This interview was held by Jack7809.
Kathleen Gati portrayed Deirdre from Fear The Walking Dead's webisode, Flight 462.
What role/roles did you have on Fear The Walking Dead?
I played Deirdre, the flight attendant.
Did you watch show or read the graphic novel prior to your role?
I did not read the comics, but I watched several episodes of The Walking Dead and Fear The Walking Dead, to get some idea of the vibe and style of the show. Now we are hooked…on both!
Who are your favorite characters in The Walking Dead and Fear The Walking Dead?
Andrew Lincoln and Melissa McBride are awesome…but…Jeffrey Dean Morgan is something else! He is so dark, and so evil and brilliant!
Can you confirm Deirdre's fate? Did she die when the plane crashed?
Deirdre tried to keep some calm and order on this flight doomed to disaster, tried to get the passengers to stay in their seats, get the “man” out of the bathroom and back to his seat. Unfortunately Deirdre unlocked the bathroom door from the outside and opened it, only to get bitten by this “man” who turned out to be a rather dangerous zombie! And as Deirdre realizes she is not only bitten by this zombie, and what this inevitably means, but also that the plane has nowhere to land, and is going down, she removes her oxygen mask in submission and acceptance of the inevitable.
Did Deidre have a backstory which was not shown/cut? If not, did you create one for yourself?
I always create a backstory for every character I play. I keep this to myself, but I will say that we shot a lot of material that never made it to the screen. The episodes were very short, so they really had to edit a lot out. The beginning started out very calmly, people settling in, me checking on everyone, getting everyone peacefully settled…a normal takeoff. I was actually pleasant initially. But then the tension began to mount as the situation of horror became evident, and bit by bit, Deirdre got very tense and tough with the passengers, trying to maintain some semblance of order. And then the “man” who got belligerent and challenged my character was really the final straw. So Deirdre got fed up and was very tough. That’s where the show starts! Me snarling!!
What was the atmosphere like on set?
The atmosphere was amazing! Probably one of the best sets and productions I have ever worked on, if not THE best! A fantastic crew and seven of us actors who got along so well! It was very exciting to work with such a dedicated and passionate group of actors, and a tiptop crew! We all worked together in a very small area, especially in the real galley where all the main action happened. We shot this series in Air Hollywood, a sound stage in North Hollywood that has several “partial airplanes” where many films have been shot. A very cool place! And there were lots of fun and enthusiastic extras and a few “fake stuffed” passengers filled in some distant seats.
Do you have any interesting or funny stories from your time on the set?
I hid my lines down a “stuffed passenger’s” shirt and forgot to get them later! They are probably on some other set now! A dresser will be changing the clothes on this dummy and find my lines! Ah! I also had to learn CPR and how to use a deffibrilator! Very interesting! Another fun situation was, that one of the scenes’ description from the script said the plane's windows get broken and all sorts of garbage, paper, and different objects go flying around. And that the plane is tossed around. I told my husband that we will probably have to pretend to be thrown around. He said, “Don’t count on it. They probably have the entire fuselage on hydraulics and will move the whole thing around.” Guess who was right? He was! We were thrown around left and right, things flying all around us. No “acting” was necessary, just “reacting”!!! Luckily I had my seatbelt on!
What was the best thing about working on Fear The Walking Dead?
The amazing cast and crew…and the Emmy nomination for this show, plus the Writers Guild award for best script…so well deserved!
How did you get your role on the show?
I had an audition for this project, but not for this specific role. It was a very secretive project, and as far as I knew, I was auditioning for a role of a woman going to a bakery and picking up a special birthday cake for her son, with a skateboard on it, that actually looks like a penis, and then being upset with that! Nothing to do with Fear The Walking Dead: Flight 462! The audition material and project was called “Rhino 225”. That’s all I knew about it. I couldn’t even tell if it was a comedy or a drama. So I just went to the audition and put my heart and soul into it…and met Michael McDonough, the director, who is also the Director of Photography on Fear The Walking Dead, a super nice guy, very kind, very insightful, and a wonderful director. He gave me some suggestions, and off we went to the races! The rest is history as they say!
Thank you for the interview on behalf of all the wiki! We really appreciate it!
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