Star says Walking Dead changed her temperament

New York  — Spending your days killing zombies apparently takes its toll.

Actress Lauren Cohan said being on AMC's The Walking Dead for three seasons has had an effect on her.

"My temperament has changed since I've been on the show because of being immersed in this dark material all the time," Cohan said in a recent interview.

Cohan plays Maggie Greene on the post-apocalyptic zombie drama. So far this season Maggie has seen her father beheaded, was separated from her husband and doesn't know whether her sister Beth is alive, dead or undead.

Cohan said that while she loves the show, it's sometimes difficult to separate herself from her character and that she's become more "subdued".


(Lauren Cohan in a scene from The Walking Dead. AP)

"You come out of doing the show when you're like, 'OK, remember how to relax and remember picking up hobbies or whatever,' but remembering how to have frivolity as well has been difficult," the 32-year-old actress said.

Cohan said that in some ways, she feels that she's changed for the better because she doesn't have as many highs and lows as she used to, but adds that she now has a "serious feeling in my heart" that she sometimes wishes wasn't there.

Maggie and her husband were reunited in the show's penultimate episode. Now the couple and a host of other characters are headed for Terminus, which promises "sanctuary for all. Those who arrive survive."

Is that a good thing? Cohan isn't giving away any spoilers for the season finale, which airs Sunday (9 p.m. EDT).

"It sounds too good to be true," Cohan said, adding that like everything else on the show, "It probably is."