As the AMC spinoff prepares to wrap with its fourth season, the actress reflects on filming in Spain and what’s next
NEED TO KNOW
- Melissa McBride says she’s taking “personal time” after The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon ends
- AMC has confirmed the series will conclude with its fourth season
- The actress reflects on filming in Spain and her connection to her character, Carol
Melissa McBride is looking ahead as The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon prepares to conclude with its fourth season later this year.
The Walking Dead actress, who has played Carol Peletier for over a decade, tells PEOPLE she plans to take a step back once the series comes to an end, while attending the AMC Global Media Upfront on Wednesday.
“I’m gonna be working on me a little bit,” McBride, 60, says at the AMC Global Media Upfront in New York City on Wednesday, April 29. “I’m gonna be doing a little personal time. And then we’ll just see what happens.”
McBride has been busy bringing Carol back to life in the latest season of the AMC series, this time filming across Spain, which offered a fresh backdrop for the long-running zombie franchise.
Credit: Jace Downs/AMC
“It was really, really nice getting to film in Spain because we had different locations throughout the country,” she says. “The locals there are very, very nice and very patient with us because you come into a small village and you kind of tear it up a little bit.”
Off-camera, the experience was just as low-key. “You meet for a good meal somewhere,” McBride adds. “That’s pretty much it.”
Season 2 also introduced a new showrunner, something McBride says brought a different creative energy to the set. “It’s kind of a new, fresh take,” she explains. “You wonder what they think about your character and where they’re gonna take your character … it’s their show. So there’s conversations, and it’s interesting.”
Even after years in the role, McBride says Carol continues to evolve alongside her.
“I think just about everything about Carol,” she says when asked how the character has impacted her real life. “We affect each other. My portrayal of her and my understanding of her is based on a lot of personal stuff … people that I know, experiences that I’m aware of, some maybe even my own.”
She adds, “I kind of feel like she was with me before she ever came along and she’ll be with me long after.”
Credit: Emmanuel Guimier/AMC
Now in her 60s, McBride says her perspective — both on life and work — continues to shift. “It’s kind of like boiling a frog,” she says. “If there’s wisdom with age, it just progresses because you’re more aware of the world. You live and you learn.”
What has become clearer over time, she says, is a sense of certainty about what she wants. “You know what you don’t want,” McBride says, adding that life still brings “a lot of great surprises.”
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
McBride did not appear in the first half of season 1 due to logistical reasons, later returning as a series regular beginning with the season 1 finale. At the time, an AMC spokesperson told Entertainment Weekly: "Melissa McBride has given life to one of the most interesting, real, human and popular characters in The Walking Dead Universe."
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon returns this fall on AMC.
Read the full article here
