The Walking Dead Scene That Made Michael Biehn Feel Uncomfortable
Performer Michael Biehn is a famous name among fans of the horror genre, with prominent roles in films such as "The Terminator" and "Aliens" earning him fans who continue to follow his work to this day.
Fans of Biehn were excited to learn of his casting in a notable modern-day horror franchise, the AMC post-apocalyptic series "The Walking Dead." The show, which is currently in its 11th and final season, saw Biehn appear in the season's 13th episode, titled "Warlords." In the episode, Biehn plays Ian, the leader of a group of survivors in the colony of Riverbend. Ian, unfortunately, does not make it out of the episode alive, getting shot in the head by another character before the episode's end.
However, while Biehn is a fan of the series who was excited to be cast in its final season (via Insider), it seems that the actual shooting experience wasn't as pleasant for him as it could have been.
Biehn didn't like being touched after his character's death
Speaking on "Talking Dead," a post-"The Walking Dead" discussion and dissection series (via Insider), Michael Biehn said that the scene he had to film after his character's death was the most uncomfortable because it involved another character touching him.
"I've played a lot of antagonists so therefore I've died in a lot of shows and a lot of movies, a lot of television stuff that I've done, and I've never had anybody touch me afterwards," Biehn said, referring to how the character of Toby, played by Jason Butler Harner, grabs the face of Ian, played by Biehn, after the character has been killed, and moves his mouth in a mock ventriloquism attempt.
Biehn added that he understood the rationale behind it, but it didn't make the actual act any less uncomfortable. "I wasn't crazy about it and I know the reason for doing it was to give you an indication of who the man who was touching me was," Biehn expanded. "As an actor, it made me feel uncomfortable. And, it probably, therefore, will make the audience feel uncomfortable about the character. So, I guess that was the point of it."
"From a character standpoint, I'm dead, so it really didn't make any difference, but from an acting standpoint, it really felt kind of like a violation," Biehn added in his thoughts on the scene.