Hal Cumpston, who plays Silas on The Walking Dead: World Beyond, talks about his character's isolation, why he was so excited about tackling this week's episode and the lessons he's learned for his next project.

Q: You've written, co-produced and starred in your own movie, Bilched. What lessons did you learn from The Walking Dead: The World Beyond for whatever your next project will be?

A: There was an infinite amount of lessons I learned from the whole process. It's the most fantastic film school ever being on set. I mean, more than anything, with any of these questions, I can act like I'm a real actor and be like, "Yeah, this is what I was trying to go for," but more than anything the overall feeling is that I'm just so incredibly lucky to get this opportunity. I felt like I just bluffed my way into this multi-million dollar TV show. On set, it was just an incredibly different environment to making my own film. Whereas when I'm making my own low-budget independent film, I'm sleeping four hours a night. I took a blood test and I had the testosterone of a 60-year-old man at one point; I was so completely beaten down. When it's your one chance at breaking out of mediocrity and you're trying to do something extraordinary, you're going to work insanely hard. That's what I had to do with my film.

But [for the show] I'm in my trailer, I don't have to worry about the props, I don't have to worry about anything besides delivering a performance, which is just the sickest job ever. It was more just creating an environment where it's about supporting the creativity and getting as much creativity out of you, as opposed to a stressful "everyone's going to die like the sky's on fire." That's what the environment was when making my own film. More than anything, [the show] just made me so much more hungry for more, like I just want to make as many films and TV shows as I can. It also spawned all these different ideas. I can't really list anything because there's just so many different lessons, like every day. I was keeping a diary to make sure that I end up remembering them. Especially coming at it from already having made a film that I understand everything that's going on set. Just incredible. So bloody lucky. But it's also a little bit annoying now that I'm not going to be able to go back and make the low-budget things. I need the best of the best and everything (laughs).

Q: We've seen various international actors, like your fellow Aussie Alycia Debnam-Carey of Fear the Walking Dead, speak in American accents in The Walking Dead universe. What was it like for you to learn the American accent for this show?

A: I've done nothing besides my film, which is very Australian. I hadn't done any prior training, had no experience, so I feel like it should have been harder but it definitely [was] the easiest possible transition in that I had an accent coach, Samara Bay, [who] was so good. We'd just go over the lines and make sure that I was getting everything right... I can speak in a clear and concise accent when I'm not spending too much time with my Australian friends, so it's more just changing little things here and there to make it American.

Q: In the very first scene of the pilot, Iris talks to Silas. What does it mean to him that Iris approaches him?

A: It's such an important scene. I mean, it's basically an initial shock for Silas. I feel like Silas, due to the circumstances, has just been numb to life because it's just too much to process and he also doesn't have the capability to process what's going on. It's the catalyst that sees him become a part of the show... I feel Iris is definitely someone that he admires... He respects her opinion more than he respects his own; there's a lot of self-hatred going on with Silas for obvious reasons. Also as well, there's no easy way to live life, especially in his circumstances, and there's nothing that's obviously going to make it better. However, connecting and talking to people and love definitely seem to be a reoccurring theme in people's lives that are better than Silas's, so it's massive.

Watch: Iris Finds Silas Instead of Percy:

Q: Episode 8 is a key episode for your character and features flashbacks from two different points in time. How involved was it to keep everything straight?

A: Also, for that episode... It's basically a mini horror film that I just got to shoot over seven days, and I'd been waiting as well for my chance to really have a massive episode. I'd learnt so much in the time before [when] we shot the other episodes because it's a massive learning curve this whole season. I was so, so excited over everything. The idea of difficulty or being nervous for it didn't really even hit me because I was just so ready, so ready and so excited. It also comes back to the same thing like with the accent -- I can't complain or say it was difficult when I just had the best preparation. I mean, the director Loren Yaconelli and the writer Elizabeth Padden were so good. I had my acting coach Miranda [Harcourt] -- we worked on it really hard.

The last day of shooting, I arrived at midday and left at 8AM, and it snowed that week and I'd never been in the snow before. So, when I'm out there, it's borderline snowing at 8AM and and I'm having to film the scene where my hands are tied behind the pole and I'm like fending for my life. It was pretty easy when I was incredibly cold and tired. It's handy to have those sort of external factors going. But yeah, that whole thing, it could have been difficult. I could have got stressed out about it, but you just weigh it up and go "look, so bloody lucky to be in this position, let's just go for it, give it our all." Everyone on set is super accepting. It's more of an environment to encouraging creativity as opposed to being scared of a particular thing or worried that I'm not keeping it straight between the different scenes.

Q: Can you talk about what Silas's headphones represent and why he cast them off at the end of Episode 8?

A: Well, in The Walking Dead world, there's not a lot of room in your backpack for keeping your special things, so, if someone does hold onto something, that's definitely their most prized possession. Obviously these headphones are so important to him, as you see throughout the show, and it's definitely a form of escape that he listens to his headphones and he's sort of disconnected from the world. But he's thinking that he's a murderer, so it's just the moment where he fully lets go of trying to be a good person or believe he is a good person. Nice bit of symbolism.

Watch: Inside the Characters' Motivations:

Q: What does it mean to Silas that Elton believes in him so fervently?

A: Elton, alongside Iris, are arguably the two most important people to him. And also as well, it's definitely a universal thing that everyone can act like they're all tough and they don't find things [to be] emotional, but there's something about when someone doesn't have any friends or any people to talk to and then you see the people that go over and make an effort. Like Elton and Iris are so, so nice but almost to a fault. And I feel like Silas understands that Elton is loyal and kind almost to a fault that, in Episode 8, when he's believing in him so much, I feel like it definitely is adding to Silas's self-hate, like it's just rubbing it into him how disgusting it is that he did that -- in a life where Silas has had so little love and affection from people and he's just gone and slapped it in the face, at least that's his thought anyway. It's almost like that thing about sometimes you just need people being nice to you not to be nice to you when you're in a place of "no, I'm angry at myself right now."

Read More: Q&A Nicolas Cantu (Elton)

Q: In one of the flashbacks, Silas refuses his neighbor's offer of help for him and his mother. Why?

A: I feel like it's partially for the neighbor's own safety. I mean, he's got either a zombie or his even scarier monster dad chasing him around, so it's just like "go away." Also you can't think straight when you're in those situations, but he does understand that the one thing he doesn't need is another variable of a neighbor running around that he has to protect, you know what I mean? And the brain pathways aren't opening up a lot there. All he can think is "no, go away, I'm in a little bit of a sticky situation."

Q: Silas leaves the group at the end of this episode. How difficult is it for him to do that?

A: It was definitely difficult, but in his own mind, it's the only option in that situation. He doesn't care for his own danger; he cares for the danger of the group... It's the only, not even a way out, but it's the only option for him. Yes, it's difficult but not as difficult as doing anything else. It's all part of the terrible self-hate going on at that point. Yeah, it's the only way out.

Q: People have called Silas a monster. What do you think of that?

A: That's obviously a question he's constantly asking himself. The thing is it's natural that you believe your parents and you listen to your parents and you learn from your parents. If his father's constantly giving him this hate and treating him like he is a monster and Silas is learning from him, learning from this monster -- one of the two people that he has to learn from -- he would believe himself [to be a monster] and possibly follow in his father's footsteps as well. And also he may be a monster because a lot of monsters and people who are monsters in real life, they, like Silas, weren't taught a moral code. They didn't have the option or the privilege to learn about what it means to be human and nice and all these other things. But, I mean, is he a monster? I don't think anyone's a black and white monster.

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