I caught up with Cooper Andrews at Frightmare in the Falls, and we got into the stuff Walking Dead fans actually want to hear: Jerry’s real axe, the cave scene that hurt more than it looked, forgiving Negan, and whether Jerry could come back.
Andrew Lincoln found out that axe was real
Cooper says Andrew Lincoln thought the paint made Jerry’s axe look like a fake prop. Then Cooper handed it to him. The reaction tells you everything. Cooper also explains how exhausting it was swinging it repeatedly in the heat while filming.
The cave scene was rough for real
If watching Jerry squeeze through that cave stressed you out, filming it was no picnic either. Cooper says the set started out as foam before concrete was added. Getting pulled across that rough surface left him scraped up, and he was still healing from surgery. He remembers Norman Reedus enjoying the old-school Walking Dead intensity.
Why Jerry could forgive Negan
We talked about something fans still argue over: how anyone could forgive Negan after Glenn and Abraham. Cooper walks through Jerry’s thinking, his trust in Carol, and why Jerry would see serving time as meaning something. It is a much bigger answer than just saying Jerry is a nice guy.
Could Jerry return?
At the time of our conversation, Cooper said nobody had approached him about bringing Jerry back. He would like to see how the characters have aged and changed after another time jump, and thinks a spin-off involving his group could be wild. That is his idea and interest, not an announced project.
And then came the last-meal question
Cooper had clearly thought about this one. His answer involves butter chicken, ice cream, dairy and a plan to make everybody else regret it. Watch through the end for the full answer.
Cooper brings the same humor and warmth that made Jerry so easy to root for. My favorite part is how quickly a funny set story turns into an answer that actually makes you look at the show differently. This was a fun one.
Watch the full interview above, subscribe to Rocking With Jam Man on YouTube, and tell me: would you watch a Jerry and Ezekiel spin-off?
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