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Alanna Masterson talks to HELLO! about the return of her hit show 'The Walking Dead' and raising her 3-month-old daughter.
Alanna Masterson is just like any first-time
mom, except she slays zombies for a living. The 27-year-old actress stars as
Tara
Chambler
in AMC’s hit series The Walking Dead, which she joined back
in season four. Now with the show in its sixth season, Alanna tells
HELLO! she
can relate to her character. "I’m a super, super optimistic person,"
she says. "I love that [Tara] is always optimistic, and I think that she
is always trying to make the best of every situation even though she’s got a
lot of layers to her."
Photo: Getty Images
Facing the apocalypse on the hit show, and playing a character who has multiple losses has also affected the way the
TV star views life with her loved ones. "I think that’s what’s also
amazing about this show, is you know, what would happen if all the things went
away that people waste so much time thinking [about] or are important in your
life,” Alanna says. “It makes you just kind of value every day and cherish
every day knowing that you never know what happens in life."
The actress welcomed her first
child with photographer boyfriend
Brick Stowell back in November. Being
a mom to her 3-month-old daughter
Marley she says "is probably the
best thing that has ever happened to me. It kind of gives life a whole new
purpose. I love [Marley] more than anything.”
Playing a strong female like
Tara has also changed the star’s outlook on raising her daughter. She explains,"I can just continue to work hard and teach her that you can be a strong
woman when you grow up and work long hours and make a life for yourself.”
Making life a “joy” for her
daughter to grow up in is important for the first-time mom. Recalling the best
piece of parenting advice she received from her own mother, the AMC actress
reveals, “Always make it a safe and happy environment for your kid even when
things are tough or when times are tough.” She adds, “Life is beautiful really, and you just make it a joy for your kids to grow up.”
But if there was ever an
actual apocalypse, this savvy mom already has a plan in action. Keep reading to see how Alanna would react if real life mimicked the zombie show and
what she tells
HELLO! about Tara’s future on the series.
Photo: Instagram.com/@lucytwobows
There are so many
diehard fans. Does it still amaze you the following
Walking Dead has?
"I mean yeah,
I would say on a daily basis I’m pretty shocked. I mean this is going to be one
of those shows that people talk about when I’m old. It’s not going to
go away. And even when the show ends, it’s going to last."
Where do you see the
direction of
Walking Dead heading this season with your character Tara?
"Especially this season, I
think that Tara has found someone that she wants to
fight for and take care of, and I think that she’s going to be just willing to
protect Alexandria to make sure that everyone is okay. With the loss of her
family, she didn’t really have anything to kind of fight for and now she does."
Can you relate to Tara?
"Yeah, absolutely! I’m a
super, super optimistic person. My mom is that way – so even when times are
hard and tough, you know she’s always like, ‘Hey listen, things can be worse or
this can happen or that can happen.’ Or even with acting when something
wouldn’t work out as planned she was always like you know something else is
coming along the way, don’t you worry. I guess that’s kind of how I was
raised."
There is never a shortage
of deaths on this show. When a cast member gets killed off is there a goodie
bag of sorts or a party you throw to bid him/her farewell?
"[Laughs] A goodie bag.
That would be really funny! We do all get together and have a dinner or a lunch, or we all go to a movie or something. We’re all really close. It’s pretty
devastating when people leave, so we try to say goodbye in the best way possible
and not make it super sad."
Photo: Frank Ockenfels 3/AMC
Growing up, were you ever
scared of zombies or vampires? Did your brothers make you watch those types of
shows?
"Yeah. I remember watching
[
Little Monsters] and just not being able to sleep because I was
worried that someone was going to come out and pull me down. I also have four
brothers [Danny, Chis, Jordan and Will] so I definitely saw things I probably
shouldn’t have seen as a kid. I think I watched Arachnophobia when I was 6. I
didn’t sleep for weeks."
And now, do you ever catch
yourself looking over your shoulder, wondering if something is after you?
"No. I’m not very scared of
many things. I definitely think that I would be prepared if there was some sort
of apocalypse. I’ve learned so many tricks and things from the prop master. I learn all these survival tools."
Okay, so if there was an
apocalypse, what would be the first thing you’d do, and what would be your best
skill in that type of situation?
"I would take my family,
well I mean my whole entire family, including everyone that lives in L.A. and
New York, we would all meet. We have a meeting point. I would do whatever it
took to get there either in a car or on a motorcycle, on a bicycle, I’d walk,
just so we’d all be together. I’ve got good aim so probably, I would be the
assassin of the group. I’ve got a good shot."
Photo: Instagram.com/@lucytwobows
For this season, were you
pregnant with Marley while filming?
"Yeah. I was very, very
much pregnant. Kind of from the get-go, and you know I was lucky enough to have
people be so excited and willing to make it work. I also pushed myself a lot to
work really hard and even when scenes were super grueling or we had 18-hour
days, I never complained or anything. I was just grateful to be there."
You film in Georgia. Does it
make you miss L.A. or are you loving raising Marley there?
"Yeah, I like being
separated from it all. I think that’s maybe also why we’re all so close because
we don’t get to just get off work and go home and hang out with our friends and
family. It’s like these are our friends and family and these are the bonds we
created out here so, I really, really enjoy shooting on location. Atlanta is a
great city."
Have you and Brick both
endured many sleepless nights since becoming parents?
"We’re a good tag team.
He’s the best dad in the world. I’ll do nights, he’ll do days. We sleep when we
sleep. I’m used to an actor’s schedule which you don’t really get much sleep
anyways, and he’s a photographer and travels with Tyler, the Creator, so he
doesn’t really sleep either. We kind of just figure it out."
How old is your daughter
going to have to be before you let her watch
Walking Dead?
[Pauses to think] "20.
Yeah."
Catch
Alanna on
The Walking Dead, Sundays at 9 p.m. ET
on AMC.