On The Walking Dead: Dead City, Gaius Charles plays Perlie Armstrong, a marshal from New Babylon that seeks to bring Negan to justice. In this Q&A with amc.com, he talks about shooting in his hometown, getting to know Armstrong and what makes him tick, and what Armstrong’s obsession with law & order may mean.  

Q: What excited you most about Armstrong and what was it like joining The Walking Dead Universe?
A: It was amazing! For me, The Walking Dead has always been this iconic television show. It has an incredible cast and crew and amazing storytelling, so I was really excited to jump on board. What's unique about Armstrong — and I think the fans will see too — is that he’s coming from a slightly different angle than a lot of the other storylines. He’s from New Babylon, and it's a part of society that’s working to reestablish law and order, so I think that's kind of unique. Watching the show myself and talking to fans about it, I know that what happened in Season 7 with Glenn's murder by Negan was a very tragic event. What's really cool about my character is that one of my central missions is to bring Negan to justice, so that's how I tie in… and things unfold from there.
Q: One of the things that’s so compelling about The Walking Dead Universe is its characters. They can be so incredibly driven and see things in such black and white terms. When we initially meet Armstrong our first impression of him is that he’s one of those characters—he adheres to the rules set forth by the Federation of States and takes his job as a New Babylon marshal very seriously. What was it like playing a character that lives by such a rigid code? Why do you think it’s so important for him to keep order in a seemingly lawless world, especially since we haven't seen much official law enforcement in TWDU aside from the CRM?  
A: I think it just gets very interesting when society breaks down and things fall apart. For me, it was interesting to ask, "okay well, within the Federation of States, what is everyone's vision of bringing the world back?" Looking at New Babylon as an example of "okay, the way we can help to bring the world back is by re-establishing law and order." I think when you lose control, sometimes you want to rely on these very authoritarian, controlling tactics, and as Armstrong's story unfolds, we'll see why that's so important to him on a personal level. But on a societal and community level, Armstrong comes from this tough, rigid mindset. He’s also a husband, a father, he has daughters that he needs to protect. So, I think from that angle too, people will be able to see what Armstrong is all about and why he’s that way as well.
Q: You're a New Yorker! What was it like inhabiting this post-apocalyptic version of your city? 
A: Yeah, a born and raised New Yorker! Lenox Hill Hospital, literally born in Manhattan. It was really cool! I've been able to work on projects in different parts of the country and different parts of the world, and it was nice to be able to shoot in a very familiar place for me. You know, we really haven't seen the scale of something like New York in The Walking Dead so far, so it brought a lot of excitement. It’s bringing things that people love about the show to a cityscape on a major scale.
Q: In Episode 1, we see Armstrong clutching a letter with a New York City return address on it. In Episode 2, we find out that that letter was from his brother. It's a really emotional moment for him when he finds his brother's taken his own life. You touched a little bit on Armstrong being a husband and a father, but I'm just so curious about how much backstory you were given when building the character?
A: Eli [Jorné; showrunner] gave me a general shape of who this character was and some of his backstory, but I just took some time to really flesh that out for myself too. I think as episodes go on, you'll see more detail about that backstory and more detail about my brother come out, more about who he was to me. So much of the fun and the excitement of the show is that all these characters have such deep layers. As an actor, we get to go in and really create and explore those layers. You'll see that his brother was somebody who was very important to him. Some of the things that happened to him before the outbreak have really filtered into the person that he is now.
Q: You mentioned being a fan of the show. Armstrong knows about really important moments in the history of The Walking Dead, so I’m wondering if that made you feel like you were sort of part of the OG The Walking Dead world? You were dropping some really detailed tidbits in your speech at the bar, and it was cool to see a new character doing that!
A: I feel like it was so brilliant for Eli to connect it that way. It can be a challenge to bring in a new character on a show that has been on for so long and lead them into the story in a natural and authentic way. I think that was a very smart and authentic way to bring me in. Again, in talking to people who watched The Walking Dead most of them will bring up the Negan/Glenn storyline — that was such a huge moment in the Universe. To be able to connect to that moment and then to be able to try to do something about it in terms of bringing justice, I thought the fans would appreciate and get behind it. Plus, it was a really cool way to start off on the show.
Q: Episode 2 ends with Armstrong being taken by the Croat, which is so anxiety-inducing. What can you tease out about Armstrong's journey this season and how our perception of him may change as the season progresses?
A: I think you'll see a lot of his resolve. You'll see a lot of his ways of thinking being challenged. This whole authoritarian thing, this whole law and order thing, it works… up to a point. You'll see Armstrong have to really wrestle with ‘is this really the right way to look at things? How am I using that to deal with my trauma? And at what point does that tactic or that way of dealing with trauma no longer work?’ He’ll actually have to deal with the real losses that he’s sustained over the course of his life. The ones that had the most impact. Like all great Walking Dead characters and storylines, you'll see how people will have to deal with really emotional things, deal with life and death matters literally in the moment, and hopefully come out the other side better, stronger, and more capable of dealing with the circumstances they're in.

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