The Walking Dead: Dead City ended its third season in a space that no fan of this franchise would’ve seen coming a few years ago. Maggie and Negan are in a very amicable space, with Maggie putting him in charge of the security for their growing NYC community. There are plans to expand and do so much more, which we hope we will get to see in the near future. We spoke to Lauren Cohan about portraying Maggie for 15 years and the complex dynamic between her and Negan.
Nerdist: It’s hard to believe that you’ve been playing Maggie for 15 years and there are so many fans who have literally grown up watching you on their TV screens. In what ways has Maggie shaped you as a person and as an actor?
Lauren Cohan: I’m very grateful to have had consistency. I think that’s one thing that actors and a lot of people don’t get… it’s just like it’s such a rare experience in any line of work, especially acting. And so on that sort of practical level, I think it’s been great because it can be so uprooting and lonely, honestly, to do this job sometimes. You go to new places and you make amazing relationships and amazing friends, and then at the end of a job you disperse. And with Walking Dead, we’ve had such a rare experience.
The first thing you feel is just gratitude to be doing a cool show with cool material, and working with great people. And then over time you’re like, “Wow, this is such a unique bond because for the rest of my life I will meet Walking Dead fans.” It’s like we all grew up and went to this generational university together and it’s never lost on me how unique that is. So that’s sort of on a practical life level. And then as an actor for Maggie, the best thing you can ever do is learn and have somewhere to practice your learnings and be around people… I just feel very fortunate to have been with sincere filmmakers and storytellers for a really long time. And I love it. I feel so lucky. She’s had some amazing material.
Yes, I think Maggie had such an incredible journey throughout the original flagship series. And that’s even more true with Dead City’s third season. She starts the beginning of the season hopeless and dejected and separated from her son. And she ends it with hope and trust and wanting to rebuild a new world. How much input did you get to have when it came to Maggie’s storyline and shaping her trajectory this season?
Cohan: I was like Maggie needs to have fun! Maggie needs a friend. Maggie and Megan need to move forward. These were all the things that I wanted and [Jeffrey Dean Morgan] wanted too. Everything up to this point was necessary because if we had made a change or if we had evolved into a friendlier state too soon, it would’ve been wrong.
And no matter what people said about it, because obviously some people felt like the war went on too long, but anything else would’ve been too short. You know what I mean? And we needed certain development for each character to get to a place. It was much more about Maggie’s relationship with herself and witnessing the possibility of change in Negan, but moreover witnessing the loss of a relationship with Herschel. And I think that the end of season two is what really cracked her open to what made the change possible this year.
Right. Speaking of her relationship with Negan, there’s been some cyclical things and feelings happening over the years. But, it does feel authentic because if you had a really complex relationship with someone like that, you’re not going to have a straight line towards acceptance and moving forward. I was really surprised at the end of this season when she made Negan the head of security and showed that she has some trust in him. She basically said, “I don’t necessarily forgive you, but I will trust you to be able to work in this capacity and we can work together.” Do you really think that there’s any pathway for Maggie to find forgiveness or is she resigned to that space of acceptance?
Cohan: What would forgiveness mean? Is it absolving someone? Because nothing Maggie can do or say will be a greater gift to herself or Negan than saying, “Despite what happened, let’s keep going.” I think when you live in the apocalypse, a friend or somebody that helps you to persevere is the best thing I can do as a friend to anybody.
I think what’s happened too is that they’ve mutually had so much suffering. They’ve both sort of suffered the same amount at this point. He’s lost Ginny, even though it wasn’t at the hands of brutality the way Maggie experienced with him killing Glenn. But at this point being able to agree to move forward and to say there’s good in you, I think it’s worth more than forgiveness. And I think that her accepting his encouragement is what makes him feel a sense of worth and purpose. It’s almost beyond the question of forgiveness at this point, but I’m glad you asked that because it was so nuanced for us to even choose to use the word family. We decided how we would actually articulate that moment.
And to me, it’s like, “I’m here for you. I’m not going to like everything that you do, but you have proven yourself to be reliable.” And of all the people in the world, she has known Negan the longest and she actually can rely on him and he came for her. And even though he went and killed La Dama without checking that that’s actually what she wanted, he did perceive that to be what she wanted. So we’re just going to give that one a pass because she was really messing with Maggie’s s**t. [laughs]