- Warning: There are spoilers ahead for “The Walking Dead.”
- Seth Gilliam told Insider he always wonders if his character Father Gabriel will die.
- Gabriel has outlived his comic demise. Gilliam said, “I feel like I’m playing with house money.”
If you tune into every episode of “The Walking Dead” wondering if it’s going to be Father Gabriel’s last, you’re not the only one.
“When I get a new script, I wonder if it’s going to be the last ride for old Father Gabriel, because we are in uncharted territory with the character in the story,” Seth Gilliam, who has played Gabriel Stokes on “TWD” since season five, told Insider.
Gabriel has long outlived his comic death on AMC’s zombie drama.
In Robert Kirkman’s comic of the same name, Gabriel falls from a lookout tower and gets caught upside down in one of the ladder’s rungs, violently snapping his ankle. The Whisperers come upon him and Beta finishes the job by opening his stomach.
He’s left for the dead to eat.
Skybound/Image Comics
The show has hinted at Gabriel’s death many times in the past with nods to his comic death and the tower itself. Season 10, episode 15 was even titled, “The Tower.”
AMC, INSIDER composite by Kirsten Acuna
The Whisperers are now long gone on the series so Gabe doesn’t have Beta to worry about.
But if Gabriel’s death is to come on “TWD,” Gilliam may not even learn about it until it’s almost about to happen.
“I’ve heard tales of people not getting the call until they read the script in the past [about their death]. So I’m like, ‘Well, that could very much be my fate,'” Gilliam said.
It’s usually more typical of one of the show’s actors to receive a heads up of their death episode at the top of the season or before reading a script. In the past, Avi Nash and Katelyn Nacon, who were both killed off the series, told Insider they received calls well in advance to let them know of their character’s impending demise.
For a moment, Gilliam thought Gabe’s time in the apocalypse was coming to an end last September when he received a call from showrunner Angela Kang and “TWD” universe chief Scott Gimple.
“When you get a call from both of them, it’s like, ‘Well, this really can’t be good,'” Gilliam told Insider.
Jace Downs/AMC
Instead, he was learning, along with the rest of the cast, that the show’s 11th season would be its final one.
Gilliam told Insider his ideal “TWD” ending would involve Father Gabe “as the last man standing” at the end of the show next year, but he doesn’t sound too worried if Gabe eventually bites the dust.
“At this point I feel like I’m playing with house money,” Gilliam said. “Anything that happens, I’m like, ‘Well, I made it much further than I thought I would anyway.'”
You can follow along with our “TWD” coverage here and read our full conversation with Gilliam here.