What is your character Ofelia Salazar in Fear The Walking Dead like?
Mercedes Mason as Ofelia Salazar / Credit: AMC
Ofelia is the child of immigrant parents. She was born and raised in America, in California, on the east side. So it's very diverse culturally where she comes from. She's very protective of her parents. She doesn't quite know what their history is. She knows they needed to leave El Salvador because of the revolution but not much more than that. She wants to do her best. She's very scholastic and she wants to appease her parents.
Does Fear The Walking Dead have the same tone as The Walking Dead?
It has similarities and differences. This is a parallel story to the beginning of The Walking Dead so there are walkers but they haven't decayed yet. They're a lot more human looking which, to me at least, is a lot more daunting. So you could have to kill your neighbour that you were having coffee with just the other day. It's a lot scarier in that sense.
For us, the cool thing with our show is that we know less than the audience. So there's a lot of discovery going on. The biggest danger for us is that we don't know what's lurking around the corner. At first, we don't even know what's going on. We just think it's some kind of unrest. So, we don't know what's going to happen but the audience does and I think that's really exciting for an audience member. Especially as I'm also a fan!
How are you getting on with the other cast members?
I think we are so lucky to have this group of people coming together. We have people of all different nationalities and age groups - and we've all been hanging out. We'll do dinners; we hang out together at the weekend. It's nice to be able to spend time with people from so many different walks of life. Like Ruben, for example, he's a well-known musician. So we have so much to talk about.
Kim - I have watched her work since day one; same with Cliff. Frank has so much to offer in the sense of how he approaches things as a method actor. Lorenzo is one of the sweetest people you'll ever meet in your life. He is a little bit shy but so, so sweet. Such a great actor. And then Alycia is my little angel. We do our own thing and hang out. It's nice to have the girls to join up with and play.
So in the storyline, do the different families join together?
Yes, exactly. In the pilot, you just see the first family - Madison and Cliff - and the second episode is when the rest of us get introduced and you'll see how that happens and what the catalyst is that forces us all together.
As a fan of the show, when I heard about this - before I'd even gone for a part - I thought that sounded really great. I thought it was a brilliant idea. As a fan, you want to know what happened to the world before Rick Grimes wakes up from his coma in the original pilot. So this is such a perfect way to show audiences exactly where it all began - or at least the early stages and how people reacted to it.
It's like Lord of the Flies. You have no idea who the good guy is and who the bad guy is. The people that you're supposed to be able to trust - the police - you can't. And all of this slowly starts unfolding and people are joining together just to be safe.
How do you think you would react in a situation like that?
I would definitely try to stay close to my family. But unfortunately my family is spread all over the place so I'd be screwed! (laughs)
I would try to get all of my family members into the same area but I think the natural human instinct is that you want to protect what you know as your safety and who you can trust. Your family, I imagine, you can absolutely turn to, knowing that you'll have each other's backs.
So that's the sort of family dynamic that's really strong in this show. And families can also be made. When you're forced into a situation where you have this sort of danger knocking at the door, you'd reach out to people - to whoever is there to help you. You'd create a cohesive family because you're forced into it.
So I think I would freak out and once that subsided, I think a natural instinct to survive would kick in and I would, at some point, pick up a weapon - I would hope!
Are your family in the show very religious?
Griselda, my mother, is very Catholic. My father doesn't really talk about it and Ofelia is a complete product of her two parents. She has a lot of her father and a lot of her mother in her and she's caught between those two worlds. There is a scene you'll see in the show when Ofelia hasn't been praying at all and when they start realising things are getting really scary, you can see her praying, quietly, in her own way.
You could argue that the only feeling that really makes you want to be closer to God is fear...
Yes, absolutely. When you have nothing else to turn to, when you don't have a sense of safety, it's a very natural instinct to turn to whatever you need. And if you're religious, that's where you'd turn at that time.
So what does Ofelia fear most?
I think she fears losing her family. I think she's always been the protector in her mind. As much as her parents are very strong and intelligent, she's always felt that she needed to protect her immigrant parents. I think her fear is that, she'll somehow disappoint them and they'll suffer because of that. So she's constantly in this perpetual struggle, trying to keep them together and make sure they're safe. And it's a difficult time in her relationship with her father - they disagree a little bit because he has some ideas of how they should survive and she thinks she knows better. She has other ideas and she's desperate to get him to listen to her. I think losing their family is most people's fear.
How did you prepare for the role?
Like I said, I'm a huge fan, so I didn't need to watch anything. When the call came in about the part I was so excited. And when I got the role - after I was done screaming and jumping! - I started to think about what she was like.
I have immigrant parents as well so that's always been a big part of me and who I am. I want to protect them too, especially when English isn't their first language. That's difficult. When I first came to the States, I was 12 years old and I learnt the language really quickly. But my parents didn't. So you're constantly trying to decipher this mediation between your new world and your home and where you're from. So that part of her character, I really understood, and I think the more episodes I read, the more I understand Ofelia and the more I've realised she's very much like me. So there wasn't actually a whole lot of research in that sense. It's more just an understanding of the world she's from. Because I'm not from East LA.
Were you able to influence the writers in any way with the development of your character?
Yeah, I sent them puppies, candy, tried to take them out to dinner... (laughs) We're still pretty early on in the story so I'm still very much up for the ride. I think once we progress into the second and third seasons and I have more of a grasp of the character and more of an understanding of the world they're creating... But so far I haven't had any complaints. It's exciting and maybe it's because I'm a fan but when I read the scripts it's like I have an insider knowledge.
What do your parents think about your part in the show?
They're very excited. But my parents are old school so in their heads, at some point, I'll get over this whim of acting and go back to med school! (laughs) I studied psychology so they keep waiting for me to go back to school. But I have to say, when I got this part, it was the first show that they recognised. I've done other shows and I have done films and they've seen them and said 'yeah, nice', but The Walking Dead they recognised. I think they finally took it seriously and they perked up. They were, dare I say, almost proud. They'll never admit it but, almost! (laughs)
It's actually quite scary because Ruben looks a little bit like my Dad! Even down to the eyebrows! He's well aware of that. I had to tell him because every once in a while I just stare at him and he says, 'What?' and I have to say, 'Sorry! Sorry!' Yeah, my Dad is quiet and strong like the character and I'm always trying to get through his walls with joking. I think Ofelia has her own ways of connecting with her father. And both of them are hyper-protective of Griselda.
As a family drama, will there be any humour in the show?
I wouldn't call this comedy by any means! (laughs) From what I've seen so far, I think there are a few moments when the characters realise that the world is falling apart and they're still human and there's a craziness in that. You know, when you realise that your neighbour is turning into something. There's such a dichotomy in this show - the sense of the normal while the world is falling apart. In the original show, it's post-apocalypse and they know where they're at. In this strange new world, you want to wake up from the nightmare.
With your knowledge of the original show, how would you like your character to be killed if it gets to that point?
I'd have to say that episode of The Walking Dead when Tyreese dies and he has that long moment of realisation, seeing all the different characters coming into the room. I would like a full episode dedicated to my death. Three episodes! (laughs) Flashbacks, the lot.
I love the show, like I said. And if I'm going to die, I want it to be super violent! (laughs) Who wants to fade away? Maybe I'll swallow a grenade and just explode!
Fear The Walking Dead's first season will become available on Amazon Prime Video on Easter Sunday onwards.
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