Lauren Cohan on the Walking Dead scene which almost made her quit the show

Spoilers for season three and season five of The Walking Dead, which aired in 2012, 2015We all have those sh*tty days at work where were like this sucks I cant take it anymore, but apparently working on a depressing gory TV show can really test an actors resolve. Lauren Cohan (Maggie), 34, told a story

Premiere of STX Entertainment's 'The Boy' - Arrivals
Spoilers for season three and season five of The Walking Dead, which aired in 2012, 2015
We all have those sh*tty days at work where we’re like “this sucks I can’t take it anymore,” but apparently working on a depressing gory TV show can really test an actor’s resolve. Lauren Cohan (Maggie), 34, told a story during an upcoming appearance on Inside The Actor’s Studio about a scene from The Walking Dead that made her want to quit. In a scene from season three of the show, Maggie cuts into pregnant Lori’s stomach to save her baby, this was at Lori’s insistence while they’re trapped in a boiler room as zombies overrun the prison. Lori ends up hemorrhaging to death, but baby Judith survives. After Lauren read that scene she was so emotional that she ran to go see Steven Yeun, who plays her husband, and told him she didn’t think she could do it. Lauren explained that all the actors live in the same apartment building so it was easy to go get support from Steven when she needed it.

“I knock on Steven’s door, and I said, ‘I have to leave the show. I don’t think I can do it,’” recalled Cohan, who explained she and her castmates all live in the same apartment building. “It affects you so deeply to the core to touch on … to dive into so much of this material.

“And then I realized that’s why I have to do it because the outcome of that, as heinous and as [much] as that affected me… we watch to feel and to hopefully, honestly portray something. And bad stuff happens, and what’s the point in not getting real about it? Ironically enough as hard as this is, the deeper you go into it”

[From US Magazine]

As preparation for this story, I re-read the details of how Lori died after Maggie did a DIY c-section and it made me sick to my stomach and so sad for Carl for having to witness his mom’s death. (US Weekly has that clip from the show if you’d like to see the video.) I mean I saw it when it originally aired but I can’t imagine having to film something like that. As a viewer I try to tune some of those really violent and especially sad scenes out, and to rationalize the deaths like “oh this character’s death was foreshadowed, they needed to take them out for this reason” (with the exception of Tyreese, that made me so mad). It must be rough having to act out the death of a co-worker.

I know Cohan is the one having the breakout career (sort of, if you count her creepy doll movie) but I would love to see more interviews with the other actresses from The Walking Dead, particularly Danai Gurira (Michonne) and Melissa McBride (Carol).

Oh and The Walking Dead returns on February 14! Screw Valentines Day, this is what I’m doing that night.

Lauren Cohan during an appearance on ABC's 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!'

Lauren Cohan seen on 'Extra'

Lauren Cohan seen on 'Extra'

photo credit: WENN.com

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