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Q: Episode 7 was such a huge episode. What was your biggest takeaway?

A: Yeah, 7 was a really big episode! It’s the episode where you get to know more about Mel and he’s a little more in your face. The thing I took away from 7, more than anything, was that his love for Charlie makes him ultimately redeeming. While he’s manipulating this girl, he ultimately loves her. Whatever his situation was in the past, that’s what’s driving him – to take care of this little girl and whatever his fantasy is of having a family and somehow getting through this. It was a crazy episode. There was a ton of stuff. It was full on. And then obviously at the end, I get a spike through the head! (Laughs)

Q: What do you focus on as an actor to get that creepy vibe. What are you going for? A: Well, I think the thing I like most about the character, and what they are supportive of me doing is the idea that he is very practical about whether people live or die. I think he approaches it very much like a business.

As I said on the Talking Dead a couple of weeks ago, I’m not a very physically intimidating guy. You don’t see me and go, ‘That’s a scary guy’.

Like Mel says ‘You can all sit in there and die and I’m fine to wait.” I like the fact that he doesn’t posture to be menacing.

The guys who I find the most terrifying are like the serial killer John Wayne Gacy. He’s terrifying because he’s like a normal guy. You see him talk and he’s like going to work every day. And to me, those are the guys who are terrifying because it’s like at some point something changes.

Even in episode 403, the stuff with Kim (Madison), where Mel is cooking hotdogs and stuff, he’s very affable, you know. He’s not socially strange. But I like that he doesn’t try to be scary. He’s just kind of is who he is.

Q: Tell me a little about Mel’s wardrobe. In episode 403, his outfit is a little flashy. What’s going on there? Is that by choice or just what’s available to him? A: Jo Katsaras, our costume designer, is great. So, when we found the pants, they were so clearly Mel’s pants. I thought they were great.

Again, I think he still likes to look nice. I mean, I think it’s part of his drive to, sort of, keep some semblance of a life. And he’s not doing what they’re doing, insulating and trying to recreate the world. But I think he gets up in the morning and I think he still reads. I think he’s still pretending the world is going on.

Obviously, the way he dresses is over the top. But I think he likes the idea that he gets up in the morning, he gets dressed.

[I have to say, it’s kind of snazzy.] Yes, thank you, thank you. It’s not very practical or necessarily comfortable but it is snazzy.

Q: Mel wants stuff. You talked about looking at it like a business. We know he’s motivated by things. What else might motivate him or what else does he want? Power? Control? Does he want people to fear him? Or is it just about the stuff? A: I don’t think he wants people to fear him. I mean, when he says, ‘If you guys want to tag along, if you guys want to join us’, I think he’s genuine. I think he means that. I think the more the merrier, as far as he’s concerned. I think the way he lives is moving around and you gather shit up and you build up your world a little bit. And then you move on to the next thing.

But I don’t think it’s just about collecting stuff. I mean, I think he’s doing what Madison’s doing but just in a different way.

I think he’s trying to create a world, where there’s interpersonal -- I think you’ll see in future episodes that he likes having a community of people, and his brother’s there, I mean, was there, obviously not in the present timeline. Mel doesn’t know Ennis is dead yet.

So, I think he’s easy. I don’t think he’s that complicated, I think he likes Madison. I think he respects that she’s trying to do something, but he doesn’t agree with it. I think he knows it’s a faulty plan.

And much more of that kind of comes to light. But I don’t think he’s beating his chest and trying to be terrifying.

Q: There are obviously these factions, there’s the Vultures, there’s Madison’s group. Does any of that sort of play out in any funny way off-camera? Do you tease each other? A: (Laughs) No, because the funny thing about Mel is, and it’s sort of just the way that the script is written, I don’t really interact with the Vultures either.