Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Day of the Dead’s Natalie Malaika and Keenan Tracey

Natalie Malaika and Keenan Tracey are two of the breakout stars of Syfy’s Day of the Dead.

Premiering on October 15th, Day of the Dead is the intense story of six strangers trying to survive the first twenty-four hours of an undead invasion. This ode to George A. Romero’s famous flesh-eaters reminds us that sometimes all it takes to bring people together is a horde of hungry zombies trying to rip them apart.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to chat with Natalie and Keenan to learn more about Day of the Dead, their characters, and how the series pays homage to George A. Romero.

PC: To start, could you each introduce us to your characters in the series. Natalie, do you want to kick us off?
Natalie: I play Lauren Howell. She’s an assistant mortician and funeral director at the local town funeral home. She’s a badass if I had to sum it up in one word. She really picks people up and gets them going. When the zombie apocalypse hits the town, she’s probably one of the catalysts getting people in motion to fight against what’s going on.

Keenan: I play Cam McDermott. He’s the groundskeeper at the local cemetery, which is sort of ground one where our story starts. He starts off really reluctant and timid. He has a hard time making decisions. He’s really indecisive. That’s where the chemistry between him and Lauren comes in. She mobilizes him into action and gets his butt into gear. He balances her out because he’s got a soft side.

PC: What was it about this particular character and script that attracted each of you to this project?
Keenan: I always loved horror in general. When I got this through my email, I was so excited. This is the kind of material that I like working on and watching. When I found out I was cast, I was really stoked. I’m a big fan of the old films, so it was nice being a part of something that you already like.

Natalie: I was really excited to be part of this legacy. I’m really excited about that. It also brought a little bit of anxiety because I wanted to make sure we were paying tribute in the most respectful and best way, and I think we did that. I hope that the fans appreciate and love that and love what we did.

PC: This is a unique story that takes place over a course of a day. How does that affect the way that you approach and prepared for this project?
Keenan: It’s definitely interesting. It makes it immediately different from most things. Most shows will take place over time or at least over more than a day. At the very least, you get to change your clothes once. [laughs] When it’s all one day, you’re in one of ten versions of the same clothes with different amounts of blood. You start to feel like a Family Guy or Simpsons character. You show up every week in the same uniform. But it’s kind of cool. It gives your character an iconic look, like a cartoon or superhero. If they ever make action figures, they’ll have me in cargo shorts.

Natalie: The cargo shorts. I love it.

PC: Many of the characters of the series are having a really big day in their lives. When each of you look back at your careers, is there a moment that stands out?
Natalie: I feel like there have been so many little moments that combined have led to where I am now. It’s really hard to pinpoint any one, but there are so many moments that have been surreal, like working on this show.

Keenan: Any time you get the call. For some reason, you always get the call in the car. You’ll answer it and it’s your agent and team. It’s usually good news or really, really bad. No matter what kind of day you’re having, it could totally turn your day around. That’s the most memorable part of every gig—the moment you know you’re on it. It’s pretty exciting, especially something like this where I’m already a fan. I was extra excited about this.

PC: This is a character-driven series. Which of the relationships was your favorite to explore this season and why?
Natalie: The banter that Cam and Lauren had was a lot of fun to play with. It was very natural. It’s like right off the top you meet the two of them and you feel that banter. As the characters grow and as the episodes go by, you feel that banter flow more naturally. The banter between Keenan and myself is coming through these characters. It was a lot of fun.

Keenan: I totally agree. I like the banter and relationship between Cam and Lauren the most. They were my favorite scenes to do, largely due to the fact that we weren’t faking it. Most of our scenes were together. The majority of our days on set were spent together. We were a tight-knit team. Nat and I became really good friends. It was really easy to have that banter, and it comes through in the series.

PC: Keenan, you touch upon this already earlier, but you’re no stranger to horror. What is it about this genre that excites you as an actor and creative?
Keenan: I don’t like things that feel like they have limits or boundaries to what can be shown. People in life are real. They won’t not swear in front of you because there’s no one there. No one cares. When you have to censor yourself in any regard, it immediately feels less than real. With horror specifically, there aren’t any of those rules. Not that I’m running around killing people with lawnmowers, but there’s this limitless feeling to it. Nobody is too sensitive to see this. I feel like it unites the viewers because you’ve each chosen this thing that a lot of people have a hard time watching. I know a lot of people who don’t like gore, suspense, jump scares, or that shocking feeling. I personally love that. I love feeling things and I love being surprised. Nothing surprises you more than feeling like your blood is charged. There’s electricity because you’ve just been shocked. I love that. I really do.

PC: Natalie, this is the first time in your career that you’ve lived with a character for an extended period of time. Did anything surprise you about the experience? What was the biggest takeaway?
Natalie: It was definitely a little nerve-wracking—not knowing what to expect—being that this is my first series working to this extent. But what I really loved is that the anxiety or nervousness that I felt instantly melted away as I got to know the cast and crew. Everyone was so great, and that made it so easy to fall into this character and feel comfortable doing what I love in front of the camera. Everyone is there doing what they love. It made it all very easy.

PC: You all filmed this series during a time where it did feel like the world was ending. How helpful was that in getting into the mindset and building out this universe?
Keenan: This was the first thing I did post end of the world. All the things that you would think would make the days inconvenient or harder united us more. We were all in this together. It’s like being on a ship. Everything is smooth sailing. If there’s a storm, you and your crew have to work together to get you through the storm. It was an extra thing that united us.

Natalie: Totally.

PC: The series is a love letter to the legacy that George A. Romero built and brings a fresh take to this genre. What are some of the innovations that viewers can expect to see?
Natalie: There are definitely a lot of little Easter eggs throughout the series that Romero fans will pick up on and love. Romero’s films were really embedded with a lot of social commentary. That’s very important to his work and is something that translates to the series. A lot of relevant social issues are brought up. That’s an important aspect that we didn’t want to leave out, and that’s very much there.

PC: That’s actually the perfect segue to this next question. Speaking of that social commentary, we see a lot of it throughout the series. Was there a particular theme that hit home for each of you?
Natalie: Mayor Bowman is petitioning to be re-elected. At the same time, we had the U.S. election going on. There was a lot of divide going on, and you see a lot of that divide right now. Mayor Bowman’s election creates a divide, so that was a very interesting parallel for me. It made it feel real with everything going on in the real world.

Keenan: Yeah, seeing how politics can split people. The zombie apocalypse divides the town. Like Natalie said, that’s a timely subject matter.

Natalie: It really shows. These people who are vastly different come together for a common cause. There’s this mutual thing they all have to come together over, and that translates to what we’re going through right now. A lot of people are divided and not seeing the common things that bring us together. Instead, we’re responding to things that separate us.

PC: There’s so much to love about the show. There’s action. There’s comedy. There’s gore. Is there a scene that you’re excited for your fans to see?
Keenan: There are a lot of “Yes!” moments, especially when the Zombies get annihilated. You see all these characters go through so much and then there’s a celebration. I like that there’s a lot of tension that builds up and there’s a moment where you have that release of tension and that heightened moment. It’s pretty exciting.

Natalie: It was a lot of fun. It’s also really cool to watch the characters come together. Everyone starts off in their own little worlds and then this apocalypse happens. We all find each other and we see the relationships that happen and form between the characters. That’s really cool to watch. The dynamic between the characters is going to be a fun thing to watch.

Make sure to follow Natalie (Instagram) and Keenan (Twitter/Instagram). Watch Day of the Dead every Friday at 10/9c on Syfy.

Photo Credit: Michael Courtney/DOTD S1 Productions/SYFY