The Walking Dead Ezekiel Actor Shares Thoughts on Shiva & His Role in The Kingdom

The seventh season of The Walking Dead may be all about the Negan, but we shouldn't forget about one other badass character coming with the new season.

For those who missed that cool trailer, AMC has already teased the arrival of The Kingdom's very own Ezekiel and his pet tiger Shiva. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Ezekiel actor Khary Payton revealed just how they made the wacky royalty of Ezekiel alive in the upcoming season.

Just a quick recap: Ezekiel is the leader of the Kingdom, a community that the showrunners have described to be very different from what Rick and the gang have seen so far.

Perhaps more interesting than the appearance of Ezekiel is the fact that the showrunners have tried so hard to ensure that he remains hidden as much as possible before his big reveal.

"I've been diving in the backs of vans and having blankets thrown over my head so that nobody catches a glimpse of me and getting in and out of Georgia. I've got a lot of family in Georgia and I didn't even tell them that I was there."

Payton revealed that when he had read the script, he had felt a connection with Ezekiel's character. Even when he didn't outright know how the character was—since the showrunners had changed some details—but he had been following the show.

When talking about Ezekiel's character, Payton revealed that his philosophy mimics Ezekiel's. But more importantly, Ezekiel has a very inspirational and thoughtful way of looking at life after the apocalypse.

"I love even his [Ezekiel's] relationship with the zombies themselves. He's a guy who doesn't think of them as having a physical disease. It's more that their joy was robbed from them, and that he's one of the few people left on earth whose joy hasn't been robbed, and to him, that's the difference between the living and the dead."

From the looks of it, this may be what the showrunners were talking about when they said that The Walking Dead's next season will have more than just the sadness of the first death. We may be seeing more of the kooky character that is Ezekiel—and who knows? Maybe he'll take away our pain once Negan brings down Lucille on someone we will miss.

The Walking Dead will be back on AMC on Oct. 23.

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