The actor discusses his character’s big coming-out party and what’s next for him in season 11.
“I went to West Point, a–hole.”
(Note: He didn’t.)
Michael James Shaw on ‘The Walking Dead’.Josh Stringer/AMC
We spoke to Shaw, the man under theMr.
What was that like?
A big umbrella word I use for these two episodes is “inscrutable.”
Josh McDermitt and Michael James Shaw on ‘The Walking Dead’.Josh Stringer/AMC
Are these gestures of kindness, or an F.U., or something in between?
We’re tough at the Commonwealth, but I don’t think we’re here to hurt you.
I think that is the core of why he pops the top a little bit.
Even though he’s offended by the remark, I’m still not there to hurt or harm.
I got the information that I needed to know: He’s sick.
We take a note of that, and we’re going to file him through to medical for testing.
It’s not that deep.
That’s all."
What should we make of that?
Are these two still butting heads, or is that all in good fun?
I enjoyed the fact that we had a little tit-for-tat.
Welcome to the Commonwealth."
It’s reestablishing who’s in charge still.
Tell me what filming that was like and how you wanted to play it.
For me, it was about the whole entire sequence of events observing the interviews.
In that process Mercer realizes, “Oh, this guy’s an over-sharer.
This is our target.
This is how we’re going to figure out where these people come from for real.”
So I don’t think it was by happenstance that they chose to interview him.
Also, he was in love with Stephanie (Margot Bingham), and I thought that was interesting.
I was wondering if it was possibly a ploy.
I was trying to ensure there was no threat to the Commonwealth.
Well, tit for tat.
I gave him that fist bump, and I was super nervous too.
I have a scene with one of the best actors on the show.
The energy was right there.
That was another thing that was like, “Oh, wow, this guy is cool.
What can you say about what we can expect from Mercer moving forward?
I think we started to peel him open, like an onion almost.
There are a lot of sides to this guy besides politician.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
