In these troubled times, couldn’t we all use a few words of wisdom from Jesus? No, not that Jesus.
I’m talking about The Walking Dead‘s new fan favorite character, Paul “Jesus” Monroe. Actually, it’s not even Jesus — it’s Tom Payne, the British actor who plays him.
Payne sat down for an interview for AOL’s Build Series recently, and had a few interesting revelations about the show.
A Gay Jesus
One aspect of Payne’s character that hasn’t yet been addressed on the show is his sexuality. In The Walking Dead comic book, Jesus is gay. When asked about the possibility of having his television counterpart share that trait, Payne said, “I think that would be amazing.”
According to Payne, The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman has a rather blasé attitude regarding Jesus’ sexuality, saying, “Yeah, who cares? He’s a badass and he happens to be gay.”
“I think that’s one of the strongest things about Robert [Kirkman] and how he writes the comic books,” said Payne. “Why wouldn’t he be? And I see no reason why that would be different in the show.”
The End of Carl?
Payne also commented on one of the hottest Walking Dead rumors at the moment: the possible death of Carl. After actor Chandler Riggs announced his college acceptance, fans began to worry. That fear was exacerbated when Riggs’ father posted a congratulatory post on Facebook, saying that Riggs was “free” of his six-year Walking Dead contract.
None of that necessarily means that Riggs is leaving the show or that Carl will die, but it is concerning. Payne, however, is not worried.
”I think Carl is the future of the show,” Payne said. “I mean, is the future of the comic books, I think.”
“At the end of the day, I think Carl is the guy at the end on the last page,” said Payne. “And I don’t know if they’ll go that way on the TV show, but I think it would be a logical place for them to go.”
“Who knows?” he added.
Indeed, many fans have speculated that The Walking Dead comic will end with an adult Carl. There’s no way to know, but there would be something poetic about a fully-grown Carl taking his father’s place as a leader in the new, post-apocalyptic world.
Still, this is the real world we’re talking about, and if Chandler Riggs wants to leave the show, the producers may not have a choice about what to do with his character.
Do you agree with Tom Payne’s opinions of The Walking Dead‘s future?
