The main character of AMC's Fear the Walking Dead was killed off at the end of this year's midseason finale, putting an end to speculation that's run rampant since the start of the creatively retooled fourth season. Madison marks the second original castmember to depart the Walking Dead companion series this season; unlike the death of Frank Dillane's Nick, however, Madison's exit was not something Kim Dickens requested. According to the season one veteran, showrunners Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg (who took over Fear the Walking Dead this year following the departure of co-creator and original showrunner Dave Erickson at the end of season three) were the ones who devised Madison's death, informing Dickens of the development before production on season four commenced.
"They saw my disappointment," Dickens tells The Hollywood Reporter about her initial conversations with Chambliss and Goldberg. "They saw what I disagreed with about it. But it was always a respectful conversation. There were a few conversations, and they were always respectful, but they were heartfelt."
By the time Dickens hopped on the phone with THR to discuss her exit from Fear, little more than twelve hours had elapsed since Madison's death became public knowledge. Dickens, whose extensive career includes turns on FX's Sons of Anarchy and ABC's Lost, is saying goodbye to one of her most recognizable roles, while simultaneously preparing to revisit another of her iconic characters: Joannie Stubbs of HBO's Deadwood. Dickens confirmed the looming return of the legendary HBO series during her final appearance on Talking Dead; while the totality of Dickens' next moves remains uncertain, at least one of her future projects will have roots in her past.
Read on for Dickens' thoughts on the Deadwood revival, as well as her extensive thoughts on leaving Fear the Walking Dead ? including whether or not she would play Madison again, given the nebulous way in which the character's death was portrayed onscreen.
Some fans are clinging onto hope that Madison is still alive, given that we don't see her actual death. Can you confirm that Madison is dead, or is there some flexibility in the interpretation?
I couldn't confirm it if there was, obviously, but she's gone. That's all I know. (Laughs.) Trust me, that's all I know. That's the way we played it.
Would you be open to returning to the series, if the writers concocted a way for Madison to have survived the attack at the Diamond?
Wow. It's so funny... in all of this heat and in this moment, I never thought about that, and I didn't expect to get that question. (Pauses.) I don't know how to answer that. All I can say is that I felt my whole career was leading me to this character. Honestly, I find that the roles find us, as actors, when you're ready for them, and when you're ready to be challenged. I have loved this character so much. It has been such an honor to play this fierce and empowered woman who is mature and a mother, and is maybe not your typical idea of a lead for the genre. It's just been an honor, everything I've gotten to play with this character: her benevolent side, her evil side... all of it. It's been a challenge and a joy, just the complexities of her. I've been working for five or six months on letting her go, and that's been hard, because I knew [about Madison's death] before going into production. So, I don't know how to answer that. I've had to let it go. Were it to come around and find itself in another show or another place and time? Of course I would entertain it. I love the character. I love the franchise. I love the writing and the storytelling of it. But you really made me stumble there for a minute. I almost got emotional!
11-06-2018 - Vidéo
