‘The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live’ – ‘Gone’ Post-Mortem Interview with Matthew August Jeffers

Matthew August Jeffers as Nat in Episode 102 of ‘The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live’ – ‘Gone’. (Photo Courtesy of Gene Page/AMC.)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Two of ‘The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live’.
 
Matthew August Jeffers is an accomplished actor that has been consistently gracing the silver screen and our television sets over the past few years, including earlier this evening. For Matthew played Nat on this week’s episode of The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, and we had the distinct honor of sitting down with him to discuss his work in ‘Gone’, and so much more.
 
John Betancourt: I would love to know what attracted you to the part of Nat.
 
Matthew August Jeffers: Well, you know, as a little person over the course of cinema history, there are not many roles that come to mind when you think of fully fleshed out multi-dimensional, complicated characters. There aren't many. And I, in my career, I hope to effect change, I hope to change that, the tone of that, and the trend. And when I read this script, and I saw who Nat was and the way he talked, and his unique skill set, I mean this… this was a character that made sense, to me. I'm like, yes, yes, yes! You know, I starred in an indie film, two years ago called Unidentified Objects. Also, like fully fleshed out, deeply complicated, flawed character. And so, I've had the gift the past few years of stepping into these really dynamic roles. And the other beautiful thing that attracted me to Nat was like, his stature was secondary to his track and his story, right, his story was not about, let's focus on this person with a disability.
 
It was, let's show how a person who was behind the eight ball in some ways, found a roundabout way to get past that in this really challenging environment. And let's honor that. And I feel really fortunate to kind of bring a new lens to disabled actors in this world. I think there's one other major disabled actor to live in The Walking Dead Universe. And I think I'm the first actor with dwarfism to live in this world. So I hope, I hope that when people watch this, people who have a disability, specifically, dwarfism, they can watch this and effect and feel the same things I felt when I was in college watching Peter Dinklage, not that I'm comparing myself to Peter Dinklage, I just mean that when I would go home, and I would see Game of Thrones, I would see “Oh, this is a fully fleshed out character who happens to have dwarfism.” And so that is how I felt reading Nat. And that was really exciting to finally be able to step into something like that.
 
John Betancourt:  Those are all amazing points, and absolutely 100% correct. But also, you as an actor did so much with that. That was so impressive. I mean, I know, there's parts that are on the page, but as you as the actor brought out so much depth and so much meaning and so much realism to Nat. How did you do that? Because everything that he has to say, makes it feel as though we're not watching the show, it feels like we're watching somebody talk about their past and offering sage advice in the process.
 
Matthew August Jeffers: I think that, as an actor, the goal is not to become this other character, but to bring yourself into this costume. And when you are able to really feel connected in that way. It makes it really easy and fun. Like I got to share… like Nat is a conduit for sharing who I am as a person, right? And my fears and my history… my history is littered with surgeries. And so, when it came to him getting bombed and having to recover and being all bruised and battered, I am bruised and battered. And so, it's all about finding like those elements of your life and bringing and infusing that into the words on the page. And when you have such a really well written script, it just makes that journey so much easier and more accessible for an actor to be able to be like “Okay, I'm going to bring -- this is how I'm going to present myself in this world” and credit to Danai (Gurira) and Scott (M. Gimple), Denise (Huth), you know, all of the gatekeepers in this world because they really gave me the keys and I really appreciate it.
 
John Betancourt: So, I simply have to ask, what it was like… to be able to step into the world of The Walking Dead?
 
Matthew August Jeffers: A little surreal, to be honest, a little surreal. I grew up, you know, I moved to New York, in 2013, I would have Walking Dead viewing parties at night, and I would watch the Talking Dead. And like it was, you know, it was like, I would go to acting class during the day and watch it at night and be like, “How do I get from here to there? How do I do that? Where's the roadmap?” And you know, 10 years later, I found it. And that was really a beautiful journey to go on. And I think the one thing I will offer though, specifically, one specific nugget, is the tremendous talent of the art department. Like they are next level. I mean, they've had years and years of honing their craft, but my gosh, like, I don't think I've ever been on a set... I haven't been on many, but I don't think I've ever been on a set that felt so lived in. And so textured. Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is another one that comes to mind, like, every nook and cranny was like, of the world, The Walking Dead, just the art department, from the walkers to the landscape to the costumes, like it just infuses you in that space and helps and helps you tell the story, that you need to tell. So major credit that goes to these guys who are often like thankless, right? Like people don't think like, “Oh, the art department!” But they literally create this world. And it was so cool to be able to step into that. as cold as it was. It was really, really, really cool. Really, really, cool. They are ARTISTS.
 
John Betancourt: It’s definitely safe to say that Nat plays such an important part in this episode and has so many incredible lessons to offer. What do you ultimately hope audiences take away from his journey?
 
Matthew August Jeffers: I'd like to believe that the thing that kept Nat going, is Danger’s lighter, which is literally and figuratively a flame. And I think it's really crucial for people to know that it's okay to allow other people to light your way. That you don't always have to muscle, and you don't always have to carry your own weight that you can trust that someone else who loves you is going to give you that fire, to carry on, and make your own way and we need that, everyone needs a Danger in their life. Everyone needs a champion to literally light the fire. And, that I think is really poetic the way they shot that and the way that Danai takes that lighter, you know is kind of our further telling of that story.
 
I also think that Nat’s advice is Michonne, is you'll know, you'll know when, when it's time. And I think I think a lot of people tend to, myself included, but like, I think… I think people tend to search for answers. Like I think people are like, “What should I be doing? What am I doing? Like? How can I do this better?” Like they’re really trying to muscle their way into the next chapter of their lives. And I have found that opening yourself and just being present and showing up and trying to be a good person and showing up on time, all those little minutiae, like those are the things that will allow you to know what direction to head in, you know, and it might be a little messy, and it might be a little confusing. But if you keep yourself open, you'll know. Like everyone has their internal compass and everyone has their flame.
 
I think, it’s all this kind of leeway that one person lights the way for the other person and that is I think ultimately what Scott is going for in like the whole Walking Dead Universe is like, how do we… how do we, in this really bleak world, pass the baton or extend a hand for the ones that we love and, and that that's what I would leave with.
 
John Betancourt: Now to go back for just a second, because you did mention that this was a show you were watching with friends back in the day. So, what does it mean to you on a personal level… to be part of this universe?
 
Matthew August Jeffers: I have made it my mission in my life to try to shift the narrative of what it means to be a little person in the world and in media. And we have a long way to go. But personally, right, I'm speaking from a personal point of view. I hope this is a continuing trend of worlds that are inviting different abilities. And that if you have the ability to tell a compelling story that you belong in that world, and I'm really grateful that you know, really fortunate, I feel really fortunate to have been able to be invited into this space. And I think it's… I think it's really important that people are open to different types of abilities and different types of bodies and we're all trying to survive, and we're all trying to survive and I'm so glad that I survived for Episode Two.
 
John Betancourt: Last question I have for you today, what did you enjoy the most about this experience?
 
Matthew August Jeffers: It was a hard shoot, man. Like it was a really hard shoot. The elements, the scenes like, obviously, you know, like a number of really challenging scenes. And when I say it was really hard shoot, I mean that in the best way, like, I, that's what I dream about is going to work and feel like I am working. You know, like feel like I'm really at that gymnasium where I'm really stretching these muscles and really like working my body and my soul out. And hopefully, ultimately, that translates into a great story. So, it was a really hard shoot. And that as an actor, if I could get home at one in the morning, and I drop my keys off in my apartment, and be like “Man, that was fucking hard.” Like that is the best-case scenario because you know that you're doing something that you had to fight for. And when you have to fight for it. More often than not, it leads to a really great outcome.
 
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

---