Please welcome the very talented Lauren Cohen.

How are you?

I'm good.

Uh, you say my name, right?

Conan?

People don't have a few people.

People say Cohen.

And when I was younger and I tried to correct them, I said Cohen and they all said, like, Conan the Barbarian.

And I was like, Well, that's not my preferred reference, but sure.

And then, uh, yeah, like a shitty nickname.

Well, I was, um I was a teenager when the Conan The Barbarian movie came out and my life was held.

But the only upside to it was that I had to get it.

I got in so many fights.

Did I develop the same physique as the actual Conan the Barbarian?

And I've kept it to this day.

I just Thank you.

Yeah, that's right.

So good of you to know this.

You know, it's funny, because I, um I do feel very comfortable talking to you because I talked to you when you were first on the walking dead.

I think I think I might have been one of the first shows that you came on.

And obviously, you were You're just a very nice real person.

So we got along right away.

But I remember thinking when I first talked to you, I don't think you've been doing the show that long at all.

You were kind of a newbie.

Yeah.

I kind of knew that you were my first talk show experience for legitimately.

It was the first, and it was It was very easy, I will say.

And I think that you re enacted a kill with me, and I think that it was right around the time when our group was doing, like, a lot of, you know, we were suddenly sort of deluged by a bunch of new zombies and, uh and yeah, it was It was fun.

It was like, It's crazy to think about it.

That was, like, 10 years ago.

I know.

Um, yeah.

And yet still, I'm only in my mid thirties.

Uh, don't laugh at that.

I'm going to edit that laugh out.

Uh, did you notice?

Did you notice that when you've been doing it for a while?

When you first started, okay?

And your brand new on walking dead and you have to kill a zombie.

Was your technique different than and say it is now that you're you're a pro?

Yeah, Because you have to keep yourself entertained, right?

So I'm just I'm almost embarrassed by my like, super basic zombie kill skills from the beginning, because they were just, you know, the machete or just like, you know, the what would you even call it if you're here like a shish kebab kebab?

I like to fish kebab.

Yeah, yeah, for And And that doesn't even have to be for somebody called Bob.

I mean, that can be for any any name, zombie, and, uh, and then we do like the the hearing aid.

If you have, like, from ear to ear, you like a little scoop right through.

Um, so when these new people come, I try to tell them to use these and I give them names and, um, nobody.

Nobody uses the names.

It's weird.

They just they don't.

They don't stick.

I could be, uh mine would be the puree.

What I would do is I would grab a zombie, and I would force his head into a professional chefs blender, and then I would push puree, and I would puree the zombie's head for 25 seconds.

So it was a nice froth.

And then I would pour that froth on top of like, a a lot and get a little freeze it into little ice cubes so that when you have your with the cocktail, you can have a giant giant cube of your ideas, your ideas much better.

Your ideas much.

No, no, no.

I like your idea better, because alcohol is involved.

So right, you took it up.

You took it up a notch.

And I appreciate that.

We actually, um, someone on my staff has way too much time on his hands, and he put together a montage of your zombie kills.

And this is a true testament to your abilities as a true warrior.

Let's take a look, Mac.

There's a shish kebab.

There's a shish kebab.

Oh, my God.

Waffle maker.

Oh, that was a waffle maker.

Oh, this is obey.

Three times.

Oh, we need more.

You need more.

You know what's crazy?

And this says something sad about me.

I could watch that all day, and especially if you're having a bad day and you have a lot of unresolved anger.

I when I when I watch walking dead and you guys take out 35 zombies in two seconds, I come down to dinner with my wife and kids, and I'm so Zen I feel I feel you relieved.

It's been a cathartic experience.

All my childhood, not people.

Yeah, exactly.

There are people, but luckily, there's a You know, there's sort of an allowance in your mind for the fact that you're also freeing them of being the undead.

That's the way I look at it.

You're doing them a favor.

You're doing them.

Yeah.

They don't want to be looking for food.

You know, the fact that they seem upset when you kill them doesn't make any sense.

But we'll work on that.

How does it work?

Because all of us is.

You can tell I'm here in an abandoned theater.

You look too.

I think you broke into an abandoned theater you broke into, and we both broke into these theaters to meet each other for this illicit tryst.

Uh, I'm curious.

I know what it's like working during covid.

It is very strange, but it's pretty simple.

I talked to you on Zoom.

I do.

Some comedy on Zoom were.

Okay.

How do you do this show during covid?

I mean, you're constantly surrounded by zombie extras.

People dressed as zombies.

Have they all been tested?

Yeah, they've been very compliant, actually.

The zombies they've been, uh, all negative for covid positive.

Still for zombie, that's been really good at, uh, playing along with all of our covid protocol.

Um, it is just a trip to because everybody when this all started their like, Lauren, I don't know what to do.

She's been she's lived through a zombie apocalypse for 10 years.

And I'd love to say that everybody was joking, I really think.

And I said, I'm going on Amazon and buying bottled water just like the rest of you.

Yes, I know it's so funny that I hadn't thought of this before hand, but, uh, your show really is about the spreading of this virus and people turning into zombies.

It makes covid look just downright boring.

Um, but it's so weird to me that you have all these people dressed up hundreds of extras dressed up like zombies who've caught this virus, and then they all have to get nasal swabs to test before they can shoot a scene.

Okay, you're a zombie, but you're you don't have covid so you can come on through.

Um, I know you're probably aware that I I got to, uh, to become friendly with your former costar.

Yes, Steven Yeun.

And, uh, he and I had a great trip to Korea together, and I got to see up close what a terrific guy he is.

And, um, we had this really nice experience, but you guys made it very special for him when he was leaving the show.

You you went to a lot of trouble.

You and your cast mates went to a lot of trouble, too.

Sort of make it an occasion.

Well, it's no trouble.

It's It was the moment that I think we are.

Still, that was still the hottest goodbye we've ever had on this show.

I won't even talk about it too much because it's interesting because his son being back his son, his his on screen son has brought up so many memories for everybody of Stephen being here.

And, uh, you know, we do these like death dinners for everybody, so we'll have sort of like a civilized thing, and everybody will give my speeches.

And we knew for Steven and from Michael Cudlitz, who left in the same episode.

We wanted to do something extra special.

Um, and as you guys know, from your K pop days, you and Steve, Steven and I did shoot.

I'll tell the viewers that don't know.

Steven and I did shoot a K pop video together.

It took about 24 hours to shoot.

It nearly killed us.

Um and, uh, but I know that that that man loves he loves to dance.

He loves to sing.

He's really into it.

Yeah, he is really into it.

And we basically got together, and all the girls sort of thought we might have been denies.

Idea, actually.

And we just thought, What's the best way that we can sort of send these guys off?

And so we had a party at our producer's house and we all disappear to go and get our costumes on and learn like the final pieces of are absolutely atrocious dance routine to slowly re enter the house one by one, verse by verse to perform Backstreet Boys.

I want it that way.

And Stephen was actually crying.

We were dressed up as Michael Cudlitz character with orange moustache is an orange wig.

I have the picture.

I have the picture right here.

I have you guys.

Someone took a picture, and I've never seen this video and everything allowed to show the video.

Yeah, you're not allowed to show the video.

And, uh but I thought this was a rare photo behind the scenes.

If you guys saying goodbye to Stephen, uh, and his character, Glenn, And you're all dressed as Backstreet Boys.

But you've added, um, you've added orange moustache is which is a beautiful added orange rosette.

Just so where Abraham And that that T shirt is a photo that Stephen took his favorite zombie on the show.

And it's the zombie, just like sparking a cigarette and smoking, which is one of the best things on on our set.

It's like seeing a zombie and a Dr Pepper or zombie bathing Or just like the most random things That they'll do that.

Yeah.

Yeah.

You guys have had such adventures, You and Stephen.

I mean, you're you're spot.

Yeah, we went to a spa together.

We were we were We were naked together at a spa, a wee spot here in Los Angeles, And, um, he took me and, uh, he said you're going to have an experience.

He took me to the spa and and he also he's That's the night he stole my heart.

And, uh, we had a really intense time.

That was before we went to Korea together.

So that's how it starts.

When men go to a spa together and they spend some time with each other's bodies, it ends up with them traveling around the world together.

Let's take this to the next level, please Wait.

Yes.

I'm just glad that he was okay with it.

Because, um, have you thought about this?

How would you like the walking dead to end?

Have you thought about what you need?

You've spent such a big piece of your life with his character and in this reality And now with it coming to a close, do you think about what would you like to happen?

I would like for there to be a cure.

And maybe my mind has changed since we've been going through covid.

But I would love for their for Maggie's character not to die by Zombie.

And for there to just be some sort of slow reveal of this return to normalcy.

Um, you sort of like, find her in her house, just listening to dire straits and 85 years old.

And there's like, some more kids and, I don't know, a couple of German shepherds, I don't know, but I I definitely I just kind of feel like it would be nice for Don't get me wrong.

I have definitely imagined, you know, Rick returning and machine returning and the real kinds of things that would happen.

But I'd love to see some cozy, you know, maybe some people knitting.

Yeah, it would be nice if it chilled out at the end that I'm with you.

And as much as I've enjoyed the carnage, I think the idea that or else bring modern politics into it So that, um, there are zombie deniers, people that don't think it's a real real virus, and it's free.

I want to say that might kind of be the b the vibe this year.

Maybe not quite as explicitly, but we're definitely taking an opportunity our writers to to let to let the world and inform the show.

They always have.

But I feel like I feel like it's an exciting year.

We know where we're sending off the show and and a lot of people are watching.

That's really exciting.

You know what I love the first time I talk to you?

I really enjoyed talking to you.

You are lovely person to chat with.

You two going in the walking dead air Sundays.

Are you, by the way, in that theater legally, or did you just sneak in?

It looks like you snuck it.

I don't know I'm here.

Good.

I'll get you out.