Actor Josh McDermitt, who plays Eugene Porter in TV zombie horror The Walking Dead, is part of one of the biggest horror hits of recent years – but he confessed at Comic Con last weekend that in real life he cannot watch scary films.
"I get scared watching horror movies, I'm quite a sensitive spirit," he says. "I can watch Nightmare on Elm Street – I didn't want to, but I can – and go, 'OK, well, Freddie's fake'.
"But something like Poltergeist: horrible. That would sit with me for a week and I'd have nightmares every night. Anything that has that spiritual element messes with me, big time."
McDermitt adds that although he can handle a little more terror now that he has worked on a horror offering, he still has to be careful what he watches.
"I have gone back and watched some of the classics, because being in The Walking Dead and seeing the make-up and the costumes I guess the curtain's been pulled back for me enough that I get it," he says.
"But I still have to stay away from things like The Ring or It Follows. I mean look at that, It Follows – even the name scares me. There'll be a trailer comes on the TV and I'll have to close my ears and cover my eyes."
McDermitt also admits that his nervousness means his work can sometimes be a traumatic experience.
“Even shooting the show can give me nightmares,” he says.
“We were shooting a scene where I’m shooting a zombie with a machine gun, and I know it’s a stuntman and we’re firing blanks, but the stuntman’s jerking his body as he falls to the ground, and we did take after take after take – it really messed with my head for weeks.
“I basically went from sitting on my couch playing video games to shooting a guy with a machine gun. That does something to you. Just that violence entering your life– it’s hard, man.”
McDermitt had better get used to the violence. His character was introduced in season four and, although The Walking Dead is notorious for killing off characters, he was still alive and kicking at the end of the recently ended seventh season – and, although the show's ratings have slipped a little from their peak, it is still one of the most-watched shows on TV and is unlikely to end any time soon.
“Robert Kirkman that created the universe [the show is based on his long-running comic-book series] did so because he said he would watch a zombie movie and ask, ‘Well what’s next?’”, says McDermitt. “So it’s basically been created to run forever, looking at the aftermath.
"I'm sure the TV version will end at some point, but the comics will keep going, and it wouldn't surprise me to end one version of the show and bring in another version. They already did [spin-off] Fear the Walking Dead, so maybe there could be a Oh No, The Walking Dead or The Walking Dead on Ice.
“I don’t know what they’re going to do but it’s clear the fans are eager for more and while that’s the case, I’m sure they’ll keep it coming.”
As far as his own future in a show where not even fan-favourite characters are guaranteed survival, McDermitt admits he does not know what his fate will be.
However, this season has been a big one for Eugene. He was taken from Rick’s (Andrew Lincoln) group by vicious killer Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and pledged his allegiance to him, turning against his former friends in the process.
“It’s really interesting for me because my character has really taken a left turn,” he says. “We’ve diverged from the comic books with this storyline – it’s not in them so it’s exciting for me because I really don’t know what’s going to happen till I go back to shooting [season eight] in a few days.”
To balance the terror McDermitt might want to take on a comedy role or two – the actor performed stand-up for 15 years before joining the zombie hordes apocalypse, and admits his newfound fame is not without a flip side.
“It’s been hard because I’ve had to reintroduce myself to that community as a comedian,” he says. “Eugene has got so big that now my agent will put me forward for comedy roles and everyone is like, ‘What? He does comedy?’ No one knows anymore.”
McDermitt had some unusual plans for his time in Dubai, off the usual tourist trail.
“I want to test out this theory that you can leave your wallet in a cab and you’ll get it back,” he says with a laugh. “Is that really true? You could never do that in the United States.”
McDermitt seems genuinely humbled by the show’s global success.
“You don’t realise how big it is until you step outside the US,” he says. “We were in United Kingdom last month, and Germany, and did a tour through Asia the month before that – it’s just massive everywhere.
"It's really exciting to be a part of something that's like a cultural juggernaut. It really is like a Star Trek. People are going to remember this show and be talking about it for a long time."
cnewbould@thenational.ae
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Barcelona v Liverpool, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE).
Second leg
Liverpool v Barcelona, Tuesday, May 7, 11pm
Games on BeIN Sports
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
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- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Recent winners
2002 Giselle Khoury (Colombia)
2004 Nathalie Nasralla (France)
2005 Catherine Abboud (Oceania)
2007 Grace Bijjani (Mexico)
2008 Carina El-Keddissi (Brazil)
2009 Sara Mansour (Brazil)
2010 Daniella Rahme (Australia)
2011 Maria Farah (Canada)
2012 Cynthia Moukarzel (Kuwait)
2013 Layla Yarak (Australia)
2014 Lia Saad (UAE)
2015 Cynthia Farah (Australia)
2016 Yosmely Massaad (Venezuela)
2017 Dima Safi (Ivory Coast)
2018 Rachel Younan (Australia)
Abaya trends
The utilitarian robe held dear by Arab women is undergoing a change that reveals it as an elegant and graceful garment available in a range of colours and fabrics, while retaining its traditional appeal.
Final results:
Open men
Australia 94 (4) beat New Zealand 48 (0)
Plate men
England 85 (3) beat India 81 (1)
Open women
Australia 121 (4) beat South Africa 52 (0)
Under 22 men
Australia 68 (2) beat New Zealand 66 (2)
Under 22 women
Australia 92 (3) beat New Zealand 54 (1)
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
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Our legal consultant
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Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Match info
Uefa Champions League Group C
Liverpool v Napoli, midnight
Titanium Escrow profile
Started: December 2016
Founder: Ibrahim Kamalmaz
Based: UAE
Sector: Finance / legal
Size: 3 employees, pre-revenue
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Investors: Founder's friends and Family
LAST 16
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Real Madrid, Tottenham, Atalanta, Atletico Madrid, Napoli, Borussia Dortmund, Lyon, Chelsea
RedCrow Intelligence Company Profile
Started: 2016
Founders: Hussein Nasser Eddin, Laila Akel, Tayeb Akel
Based: Ramallah, Palestine
Sector: Technology, Security
# of staff: 13
Investment: $745,000
Investors: Palestine’s Ibtikar Fund, Abu Dhabi’s Gothams and angel investors
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FIXTURES
All kick-off times 10.45pm UAE ( 4 GMT) unless stated
Tuesday
Sevilla v Maribor
Spartak Moscow v Liverpool
Manchester City v Shakhtar Donetsk
Napoli v Feyenoord
Besiktas v RB Leipzig
Monaco v Porto
Apoel Nicosia v Tottenham Hotspur
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid
Wednesday
Basel v Benfica
CSKA Moscow Manchester United
Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich
Anderlecht v Celtic
Qarabag v Roma (8pm)
Atletico Madrid v Chelsea
Juventus v Olympiakos
Sporting Lisbon v Barcelona
