The 'Biggest Battle' Lennie James Had When Playing Morgan

The creative teams behind "The Walking Dead" and "Fear The Walking Dead" have often pulled out all the stops to keep Morgan Jones' story fresh for both Lennie James and franchise fans. But James' compelling work in the role has arguably been the driving force behind keeping fans engaged with Morgan's narrative. And as James told CBR, that has been a struggle in and of itself. "The most challenging part of playing Morgan is making his choices and what happens to him believable [as] one man [so] that he can still stand up and tell his story," he said, adding, "As an actor, if he stopped interesting me, he would stop interesting everyone else."

Not only has James kept Morgan interesting, but he has also helped build him into one of the most important characters in AMC's "The Walking Dead" franchise. That fact is all the more impressive given the extended gaps in James' tenure in said universe. After all, James began his journey as the character in the 2010 pilot for "The Walking Dead," but he didn't make his second appearance until a one-off spot late in Season 3. He also took Season 4 off, not returning to the zombie-infested apocalypse until Season 5.

Narrative gaps aside, Morgan's early appearances are pretty much the stuff of "The Walking Dead" legend. And the same can be said for many of Morgan's storylines in the ensuing years. Though his "Fear The Walking Dead" tenure appears to be at an end, the door is clearly open for James to return elsewhere in "The Walking Dead" universe. That's assuming, of course, the character remains interesting to him.