We’re With Her

W E ’ R E W I T H H E R L AUREN COHAN

AMC’s The Walking Dead is wrapping af ter 12 years. But you didn’t really think the zombie apocalypse was over, did you? Our favorite lurker-slayer breaks down her nex t moves.

BEN WATTS/TRUNK ARCHIVE The final episodes of T WD dropped in October. Is the end of the world finally over? Ever yone must make peace with the fact that there will never be a clear-cut solution to life. I will say the stor y lines we address in the last couple of episodes are def initely some of the best in all these years. And there’s always a glimmer of hope. Is that a good enough tease?

Rick Grimes disappeared in season 9. Is he alive, dead or a walker? There might be some really great information about what happened to R ick. Unfortunately, I can’t say any thing more.

Favorite zombie kill? I like the bloated well-walker from season 2. I didn’t kill him, but it was just one of my favorites because of his decrepitude—I’m prett y sure that isn’t a word. But you’re so used to seeing the zombies wasted away. And this one had been soaking in water and was puffed up.

Tips for sur viving working outdoors in the Georgia summer ? You just layer up ever y day. You put on more clothes than people want to wear in that much heat. Then you spray on sunscreen and bug spray—and it doesn’t do anything. You feel ver y alive. And you feel ver y dead, too. I’ve been so hot and so beaten up that I can’t even think. But it’s OK because ever ybody’s in it together. So you just sort of learn to love being in your own sweat.

T H E B A S I C S Age: 40. Hometown: Born in the States, raised in England, New Jersey girl at hear t. Fun part of TWD: The MacGy ver element.

#T WDfamily that sweats together, stays together. The idea of the #TW Dfamily started early because we were all in a satellite location in a remote part of Georgia. It was like having an amazing summer adventure with the same people ever y year. Obviously, cast and crew have come and gone. But the core agenda was to put our heart and soul into this. We knew how precious it was and that it would not last forever.

You and Jef frey Dean Morgan star in an upcoming spinof f, Isle of the Dead. This time you’re bat-

Ride or die tling flesh-eating castmate: Marcelle Manhat tanites.

Coletti, my We’re f ilming the stuntwoman. She new show already in makes me look New York. It’s funny. badass. When I’m not f ilming deep in the woods, Key to a Southern I’m like, “Where are accent: Think of “E” the trees?” The new as three Es. show goes beyond simply living to keep meeting the challenges of defending yourself and your loved ones. And, sadly, as strong as Maggie is, she’s never been able to do that. She’s lost almost ever ybody. Is it strange when you’re without Maggie’s knives and guns?

L ast scene, last shot. What happened af ter the director called “cut”? Getting to the moment when this show was over was surreal and overwhelming. It’s not like graduating college. Or saying goodbye to a boyfriend or going off on a solo adventure. I can only liken it to a wedding and a funeral at the same time—the passing of an era.

As the time playing this character goes on, you think, “Where are my weapons? Where are my boots and spats?” My brain is now attuned to the practicalit y of sur vival, keeping my senses on and being generally prepared.

E V E RYO N E ’ S I N I T TO G E T H E R . YO U L E A R N TO LOV E B E I N G I N YO U R OW N SW E AT.

If walkers ever do take over, you’ll be our leader. It’s funny because during Covid19 ever ybody said, “Well, ask Lauren. She knows what to do.” But I was overshopping for canned goods, just like ever yone. I didn’t know what I was doing. But I’ll be an apocaly ptic consultant if I have to.