‘The Walking Dead’: Hilltop’s Prisoner Of War, Alden/Callan McAuliffe, Talks Custom App For Script Secrets

The Walking Dead ended its mid-season 8 finale recently and leaving the show to continue in February. If anyone recalls, Maggie has taken over Hilltop and has thrown Gregory in with a bunch of prisoners of war commandeered from the the Saviors locale, the Sanctuary. Among them though, is a seemingly stand-up guy that wants no trouble from Maggie and also looks like she has his full cooperation.

Callan McAuliffe, the gentleman who plays Alden, who has been corralled into the Hilltop’s make shift prison, also has the AMC show’s cooperation as well when keeping content secret. According to Daily Mail, he talked about the extreme methods the show uses to keep everything top secret. Callan stated he’s never read a full script. In fact, he’d actually get the material in pieces for the purpose of preventing spoilers.

“They send [just] your bits of the script via an application that you have your own password on. I’ve never read a full script, only ever my bits… they give me [just] enough that contextually I can make something of the character.”

That said, The Walking Dead actors look like they have their work cut out for them. Maybe this helps hone their acting chops? It gets even better, McAuliffe receives the script pieces via a custom built app on his phone. So yes, they even “have an app for that.” The part that even keeps the actor in the dark is the fact they include just enough for who he’s engaged in dialogue with and nothing of the actual episode story arc.

This seems to be a well-known drill for a ton of shows and movies out today. Marvel Studios has its “snipers” that actors joke about as it seems interviewers try to get some juicy tidbits from them. That said, Callen likely knew what he was looking forward to.

This isnt the only time The Walking Dead crew had dodged paparazzi and other means to snipe secrets from the set. Last year, according to Cinema Blend, Greg Nicotero didn’t give much details on how they keep things secret, but he did mention how they don’t shoot episodes sequentially.

The Walking Dead actor reveals extreme measures the show is taking to protect secrets! – https://t.co/4GGfdt3N2q pic.twitter.com/rrBZdkGKIh

— ComicBook.com (@ComicBook) December 23, 2017

According to showrunner Scott Gimple, he mentions how it’s a “game of cat and mouse” when evading drone flyovers and other photo attempts. They have even covered their actors in cloth in order to prevent costume and make-up appearances from giving away hints, according to Project Casting.

The Walking Dead season 8 returns Feb. 25 and a promo for the show has already been revealed, so please stay tuned.