The second half of season two won't pick up until February, but "The Walking Dead" breakout star Jon Bernthal -- who plays Shane -- teases that it will be well worth the wait.
From the set of a movie he's filming with Dwayne Johnson, Susan Sarandon and Michael Kenneth Williams, Bernthal chatted with TheWrap about last week's crushing midseason finale of "The Walking Dead," how he feels about Shane's controversial Otis offing and how that Rick/Shane/Lori triangle is going to play out when the show returns. Two words: "very explosive."
Are you getting a lot of feedback from fans, and how strongly they're reacting to Shane and his actions in season two?
You know, I am. I mean, it's always kind of garnered strong reaction, both good and bad, from the beginning. Before we even started, you know, I remember going to New York, last year, before the show had even aired, and when I was announced at Comic Con … everybody sort of announced their name and what character they were playing, and I said I was playing Shane, and I just got this chorus of resounding boos from the audience. (Laughing)
Also read: 'The Walking Dead' A to Z: From Andrew Lincoln to, Duh, Zombies
In the comic book, he's sort of this … I think he could be perceived as this kind of one-note, sort of villainous kind of character. But I always thought, even in a comic book, there's so much more to him. I think he's just a character that kind of got caught up in a situation that was so much bigger than him.
And that's what initially drew me to the character and made me so desperate to play him. I just think he's such an interesting guy, and I think that one of the greatest things about our show is that it really ignites the audience; it really pushes them to ask questions.
I think there's so many people were sort of ... themselves, was this something -- you know, was this the right thing to do. Is Shane a villain? Was he wrong to do this? And any time, through your art, through your work, you can sort of get the audience to ask questions and look inward, that's the biggest thrill that we can possibly have as actors.
So where did you land on the issue of Shane killing Otis? Is he a hero or a villain?
I think it's really important when you're playing a character to love him and believe in him, and to never act out of … I don't think people act out of evilness. I think that Shane is a guy who is really trying to adapt to this new world order where things like shame and emotion and a moral compass, where they, I think he looks at those as things that will hold you back in this world.
