In the previous episode of "The Walking Dead," it was confirmed that people at Terminus are indeed cannibals. And aside from that, it was revealed that Gareth (Andrew J. West) was actually inspired by the comic book character Chris, the head of the group of cannibal survivors called The Hunters. But did West know all along that Gareth is based on a character from the original source?
"I was shocked by it. I'm a fan of the comic book, and I was very familiar with the story line of the Hunters," West recently told TV Guide. "But even going into Episode 2, I didn't know how closely Gareth would be based on the Chris character."
"But I was so, so excited about it," he continued. "[Executive producer] Scott Gimple told me that I would be in Episode 2, but I had no idea where the story was going after the premiere. So, I'm flipping through [the script], and... all of a sudden, I get to the second or third to last page and I see that monologue, and I was just smiling from ear to ear. I was so thrilled to get to bring that section of the comic book to life because the panels and the imagery and the language are striking. It's striking when you read the book, and I think they nailed it in the episode."
When asked if he went back to the comic book series to know Chris better after discovering that Gareth is closely similar to the former, West responded: "Looking at the comics isn't really necessary at that point, because the TV show is its own thing. ... So, no, it wasn't a matter of rethinking the character or going back to the comics and finding inspiration. It was a matter of continuing to have conversations with Scott Gimple and really just continuing to take it scene by scene and being very specific on what I'm doing, what I'm trying to get from these people and why."
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the "Greek" alum enumerated some differences between Gareth and Chris.
"Chris in the comics struck me as somebody who is somewhat intelligent but isn't nearly as resourceful as Gareth," he explained. "I've always seen Gareth as a resourceful, intelligent and much more organized guy than Chris is in the comics. We see Chris, who with the Hunters lives in an abandoned house, and they don't have their shit together that well. They have this thing they do, but it's all fly-by-night."
West also said that Gareth is not the kind of person who seeks revenge. "He is first and foremost concerned with survival," he told Screen Crush. "I've never seen him as a sadistic person, or a person who is concerned with vengeance, as much as he is concerned with a pragmatic system for living in the world in which these characters now live."