'The Walking Dead' Actress Says The Hardest Part About Season 4 Was A Major Character's Death

Kirsten AcunaSep 30, 2014, 20:44 IST

Gene Page/AMCHershel (Scott Wilson), his daughter Beth (Emily Kinney), and Carl (Chandler Riggs) on set of "The Walking Dead" during season 4.You can never get too attached to any character on AMC's zombie series "The Walking Dead." You never know when one of your favorite actors may get killed off. Series creator Robert Kirkman has said no character, no matter how popular, is ever safe. Warning: If you're not caught up with season 4, there are spoilers ahead. Business Insider recently spoke with actress Emily Kinney, who plays character Beth Greene on the series, who lost her father Hershel (Scott Wilson) not to zombies in season 4, but brutally at the hands of a merciless, vengeful one-eyed Governor in a shocking season four moment. Hershel acted not only as a mentor to the young survivors, but also as a doctor and farmer as the group helped rebuild their lives during the apocalypse.

That changed when Hershel was abruptly taken prisoner by the show's villainous Governor (David Morrissey) and killed in front of his on-screen family. Kinney tells Business Insider it was a tough moment on set. "The hardest thing about season four was losing Scott Wilson because he became so much of you know a father figure to me and Lauren [Cohen] in real life and to not have his energy on set was really, really difficult. Luckily, he came to my birthday party like, 'We'll still see each other.'

Gene Page/AMCDavid Morrissey (left) and Wilson prepare to film one of the most unexpected scenes in season 4.

AMC / The Walking DeadHere's how the final scene looked on screen.

As revealed on "The Talking Dead," the companion talk show which airs after "The Walking Dead," the cast and crew will get together after any character's passing on the series to hold what Kinney describes as "one last party" celebrating the actor's time on the show. Appropriately, these events are called death dinners. "[It's] one time where we can have dinner together and see each other outside the set." Kinney says. "It's something we definitely did for Scott. It was really nice." Gene Page / AMCKinney says losing Scott on the series was a bittersweet moment. "It was so hard losing him, but you do realize when someone's in your life in that way they hopefully … you can pick up any time and see them again."

Gene Page/AMCKinney and her on-screen dad Scott Wilson on set of "The Walking Dead."

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'The Walking Dead' Actress Says The Hardest Part About Season 4 Was A Major Character's Death