Deanna Dixon Interview

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The interview was held by Jack7809.
Deanna Dixon portrayed Natalie, a woodbury resident and a few notable walkers from The Walking Dead.
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What role/roles did you have on The Walking Dead? 
I started out as a Woodbury townsperson and (somehow) managed to stay alive throughout the entire season. I was then transferred to the prison at the end of season 3 and remained there until the governor came back, shot up the bus with the remaining Woodbury survivors, myself included. So about halfway through season 4, I was turned into a zombie and was killed by Bob by a shot to the head. In season 5 casting asked me to return as a generic zombie for the first 3 episodes and that was the last time I worked on the show
Were you shot by The Governor? Or killed by zombies?
The governor and his people were shooting at the bus, so I was either shot by one of them, or someone else who was shot by them turned into a zombie and bit me. The makeup I was wearing had burning wounds so it's possible that I was also burned somehow. 
Did you watch the show or read the graphic novel prior to your role?
Yep! I was a fan when they asked me, after the first day on the job, I downloaded the first couple issues of the graphic novel. I liked it, I didn't read very much after that
Were there any scenes that didn't make it past post-production with you in them? (If so what happened in them)
There were actually no scenes that I can recall that were completely cut out. Some, however, were condensed or shortened. For instance, we'd spend an entire day(s) filming one particular scene and then not even a couple minutes of it would end up in the episode.
Did your character have a backstory/name that was not shown? If not, did you make one for yourself? 
My official "name" on the call sheet was Teenage Girl, and yes I definitely gave myself a backstory. I named myself Natalie, and my story is like that of many people still living in The Walking Dead universe. I was at school when the apocalypse hit and stuff started to get crazy, I ended up finding my brother (Thomas) and was never able to find my parents. We found Woodbury and then he eventually died in the prison, after the infectious disease broke out. Not too complicated, but it made it a lot more fun 🙂
Who are your favorite characters in the show currently?
I haven't watched any of the new season, but Glenn has always been my favorite. I haven't really picked a new favorite yet.
What was the atmosphere like on set, being on such a serious show?
It was truly amazing. Some of the hotter, more humid days where everyone wasn't in the best of moods seemed a little long. But, honestly, I was so excited and grateful to be there that there was no way I was gonna have a single bad day on set. Both the cast and the crew were absolutely phenomenal and made you feel like you apart of the family. By far, the best set I have ever worked on. Even when a main character died, or the scenes were a little darker than usual, it was still super fun.
Why weren't you in the Woodbury army, and did you witness the Woodbury massacre? We love how Natalie was able to survive so long!
Thank you, I tried very hard to keep her alive as long as I could. I'm not 100% sure, but I think it's because they wanted to keep me alive for the prison scenes. Also I don't look very intimidating, and at the time I looked about 15 years old so I don't think I was quite the army type. So one of the main themes on the show and something I tried to uphold was that I wanted to limit the amount of spoilers I was exposed to daily. THAT was really difficult. People respected that though, so that could very well be true and I never heard about it. I was not there that day if it did happen, and I never heard of it happening either. Doesn't mean it didn't though.
Was Natalie's brother (Thomas) ever seen at Woodbury? 
There was another background actor that was my same age, so I just kind of claimed him as my brother. He said he was fine with it, that is until he died on the show. We always bickered a lot so it kind of worked out. He was only at the Prison, not Woodbury.
Do you have any interesting or funny stories from your time on the set?
Here's my favorite: It was season 4 and I cant remember which exact episode it was but it was the one where the disease broke out and one of the people turned into a walker. It was one of the longest days on set. It was an "organized" chaos scene. The crew had to plan where and when people were going to run, fall, die, yell, bite someone, etc. So the assistant director approaches me and casually tells me to fall down the last few steps on the stair case and land right in front Rick. He was then going to pick me up and carry me away to safety. So the professional actor side of me said "yes sir, of course" buuutt the fangirl side of me was blushing and freaking out and all that. We ended up filming that same scene over and over and over again. It was amazing, the back of my head made it onscreen and I was totally cool with it.
Did Natalie end up getting the flu?
Natalie did catch the flu, it was not shown on screen but I still had to act it out and where the sick makeup. She survived.
What was the best thing about working on The Walking Dead? thumb
There were so many awesome things about working on the show. One of which was that the set was about 5-10 from my house. I also never had to worry about putting on makeup (like I had to with about every other project I worked on But out of everything, the people I worked with were the BEST. Both the extras, the crew, the cast, the shuttle drivers, Everyone was so amazing. I am very grateful that I was able to work with them. We all kind of knew, we'd have to die at some point. might as well enjoy the ride while we can.
How did you get your role on the show?
I got the role when I was more involved in the acting and film community in Atlanta, GA. The show was so secretive that I actually didn't know it was TWD when I applied.
Natalie was tied for 1st for longest surviving Woodburian? How do you feel about her outlasting 170 other people?
Yeah I saw that! I still think it's cool. This is a little embarrassing, but sometimes I pretend that Natalie is still out there somewhere lol.
Are there any projects you are currently working on that you can reveal? 
I took a pause on the acting world to go back to school and continue my degree in Film and Media Studies. So that is taking up most of my time. I graduate this May and then I plan to get my feet back in the water start my own projects, or get back into acting. I've missed that a lot too!
Thank you so much on behalf of the whole wiki for the interview! We really appreciate it!
Of course, anytime!
Category:Interviews