Robert Kirkman Calls Every Bad Guy Phillip At First
Robert Kirkman | Photo Credit Cosmic
It’s difficult for writers to come up with names for characters, especially if that character later becomes an icon. On The Walking Dead, for example, the character that Robert Kirkman named as “The Governor” is actually based on a real person.
Robert Kirkman named The Governor Phillip. As an evolving evil character, Philip was not a nice guy, to say the least. It turns out that Kirkman named the Governor (plus anyone else he ever named Philip in his other stories) after a childhood bully.
Kirkman revealed this truth in a recent interview.
Kirkman Talks About Childhood Bully
Robert Kirkman | Photo Credit Rolling Stone
“The honest answer is often times I’m writing a script and I’ll go through people I remember from like second and third grade,” said Kirkman.
“There was a kid named Phillip who picked on me in the second grade or third grade, I can’t remember, and so I have often times used the name Phillip for a–holes because Phillip is the name of an a–hole for me.”
Abraham Ford actor Michael Cudlitz was also there when Kirkman announced this in an interview. “This character is a jerk. That guy in high school was a jerk to me,” joked the actor.
Robert Kirkman created The Walking Dead back in 2003.
The Governor’s History Of Violence
The Walking Dead | Photo Credit AMC
The Governor’s full name is Phillip Blake and TWD Wiki writes:
“The Governor is shown to be a cunning, cruel, savage, remorseless, brutal and highly intelligent man who is a determined survivor and a strong leader to those in his group.”
“It was mentioned by producer Gale Anne Hurd that the Governor delusionally believes that he is almost a messiah, born with the destiny of leadership.”
Now that Negan has taken over as the ultimate bad guy, it’s unclear which man is worse. Actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan even believes fans would love Negan more than Rick if they met him first. Then again, everyone thinks they’re the “good guy.”
What do you think of Robert Kirkman’s writing style?
