Brandon Fobbs and Norman Reedus
Hello, my little zombie snacks, and especially those of you who watch “The Walking Dead.” We are back again with the second half of Brandon Fobbs’ interview and touching base with the character that he played on season four of “The Walking Dead”. When we left off in part one, Brandon was telling me how he got involved with the show. Read more after the break.
Marie Gilbert: “Brandon we left off with your conversation with Sharon Bialy, the casting director for the show. We’ll pick up from there.
Brandon Fobbs: “Later on when I saw the trailer for season four of TWD coming out, I wrote Sharon Bialy a letter. I said that I liked the trailer and that she did a great job on the casting for the fourth season, and not to forget that “The Walking Dead” is my favorite show. Later on when they had an opportunity for me to have a role that fit my description, they called me in, and I made sure that I would do the best job I could to get that role.”
Michonne’s friends Terry and Mike
Marie Gilbert: “That was a strange part because you’re playing Terry a friend of Michonne (Danai Gurira) and her boyfriend, Mike (Aldis Hodge). At first, you see her walking around with her “pet zombies” so I was curious to how they would portray the characters when they were doing the flashbacks. Did they give you hints on how you were to play your part?”
Brandon Fobbs: “Oh yeah, actually Greg Nicotero is not only the head special FX supervisor but he’s also one of the executive producers. He had me come to the FX department which was for me, like being a kid in Candyland. I got to see all the cool stuff like the zombie masks and how they made them. When I sat down with him at first, Greg didn’t know what my knowledge was of the show and he said, “I don’t know if you watch the show…” and I replied, “Are you crazy!”
Then he said, “Then you know who Michonne is…” I said yes to everybody he brought up and I kept saying, “Yeah, I know, I know.” So afterwards he explained the background of Terry and Mike (Aldis Hodge) and how they were at a camp with Michonne before the camp was overrun. Her boyfriend was losing hope and things were getting kind of ugly and that’s where her swordplay came in. It was a big advantage for her because they came from a cosmopolitan background where they were like artsy people. When this all hit them, it’s kind of easy to get confused and lose sight of what your constitution would even be in a world like that.”
Marie Gilbert: “What was it like working with Michonne (Danai Gurira)?”
Brandon Fobbs: “She is a sweetheart. Danai is awesome, just a beautiful person. The woman you see on the show as just an angry person, you later understand how she got to that. But, she is capable of so much more, and at the end of season three near the start of season four, they start to really bring this out as you see her as a person with a lot of love.
As an actress, like I said, she’s a beautiful person. When she’s on the set and the scenes are kind of tense, she’s actually dialing herself back a little bit, because the real person is nice, bubbly and very cool.”
Marie Gilbert: “Were you in season three a bit or just season four?”
Brandon Fobbs: “No, just season four.”
Marie Gilbert: “Since you were in season four, do you keep in contact with the cast even though you’re now dead in the script, or would they call you back if they need you for more flashbacks?”
Brandon Fobbs: “My fingers are crossed for me and the other guy who played Mike, (Aldis Hodge) to return. But the cool thing is that I was actually taken aback by the “The Walking Dead” production company because they actually ended up sending me a mug later on. I forgot what it was for, maybe Halloween or they did it just out of the blue. That’s how it is with the production over there. They are a real tight group. The cool thing that I saw was that the people over there working on the show are able to grow from their positions. And some of them were able to go from PA’s production assistants to AD’s, assistant directors; there is a lot of room for growth.
Funny enough, Chad Coleman, the man who plays Tyreese, already knew me. We had a lot of scenes together in “The Wire”, so it was cool for me and him to be on “The Walking Dead” together, even though we didn’t get to see each other in the show. In fact, it was a blessing to be in two great shows with him. And that’s something that I’m really thankful for.”
Marie Gilbert: “I can understand what with “The Wire” having a big following, and of course “The Walking Dead.” What are your plans for the future; what are you working on now?”
Brandon Fobbs: “Right now I’m working on the set of “Getting On” an HBO original comedy series about nurses and doctors on the women’s floor of a geriatrics ward. I’m one of the recurring guest stars on that show. I was on the first season and now we’re shooting for the second season. We’re finishing that up, and hopefully, I’ll be working on another project which I can’t speak about right now, but if it happens, we can definitely talk about it later.”
Marie Gilbert: “I wanted to say that I’m so happy that Uriah Young introduced us and I was curious as to how you knew Uriah, who I think is the most amazing young person I’ve ever met. Everyone in our writing group loves this young man. I met Uriah at a Writers Conference and he was reading an excerpt from his soon to be published book and I thought, “Oh my God! This kid is going to be famous.” How did you know him?”
Brandon Fobbs: “Me and Uriah went to college together. It’s funny, we got to know each other because he started acting and modeling and then introduced me to my first agent, a woman in Virginia Beach. Uriah and I would do the same reenactment shows and stuff like that. Uriah would come to all the plays we were in and show a great deal of support. He’s such a positive guy. In school he would do his thing and we would do ours. I guess it was a match made in heaven that would come together later.”
Marie Gilbert: “Uriah is very supportive of people and getting them noticed and I was so happy when he contacted me and told me to contact you. Okay, now for a few more questions. If there was one movie, past or present, that you could star in what would it be?”
Brandon Fobbs: “I would like to be a character in a movie based on the book “Rainbow Six,” which is a book written by Tom Clancy. I would love to be a character in that movie because I love playing soldier-type roles. And if I could do the military stuff, like a Bourne Identity movie with some good depth to the story, I would be over the moon.”
Marie Gilbert: “My last question is if you could work with any actress, who would it be?”
Brandon Fobbs: “I would love to have Tamron Hall be my love interest in a movie. I know she’s not an actress, but I have a crush on her like nobody’s business, so I had to throw her out there first. If I have to stick with actresses, then let me think, oh! As a matter of fact I’m working with her now. But I would like to work with her in a more in depth scene one day. Laurie Metcalf is an awesome actress. And the depth of humanity that she shows when she’s acting is amazing.”
Marie Gilbert: “Well, I want to thank you, Brandon, for being a guest on Biff Bam Pop!. It was a true pleasure chatting with you. Is there anything you want to say to Biff Bam Pop! followers?”
Brandon Fobbs: “I wanted them to know that they can keep up with me on Facebook and on my website www.BrandonFobbs.com. I plan on doing some creative writing as well and a lot of things are in the mix.”
Marie Gilbert: “So you would be interested in writing a script or maybe directing?”
Brandon Fobbs: “Yes, in fact, I had directed a short film called The Realest Audition, Ever. It’s on my website and I’ll be opening it up to the public real soon.”
Conclusion
Well there we have it, my little zombie snacks, and you can be sure that Steampunk Granny will be keeping my eye on this very talented star, and hopefully, we’ll be chatting with Brandon again in the future. As a special treat, Brandon has sent a link to some of his work. Make sure to check it out the link below.
The Brandon Fobbs Video Gallery
Filed under: interview, Marie Gilbert, television, Walking Dead Tagged: Aldis Hodge, Brandon Fobbs, Chad Coleman, Danai Gurira, getting on, greg nicotero, HBO, interview, Jason Bourne, Laurie Metcalf, Michonne, rainbow six, Sharon Bialy, Tamron Hall, the walking dead, The Wire, Tom Clancy, uriah young
