Summary
- Laurie Holden was disappointed by Andrea’s sudden death on The Walking Dead, feeling it was done for “shock value.”
- Holden was unaware of Andrea’s tragic end until the night before filming, causing emotional distress.
- The Walking Dead’s portrayal of Andrea differed from the comic’s strong and capable leader character.
The Walking Dead never shied away from killing off some of its most beloved characters, to the dismay of many of the show’s viewers. Not only did the long-running AMC series throw a ton of obstacles in its survivors’ way, including hordes of infected and savage groups, but The Walking Dead‘s cast also had unexpected deaths to contend with.
Across its 11 seasons, The Walking Dead became Sunday night comfort food for many post-apocalyptic loving fans who tuned in to see what Rick and the group got themselves into next and who could be next on the chopping block. Most of The Walking Dead‘s main characters are faithful adaptations of Robert Kirkman’s original comic book, but some other figures were given such huge departures from what fans had seen and known about them before. Carol, for instance, wasn’t a great mother to Sophia in her comic book depiction and certainly nowhere near as independent and fierce as Melissa McBride’s portrayal in the AMC show. Although the list could go on, Andrea was also very different from her comic counterpart, with some feeling that the show had failed in its development of the character for the series. As it so happens, Laurie Holden, who played Andrea, seems to agree with this opinion too, revealing that she felt like The Walking Dead unfairly killed off her character for “shock value”.
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The Walking Dead’s Laurie Holden Only Found Out Andrea Would Die the Night Before Filming
During a recent Comic-Con this month in Aberdeen’s P&J Live event complex, The Walking Dead cast, which included Cooper Andrews (Jerry), Pollyanna McIntosh (Jadis), and Laurie Holden (Andrea), discussed their time on the hit show. Talking about her departure from The Walking Dead after playing the role of former civil rights attorney Andrea from 2010 to 2013, Holden expressed her disappointment at being killed off the show too soon, revealing that it wasn’t the story she was told the character would get. “It was not what I was told the ending was. I was told I was going to end up on a horse, save the town and leave Woodbury to reunite with my family, so no one was more surprised than me to get that call at 10.30 the night before,” said Holden.
“It was very emotional. The crew was crying, and I couldn’t wrap my brain around it. It was definitely a process coming to terms with it because it happened so fast.”
Holden went on to say that finding out her character would come to a tragic end was “very emotional” and that it was a huge process coming to terms with the death of someone she had played for so long. “It was a death of career and a death of family, and I don’t mean to be dramatic, but it was my home, my job, and a role that I loved.” To add insult to injury, Holden goes on to explain further that she was building a house at the time of Andrea’s death, and apparently, she couldn’t afford to finish it due to getting killed off so suddenly and then couldn’t auction for 6 months until the death scene aired because she couldn’t be seen on any other show as people would know her character was killed off. “I was literally in no man’s land”, stated Holden.
It certainly seems like a puzzling decision about why The Walking Dead‘s producer and writer Glen Mazzara killed off Andrea’s TV adaptation at the last minute. In the comics, Andrea was portrayed as a strong and capable leader, but in the series, the show made her character somewhat unlikeable at times and unable to make good choices for the group and herself, especially when it came to the Governor. Since her role as Andrea, Holden has gone on to star in the TV series Proven Innocent, as well as playing the role of Crimson Countess in Season 3 of the Amazon Prime series The Boys, leaving her Walking Dead life well and truly behind.
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Source: TikTok