Major Dodson Talks The Walking Dead and Sam Anderson [Exclusive Interview]

For someone so young, Major Dodson has had a seriously impressive career.

If you’re a fan of the darker stuff, you might recognize him from movies like Dermaphoria or his stint on American Horror Story: Freak Show last year. He currently plays Sam Anderson on The Walking Dead, a sheltered kid trying to make it out of the zombie apocalypse alive.

He might play an Alexandrian on The Walking Dead, but Dodson is actually from Texas. He currently lives in Houston and travels back and forth to Atlanta to film episodes for the hit zombie show.

The idea to become an actor first hit him when he was only six years old, while watching the movie Bolt. “I saw these parts where they were filming a movie in Hollywood together, the little girl and the dog… and I asked my mom whether or not that would be alright,” Dodson explained. “I constantly asked her over and over again for months, and she finally said yes. I started out as Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol, and now here I am.”

Traveling back and forth to Atlanta might seem like a rough gig for a 13-year-old, but Dodson loves it. “We actually look forward to going to Atlanta, because here in Houston it’s hot and humid — mosquitoes everywhere. Atlanta is basically a tropical island.”

Traveling back and forth to a tropical island that also happens to be home to the world’s most famous zombie fighters sounds awesome in theory, but it does mean that he’s had to give up going to school full time in favor of home-schooling. “Like you probably would guess, we have to travel a lot. But as I always say — I started saying this a while ago, so get ready for the cringe factor — we can’t take the entire school with us.”

As far as snagging the role on The Walking Dead, it’s been a dream come true for the young actor. “I was actually kind of familiar with the show. I’d seen at least one or two episodes before I actually booked it,” Dodson said. “After I actually booked the part, we are huge fans now. Believe me, we’ve seen every single episode. We are caught up.”

It might seem shocking to hear that someone so young had watched a show so dark and violent, but Dodson said he was never put off but the ick factor. When it comes to the gory stuff, Dodson actually enjoys it. “That only adds to how good the show is sometimes. It makes it more realistic.”

With so much down time on set, Dodson has to find a way to fill the hours. He listed Ready Player One and Armada by Ernest Cline among his favorites books, saying he enjoys the vintage and retro base of the novels. When it comes to television, however, Dodson ventures away from the dystopias in favor of more comedic stories. “Personally for our family, we like to watch that ABC sitcom, black-ish, and Modern Family. We also love The Middle.”

Even though appearing onThe Walking Dead is a dream come true for him, Dodson did pick out one other show that he’d love to appear on. “Storage Wars. I would want to go on Storage Wars… It would be fun to mess around with all the stuff and dig through all the boxes.”

Dodson also shared which actors he enjoys working with most on the set of The Walking Dead. “Personally, I love Steven Yeun, he is absolutely amazing. Me and him, we actually like to talk about cameras together. And of course you’ve got to love Melissa McBride, she is a sweetheart.” Also among his favorites are Andrew Lincoln, Josh McDermitt, and Alexandra Breckenridge.

In terms of what’s to come for Sam, Carol, and all the other character still in Alexandria, Dodson has a no spoilers allowed policy. “All I can tell you is, it’s better to be a surprise. You’re going to love this season.”

Be sure to catch Major Dodson on The Walking Dead, which airs Sundays at 9/8c on AMC.

You can also follow him on Twitter and Instagram at @major_dodson, and find him on Facebook here.