On Aug. 22 and 23, hundreds flocked to Boston for the city's second annual edition of Walker Stalker Con, a convention based on the hit zombie show The Walking Dead. While the biggest stars of the show, like Andrew Lincoln (group leader Rick Grimes), and fan favorite Norman Reedus (Daryl) were unfortunately not in attendance, many other actors from the show were, so there was still plenty of Walking Dead awesomeness to go around.
There were actors whose characters were part of the original survivor group and are still going, like Chandler Riggs (Carl), original survivors who are long-gone like Irone Singleton (T-Dog), and more recent characters — some now dead, some returning for season six.
Of those actors more recently to appear on the show, TheCelebrityCafe had the chance to speak with four of them — two whose characters have been killed off and two whose characters yet remain alive.
One actor due to return for season six is Katelyn Nacon, who appeared in three episodes of the last season as Enid, a mysterious Alexandrian girl around Carl's age. Fans suspect she could become a love interest for Carl. The other actor returning is Michael Traynor, who played the bad, or at least very cowardly, Nicholas, aka the man responsible for Noah's death.
As for the dearly departed, there's the one who played the good: Tyler James Williams, aka Noah; and the one who played the not-so-good, but not really bad: Daniel Bonjour, aka Aiden.
The actors were all very pleasant, and Bonjour and Traynor proved they were nothing like their characters. Bonjour was mild-mannered and sweet and Traynor was a charming goofball. Besides meeting fans and giving autographs and photo ops at their booths, the two made an appearance at the Saturday night "after party" event. There, they casually and informally, in down-to-earth fashion, mingled with fans even more. Bonjour also participated in a panel during the weekend, alongside the ultimate Alexandria villain portrayer, Corey Brill, aka Pete.
During the panel, Brill proved that he, too, is unlike his character, whom he was readily referring to by the nickname popularized on social media, Porch D*** Pete — he even sang a song about how the nickname came about and how he feels about it. He was charming and sweet, and the Bonjour-Brill "Alexandrians" panel was great.
Unfortunately, Brill wasn't available for interviews, but Nacon — who gave two musical performances during the weekend — Traynor, Bonjour and Tyler James Williams — who also appeared in his own panel — happily discussed their Walking Dead experiences, careers and more.
Katelyn Nacon - Enid
TCC: How did you land the role of Enid?
Katelyn Nacon: A lot of years of hard work and practice. Then eventually, one day my agent got me an audition and just kind of luck and hard work worked out into me getting the part. I got the callback and then I heard and then I cried for like an hour.
TCC: How does it feel coming on to a big show so late in the game?
KN: It's crazy because — I've gotten a little used to it now — but when I first went in I was like oh my God, it was almost like fish out of water moment in a way. But I'm starting to adapt to it.
TCC: Everyone freaked out when you had your moment with Carl. What was that like?
KN: Cool. I don't know, a lot of people hated it or really loved it so I mean everyone has their own opinion so you can't worry about it.
TCC: Was anyone really mean to you about it?
KN: Chandler has some very committed fans... so yes.
TCC: Can you give any hints at what's next on The Walking Dead?
KN: It's going to be fun and exciting.
TCC: Will we learn more about Enid?
KN: Well she was in the season six trailer so she's not dead...
TCC: Do you have anything else in the works?
KN: Not really, not much at the moment, so trying to go with the flow as best as I can.
Michael Traynor - Nicholas
TheCelebrityCafe: How does it feel to be the most hated character because of what you did to Noah and Glenn?
Michael Traynor (joking): Any day you get to wake up and kill a few people is a good day, right? You feel accomplished, you get a little blood on your hands, it's a win-win.
TCC: Did people attack you personally online?
MT: Yeah, after you shoot someone so beloved, like the character Glenn, you'll get a death threat — or six thousand.
TCC: Do you want to do something lighter next?
MT: I've written comedies, I've been in comedies, most of the jobs I got, rather, on stage, were all comedies. I used to do sketch, the Second City (Chicago comedy club), stuff like that. Almost all of my writing work is comedy. I just happen to also be good at shooting people and killing people and messing up plans.
TCC: What would you do to Nicholas after what he did to Noah?
MT: I'd have pulled the trigger like no one's business. I'm not as large-hearted as Glenn is. Nicholas would have been dead like a few times.
TCC: Is there a chance he can redeem himself?
MT: Isn't there always a redemption? There's always a chance for redemption. Whether or not the writers walk down that path season six, there's still inherently, because they write such complex characters you never know from one episode to the next. Even as an actor on the show, every script has nuggets or surprises.
TCC: How would you cope in a zombie apocalypse?
MT: You hope well but really I'd probably be in a Costco curled up in a candy aisle.
TCC: What do you have going on in your career?
MT: Just a lot of Walking Dead, which is an exciting thing.
TCC: How was it coming on to a show this big?
MT: It was intimidating because I was a fan of the show and you want to do well. Everybody there, even season five, some shows can get a little lackluster or boring but those guys were coming to work like it was their first day of work. So there was still a level of, in my experience, unprecedented dedication and a real rigorous application of their craft to make some good stories. So it was very exciting, and then yeah, a little intimidating.
Daniel Bonjour - Aiden
TheCelebrityCafe:What was it like coming on to such a big show?
Daniel Bonjour: It was intimidating. Everything happened so fast. I was actually in Thailand when I got the call [in the panel he revealed he'd been on his honeymoon] so I flew in [he left his wife where they were — they never completed their trip], came down, went straight to set, met everybody and then I walk on to this massive set for Alexandria. It was super intimidating. You've got Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, and I was fan of the show. But they were so welcoming to me that it eased it up and once I got comfortable it was like having fun, just playing around.
TCC: Did you know Aiden's fate from the start?
DB: I did. Scott [Gimple, executive producer] let me know right from the beginning that it was a three episodes in and out kind of thing. But nobody else did, so like Norman was like "I think you're gonna be here a while man" and all these people saying things, and I was so excited I kind of almost believed it. I was like "maybe Scott was messing with me and I'm here longer."
TCC: Was it hard to sign on knowing you wouldn't be there long?
DB: Yeah, you don't think about it in the beginning, but it was like a breakup. When I got on set everybody was like "I'm so sorry I heard." You feel the condolences but you kind of don't want to talk about it. It was exactly like that.
TCC: Aiden seemed to be on the cusp of transforming, becoming better. What do you think would have happened with him if he lived?
DB: One of the scenes in the second episode, they cut, and it was basically me talking to Nicholas about how they're not bad guys, not bad people, they know what they're doing and unfortunately, for time reasons they had to cut the scene. But I was talking to Steven [Yuen, who plays Glenn] about it and we were saying it's just that idea that we were the same person, just in totally different worlds. And so we finally started seeing eye to eye and I think it would have made a lot of things smooth out but now there's all this tension between Alexandria and the gang, probably [partly] because of us. If we had gotten along, I think we could have made us all feel like one big family but it just never happened and it would not have been fun.
TCC: What's next for you?
DB: I directed a movie a couple years ago that should be coming out at the end of this year or early next year. It just got a new title, it's called After the Rain. And I just got done filming Satisfaction, which is a show on USA, so that starts in the fall. Hopefully another good show or something like that, just auditioning for other stuff.
TCC: What do you think of the sci-fi genre?
DB: I do like sci-fi, it's fun. I auditioned for the new X-Files and I didn't get it, but that would have been, that kind of stuff is fun, having a very expansive world.
TCC: How do you think you'd do in zombie apocalypse?
DB: Horribly. No, I just wouldn't believe it the whole time, I'd be like "this isn't happening."
Tyler James Williams - Noah
TheCelebrityCafe: How did it feel to have the most gruesome death on the show, possibly all of television?
Tyler James Williams: Interesting. I didn't know that's what it was gonna be when we shot it. They did a poll in EW right after and that's what surprised me, like that it may be most gruesome death ever on television. I had no idea, I really had no idea but I'm happy it was something memorable.
TCC: Some felt Noah's death made Beth's even more pointless. What are your thoughts about that?
TJW: I think that's the messed up world that we're in. I loved that aspect of it all, because at the end of the day, to the group, it reminds them that nothing is fair. You exchange one for the other and three weeks later you lose that one too. That's what [Scott] Gimple does well as the show runner and as a writer, is just keep reminding the world that this world is not fair. Sometimes there is no right answer and even when you do everything right, it goes wrong.
TCC: What's next for you?
TJW: Right now we're shooting a spin-off of Criminal Minds, an international beyond borders version, so we're getting that done now and that'll be out in January I think.