Music

Anthrax’s Scott Ian Opens Up About Becoming A Zombie On The Walking Dead

Published

13 years ago

August 17, 2011

Last week, Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian announced via Twitter that he got to play a zombie on AMC’s The Walking Dead. Already an amazing story, Ian posted on his website the full story of how the entire experience went, from beginning to going home in full makeup to feed his 8-week old son. Now THAT’S something I bet we all wish our dads would’ve done, right?

Check after the jump for the full account and an after shot of Ian in full makeup.

During the makeup process

Scott Ian:

“Hmmm, let’s see, well I played some guitar, did some catching up on my reading and oh yeah, I GOT TO BE A FUCKING ZOMBIE ON WALKING DEAD.

OK so here’s the scoop…

My agent got the call asking if I wanted to come down and get made up to play a zombie in a webisode for AMC’s Walking Dead directed by Greg Nicotero (effects GOD, check out the resume: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0630524/). I couldn’t say yes to this fast enough. Like I said in my Tweet, I’ve been wanting to do this my whole life. Zombies have always been my favorite genre of horror and to participate in something as killer as Walking Dead would just be amazing.

Truly my Make A Wish moment!

I got to the set and headed straight for the makeup trailer. I was told I was getting the full-on zombie “hero” makeup. That means I get the sick head/neck wounds done with silicone appliques. Garrett Immel was doing my makeup, he’s one of the top dudes doing this on the planet. He explained how there are the main “hero” zombies, then the second tier background zombies which are more just makeup and blood and then there are the third tier background zombies with just makeup and if it’s a night shoot, they wear masks that read well on camera. Makes sense, they couldn’t spend 90 minutes each on 500 people every time there was a zombie crowd scene.

Garrett told me he had my picture for a week so he already knew what he wanted to do to me. I told him to not hold back, make it as brutal as he wants. The whole process was pretty painless, even sitting for 90 minutes was cool because they were putting zombie makeup on me. I would’ve sat for 5 hours, I was so stoked. I’ll post a wide range of pics showing the process from start to finish.

The only weird part was putting in the contacts. I’ve never had contacts in ever, I can barely put drops in my eyes. The lens specialist put me right at ease and directed me each step of the way, “look up, look left, blink” etc and they were in and it was like looking through the eyes of the dead. Well, it was kind of cloudy anyway.

Next was making sure I could convincingly walk like a corpse. I just did what felt natural, started with a broken ankle which would cause me to lean, let my arm swing like dead weight, head forward, blackened teeth (Black Tooth!) gnashing. I showed my walk to zombie pro Joe (didn’t get his last name) and he approved. He said I looked dead! No walking notes.

No zombie faux pas (typical rookie mistake would be arms up like Frankenstein). I guess I am just genetically wired to play the undead. My scene was next and Greg gave me my mark and told me what was going to happen. Basically, the lead is coming out of the house with two kids running into the street and they pass right by me. I turn and track them and then shamble off after them. We got to do the take about six times and after each one I was cheering out loud. I wish we could’ve done it 100 times. I was so focused on one of the little kid actors, staring at him and thinking “I am going to eat your fucking head off you little fucker.” I think the kid could feel my malevolence towards him because he kept looking at me nervously and hiding behind his “mom.” Sorry kid, I was into my role!

After I was done (wrapped as they say in the movie biz) Greg told me I did great. That meant a lot considering the movies he’s been a part of, Evil Dead 2 Army Of Darkness, Day Of The Dead, and of course Walking Dead. The man is the best at what he does and I’m just glad I didn’t fuck up his shot.

I kept the makeup on after the shoot and headed home. I got some great looks from people in other cars. I wanted to keep the makeup on all week!

I got home and fed my 8 week old son. His reaction was basically, “yeah, whatever, feed me ugly.”

I followed Garrett’s instructions on how to take the makeup off by getting in a hot shower and scrubbing with some towels until finally an hour later I was dezombified. It was an amazing day and I can only hope I get to do it again and next time get to eat people!!!”

JonathanBarkan

Managing editor/music guy/social media fella of Bloody-Disgusting

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Music

“He Walks By Night” – Listen to a Brand New John Carpenter Song NOW!

Published

2 weeks ago

April 9, 2024

John Squires

It’s a new day, and you’ve got new John Carpenter to listen to. John Carpenter, Daniel Davies and Cody Carpenter have released the new track He Walks By Night this morning, the second single off their upcoming album Lost Themes IV: Noir, out May 3 on Sacred Bones Records.

Lost Themes IV: Noir is the latest installment in a series that sees Carpenter releasing new music for John Carpenter movies that don’t actually exist. The first Lost Themes was released in 2015, followed by Lost Themes II in 2016 and Lost Themes III: Alive After Death in 2021.

Sacred Bones previews, “It’s been a decade since John Carpenter recorded the material that would become Lost Themes, his debut album of non-film music and the opening salvo in one of Hollywood’s great second acts. Those vibrant, synth-driven songs, made in collaboration with his son Cody Carpenter and godson Daniel Davies, kickstarted a musical renaissance for the pioneering composer and director. With Lost Themes IV: Noir, they’ve struck gold again, this time mining the rich history of the film noir genre for inspiration.

“Since the first Lost Themes, John has referred to these compositions as “soundtracks for the movies in your mind.” On the fourth installment in the series, those movies are noirs. Like the film genre they were influenced by, what makes these songs “noirish” is sometimes slippery and hard to define, and not merely reducible to a collection of tropes. The scores for the great American noir pictures were largely orchestral, while the Carpenters and Davies work off a sturdy synth-and-guitar backbone.

“The trio’s free-flowing chemistry means Lost Themes IV: Noir runs like a well-oiled machine—the 1951 Jaguar XK120 Roadster from Kiss Me Deadly, perhaps, or the 1958 Plymouth Fury from John’s own Christine. It’s a chemistry that’s helped power one of the most productive stretches of John’s creative life, and Noir proves that it’s nowhere near done yielding brilliant results.”

You can pre-save Lost Themes IV: Noir right now! And listen to the new track below…