Chad Coleman Previews 'Law & Order: SVU' Guest Role and 'Walking Dead'
Chad Coleman is more used to evading zombies in the woods on The Walking Dead, but this week, he'll be suiting up for a much different role.
The actor is guest-starring on Law & Order: SVU Wednesday night as a high-profile sports figure accused of hitting his girlfriend (Meagan Good). Sound familiar? The case seems ripped from the headlines in which ex-Baltimore Ravens player Ray Rice was kicked off his team over a domestic abuse scandal.
Yahoo TV chatted with Coleman about the storyline, which hits close to home, plus we got a bit of scoop about what to expect from Tyreese and the gang on The Walking Dead.
Tell us about the character you play on SVU this week.
His name is A.J. Martin. He's an ex-football player and now a sportscaster and a very accomplished sportscaster.
And he is embroiled in a domestic-abuse case, right?
He makes a reprehensible choice, and he has to deal with the consequences of that. You really see a 360-degree view of this issue. They don't eviscerate anyone, and it's laid out in a manner where the audience can decide for themselves what they believe should happen to him. At the same time, there is a verdict.
Is domestic abuse an important issue for you personally?
Absolutely. I have a friend in Boston with a foundation [Love Life Now], and I went there to speak on it, to give a speech on domestic violence. In my own life, as far as my father was concerned, that issue was right there. So it touches my heart. It's important to me, not because of any other thing except in my own life with what my mother had to go through with my father.
How was it working with Mariska Hargitay and the rest of the cast?
She is a blast! She is an amazing human being. She is full of life, happy, fun, and incredibly intelligent and incredibly driven. She's just the sweetest person on the planet. I brought my family on the show, and she treated them with such tender loving care. All of them — Ice-T, Danny [Pino], Kelli [Giddish] — were all amazing. Also, Elizabeth Marvel, unbelievable. And most of all, Miss Meagan Good. "Good" doesn't do her justice. Let's call her Meagan Super Good.
SVU and Walking Dead are very different shows. Was it weird jumping from one to another?
Honestly, I was like, "Thank God! I can put on a suit!" They had me in these beautiful suits, Gucci suits. Amazing stuff. The costume department was off the chain. It was great to put on suits and ties. Not to make light of it, but at the same time, I was like, "I look fly."
So, we have to ask about Walking Dead. We haven't seen Tyreese and the church group in a couple of episodes. What can we expect from them next?
You're going to see us up against it. We're fighting hard to survive. We're trying to understand one another. We're trying hard to maintain community. We're trying to find a safe place to exist. You're going to see some dynamic acting, some amazing action, and some gory, out-of-this-world goriness.
This season, Tyreese has been shying away from violence...
I wouldn't say shying away. This is what people don't understand. The greatest stance you can take in that world is to not be gratuitously violent, and instead say, "Come on, who are we?" Because it's not a comic book, it's real life. So, that's the most noble thing you can do, and it's hard. Killing is not easy at all. Sometimes, we live vicariously and work out our own frustration. But killing ain't easy. The most hopeful thing is that one day, you're going to return to normal. Who the hell are you going to be once you get back there if you don't carry that flag of humanity?
Chad Coleman is more used to evading zombies in the woods on The Walking Dead, but this week, he'll be suiting up for a much different role.
The actor is guest-starring on Law & Order: SVU Wednesday night as a high-profile sports figure accused of hitting his girlfriend (Meagan Good). Sound familiar? The case seems ripped from the headlines in which ex-Baltimore Ravens player Ray Rice was kicked off his team over a domestic abuse scandal.
Yahoo TV chatted with Coleman about the storyline, which hits close to home, plus we got a bit of scoop about what to expect from Tyreese and the gang on The Walking Dead.
Tell us about the character you play on SVU this week.
His name is A.J. Martin. He's an ex-football player and now a sportscaster and a very accomplished sportscaster.
And he is embroiled in a domestic-abuse case, right?
He makes a reprehensible choice, and he has to deal with the consequences of that. You really see a 360-degree view of this issue. They don't eviscerate anyone, and it's laid out in a manner where the audience can decide for themselves what they believe should happen to him. At the same time, there is a verdict.
So, this seems ripped from the headlines of the Ray Rice case…
I don't know nothing about that! I'll say it like this: What'chu talkin' 'bout, Willis? But you know, even before that happened, this is something that was present and going on and needed to be addressed anyway, so we don't need to draw that line.
I don't know nothing about that! I'll say it like this: What'chu talkin' 'bout, Willis? But you know, even before that happened, this is something that was present and going on and needed to be addressed anyway, so we don't need to draw that line.
Is domestic abuse an important issue for you personally?
Absolutely. I have a friend in Boston with a foundation [Love Life Now], and I went there to speak on it, to give a speech on domestic violence. In my own life, as far as my father was concerned, that issue was right there. So it touches my heart. It's important to me, not because of any other thing except in my own life with what my mother had to go through with my father.
How was it working with Mariska Hargitay and the rest of the cast?
She is a blast! She is an amazing human being. She is full of life, happy, fun, and incredibly intelligent and incredibly driven. She's just the sweetest person on the planet. I brought my family on the show, and she treated them with such tender loving care. All of them — Ice-T, Danny [Pino], Kelli [Giddish] — were all amazing. Also, Elizabeth Marvel, unbelievable. And most of all, Miss Meagan Good. "Good" doesn't do her justice. Let's call her Meagan Super Good.
SVU and Walking Dead are very different shows. Was it weird jumping from one to another?
Honestly, I was like, "Thank God! I can put on a suit!" They had me in these beautiful suits, Gucci suits. Amazing stuff. The costume department was off the chain. It was great to put on suits and ties. Not to make light of it, but at the same time, I was like, "I look fly."
So, we have to ask about Walking Dead. We haven't seen Tyreese and the church group in a couple of episodes. What can we expect from them next?
You're going to see us up against it. We're fighting hard to survive. We're trying to understand one another. We're trying hard to maintain community. We're trying to find a safe place to exist. You're going to see some dynamic acting, some amazing action, and some gory, out-of-this-world goriness.
This season, Tyreese has been shying away from violence...
I wouldn't say shying away. This is what people don't understand. The greatest stance you can take in that world is to not be gratuitously violent, and instead say, "Come on, who are we?" Because it's not a comic book, it's real life. So, that's the most noble thing you can do, and it's hard. Killing is not easy at all. Sometimes, we live vicariously and work out our own frustration. But killing ain't easy. The most hopeful thing is that one day, you're going to return to normal. Who the hell are you going to be once you get back there if you don't carry that flag of humanity?
probably going to do one based off The Fappening soon i bet 
