon Bernthal and Norman Reedus and executive producer Robert Kirkman.

It’s no secret that AMC has endured a difficult year filled with one PR nightmare after the next – including public contract disputes that suspended production on Season Five of “Mad Men” and threatened the future of “Breaking Bad,” as well as audience backlash over the season finale of “The Killing” – but it suddenly felt very personal when Frank Darabont, creator and executive producer of “The Walking Dead,” was unexpectedly relieved of his duties only a few days after promoting the show at San Diego Comic-Con. Though the network never gave a clear reason for his dismissal, it’s believed to have something to do with forced budget cuts for the second season, which came as a surprise to Darabont after the show set a new cable ratings record in its debut season.

But despite all the backroom drama and concerns that Darabont’s absence would spell trouble for the hit zombie series, AMC was insistent that “The Walking Dead” was in the capable hands of his replacement, Glen Mazzara. Then again, Darabont was already hard at work on the show for months before getting the axe, and mapped out the entire season prior to his departure, so audiences may not notice many differences (if any at all) until the show’s third season. It should be noted, however, that Mazzara is no slouch when it comes to making great TV (having previously spent five years behind the scenes on “The Shield”), and he’s still working with the same team that Darabont put together, including zombie experts Robert Kirkman and Greg Nicotero. In fact, based on the first two episodes alone, it’s pretty clear that fans have nothing to worry about.

When we last left Rick Grimes and the rest of the survivors, they had just escaped the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta by the skin of their teeth and hit the road once again in search of a new refuge. Though they don’t actually arrive at Hershel’s Farm – the provisional sanctuary featured in Kirkman’s comics – until the second episode, the season premiere has more than enough going on to keep them busy, including a tension-packed opening sequence where the survivors must hide from a herd of zombies after Dale’s RV breaks down on the highway. There’s plenty of action and gore as well, with one survivor wounded pretty badly in the aforementioned attack, another one shot in what is likely the first of many “holy shit” moments of the season, and a truly disgusting zombie moment that some people might not be able to stomach. Oh yeah, and fan favorite Daryl kicks a lot of zombie ass, but I’m guessing you already knew that.

Of course, the series is first and foremost about the relationships between its large cast of characters, and although some viewers might bemoan the slower pace of these early episodes, it allows for a lot of great interactions – particularly involving the Rick, Lori and Shane love triangle – that will only make you even more invested in their survival. And if there’s one thing that AMC can never take away from Darabont, it’s the amazing job he did with laying down a strong foundation on which those characters could grow. Because while he may no longer be around to captain the ship, Darabont’s fingerprints are all over “The Walking Dead,” and it’s the main reason why the show will continue to operate at such a high level of excellence. It may not have gone down exactly the way we would have liked, but the audience still comes out the winner in the end.

“The Walking Dead” returns to AMC on October 16th at 9/8c with a special 90-minute premiere. Can’t wait that long? Check out a sneak peek of the new season below.