Aliyah Royale Talks The Walking Dead: World Beyond Season 1

You mentioned how you're terrified of zombies in real life. In The Walking Dead, you guys have this top-tier zombie effects crew. I mean, it's Greg Nicotero's group — they're the best at doing zombies. What was it like seeing those in person for the first time? Your character Iris vomits when she sees a zombie up close. Is that you in real life? When you're on set, did you have that same sort of reaction?

My first encounter was during one of our first days on set, but it was a night shoot. So, I'm already a little bit delirious anyway. I remember going into the catering hall because I was hungry and I was looking for some chow. And I opened the door, and I kid you not, I did not know that they were going to be there. I had heard that they were coming to set at some point, but when I look at the call sheet, I see my name and that's it. I disregard everything else. And I open this door, and single file, 20 to 30 walkers, just in the full costume, full makeup, ready to charge the set, just single file, walk out the door. I hid behind the door. I waited until they were gone, gone, gone. And then I ran to my trailer and called my mom. It was the craziest thing. It was the best introduction I could've gotten into this universe.

My personal favorite zombie, so far, is the beehive walker, which you see in the trailer and during the second episode. I thought that was an interesting concept. Do you have a personal favorite zombie in this first season?

That was a pretty cool walker. The wasps just flying out. That was really awesome. I think we've released a photo. There's these two conjoined walkers. And they're conjoined by tire tar and stuff. They were really cool. There's a really cool tag-team scene between Hope and I with those walkers. And that's probably my also favorite scene in the show.

Because of COVID-19, season 11 of The Walking Dead got pushed to next year. World Beyond is now in that prime October time slot this year. Does that intimidate you a little bit? This universe has a large fanbase who have certain expectations. Do you worry if fans may or may not embrace this new series? Some people say there's zombie fatigue, so what's your sales pitch for those people? What does this show have that the other ones don't? And what's the reason why they should tune in to this show?

It's so funny that you say that because no, I had not thought about World Beyond taking over that time slot in the prime October season [Laughs]. I think everything has its proper time and place. And World Beyond is presenting this all-new perspective. I mean, yeah, you have a young-adult cast and some people could be like, "Oh, what will I have in common with these kids? Is it going to be less gritty and gory and cool as the other shows?" You want the grit? You want the gore? We have it. You want the storylines that you can invest in, and the characters that you can identify with? We have it. We've got something for everyone. And I think you're seeing a new part of the Walking Dead universe and a story that hasn't been told before.

The other side of that is we don't see the world as dead. We grew up with the apocalypse being our normal. So it's not like "Oh, I miss the world as it was before." Like, "No, this is how we grew up. This is how we understand the world." And we don't see it as these creatures that are lurking around every corner and we could die at any minute. We're aware of the risks, aware of the danger. And we would rather be in the field, figuring out ourselves and living our life than at home afraid. And I think that's really powerful to see.