Despite the attention put on Morgan, Carol, and King Ezekiel, some fans were more focused on Jerry, one of The Kingdom’s most eccentric residents.
As far as story goes, last week’s episode of The Walking Dead had essentially one purpose. It served as the audience’s introduction to both The Kingdom and its ruler, King Ezekiel. For many fans, though, there was one person who stole the show: Ezekiel’s loyal friend, Jerry.
Cooper Andrews is the actor who plays Jerry. He’s had guest spots on shows like Hawaii Five-O and Limitless. His biggest role prior to The Walking Dead was as Yo-Yo on AMC’s Halt and Catch Fire.
Jerry and Ezekiel: Two of a Kind
ComicBook.com caught up with Andrews to talk about Jerry and The Walking Dead. First Andrews talked about Jerry’s “acting” abilities and whether he and Ezekiel were friends before The Kingdom.
Image Credit: AMC
“I honestly don’t know. I feel like they would’ve met afterwards,” said Andrews. “When I was in it, we talked about with Scott, Jerry is there to protect Ezekiel, but when Ezekiel has him stand on stage, Jerry is just geeking out about this. This is the most exciting thing for him to get to do. He’s never done a play. He doesn’t know how to do the voices. He doesn’t know how to act, but it’s sort of like, ‘Today, Jerry, you get to stand next to me on the stage.’ He’s just, ‘Yeah! Yeah!’ Just plays the part.
“When I got the dialogue, it’s not a lot of dialogue, but there’s so many different ways to read it and doing things like saying ‘It’s fruit time’ … I was trying to be so presentational and regal, I just feel like it’s falling flat, but he’s trying so hard to do it. Ezekiel sees it, appreciates it, but it’s bogus.”
The Iron Throne
Andrews says Jerry would love Game of Thrones if, you know, there wasn’t a zombie apocalypse. “Yes, he definitely would’ve been,” said Andrews. “I’m a huge Game of Thrones fan, so I wait for the 10 episodes to come out and I just binge the hell out of it straight. Phones off. Do not talk to me.”
Lost in Translation
Many fans have compared Jerry to the character of Hurley on Lost. Andrews says the comparison is apt. “I’ve been compared to him before. They compared me to him on Halt,” said Andrews. “I do get that every now and again. I actually did get to meet him when I was on Five-O, but I was like, ‘I will take that. I will gladly take that,’ because I actually loved Hurley. I feel like Jerry’s the same way also. We can’t really lose ourselves. Even though these people, they adapt, and Ezekiel says it more or less, that even though we’ve created this Kingdom, we’ve created this fantasy to not lose ourselves too much or it becomes crippling. He goes, ‘If we really dwell on how bad it could be,’ I feel like people will get lost in it.
“Yes, I am proud to take up the Hurley mantle if it’s being handed around.”
More Jerry to Come?
We know that The Kingdom is taking a backseat in the next few episodes. So when will we see Jerry again? “I’ll say that as long as there is an Ezekiel, there is a Jerry,” said Andrews. “So far, at the moment. I don’t want to say more than that because I don’t know what I’m allowed to say. When Ezekiel shows up, Jerry is not far behind.”
Finally in the Spotlight
Andrews had worked behind the scenes on The Walking Dead before. But getting to act with the cast was a dream come true.
“I’ve gone to work with a few of the people, but I’ll say this about working with Lennie [James] and Melissa [McBride], that was super awesome for me because, one, Melissa, before she was … I think this is known, but she used to be a casting director, and I used to read for her all the time,” said Andrews. “She is the sweetest person. She left, and I didn’t know where she went, then I saw the first season of The Walking Dead. I’m like, ‘Oh, there she is!’
“I was a boom operator for 10 years, and I worked on second unit for Walking Dead, and for other productions. I saw her there one day and we just talked and chatted. I was like, ‘Man, I would love to work with her without having to stick a microphone in her face.’
“Getting to have that was awesome. Getting to work with Lennie James is freaking nuts for me.”
