Toronto ComiCon: Chad Coleman Q&A Recap
Fresh off of his role as the badass babysitter Tyreese on The Walking Dead, Chad Coleman was at Toronto ComiCon this weekend to chat with fans. At his personal Q&A panel he charmed the room with witty quips. Although we only had an hour to share with the actor, the stories and opinions he shared in his velvet voice felt like a much longer time.
Regarding spoilers and character death on the acclaimed show TWD, Coleman feels strongly about the caliber of the cast and their ability to keep secrets. “We’re trying to get the TV producers to trust us, this is an art form.” he asserted. Although he shared his guilt when it comes to non-disclosure agreements actors are obliged to: “Fans ask me, ‘Are you gonna be there next season?’ and I say, ‘Yeah!’ but I’m thinking ‘Damn, I just lied to you’.” Regarding character death, Coleman claims that “We will find out three episodes before it happens… but with Beth, we found out one episode before and we were not cool with that!” – sounds like the cast had the same reaction as fans to losing that character!
The most sad character death on TWD, in Coleman’s own opinion, “Was Hershel, definitely.” – goes to show that for all the blood flying around on the show, it still hurts when the good ones go. Going on to discuss the growth of characters like Carol, he reflected on Tyreese’s choice to forgive her in the Season 4 episode The Grove: “She was hurting too… in some ways forgiveness is a selfish act so that you don’t kill yourself from bitterness. It’s for the forgiver just as much as it is for the sinner.”
When asked what qualities he has in common with Tyreese, Chad reflected “I’m honest, and I love kids.” Moving on to other zombie-apocalypse roles he’s known for playing, one fan asked which of his roles is a better zombie killer: Tyreese of The Walking Dead or Coach from Left 4 Dead 2: “Coach”, he decides, surprisingly without hesitation.
With his role on TWD finished, Chad has set his sights on a new project, namely the dystopian/vigilante/sci-fi TV series Treadwater, based on the graphic novel of the same name, where he will be producing and playing one of the show’s baddies. Talk about playing heroes and villains prompted a cheeky exchange between himself and a fangirl present:
“Do you prefer playing good guys or bad guys?”
“I don’t know if it’s a matter of preference for me…”
“Which one do you think you’re better at, then?”
“Well, I am a VERY good actor.”
So say we all, Chad. We’ll be sure to catch Treadwater when it hits screens and keep an eye out for Coleman’s talent for many years to come.
And in case you were wondering, his favourite colour is “Rainbow!” and his favourite football team is the New York Giants.
