ALYSSASUTHERLAND IS ELLIE

What’s the best part about being a Deadite?

I get to play and be wild and go all over the place. As an actor, that’s such a gift. In real life, I’m really quite a boring person. I am fairly risk-averse. I like to be quite well-behaved. So it was a chance for me to break down any barriers and feel completely free in a way that I’m just not in real life. I mean, I would never terrorize someone psychologically.

What was the grossest part about it?

The vomit rig was by far the worst. That was disgusting. They hide this rod attachment that goes into your mouth, and it shoots the vomit into your mouth and then bounces off this mouthpiece and comes back out. The force of that coming into your mouth, it’s foul. And I was really gagging from it. They kept asking, “Is the flavor okay?” I’m like, it’s not the flavor; this whole thing is disgusting.

Being a Deadite is physically demanding. Did you ever think your body was going to break?

No, I didn’t. Rob Tapert had given us this disclaimer that there’s going to come a point [where] you’re gonna break. But honestly, I come from the world of modeling, and I’m so used to having ridiculous things done, hair- and makeup-wise. I’m used to being out in the cold wearing next to nothing. We’re so protected as actors. There were a good couple of weeks there I was just drenched, soaking wet. Just the whole time. But the crew is so wonderful, standing by with hot water bottles.