With its first season just wrapped up on Tuesday, The CW’s iZombie made a name for itself as a midseason standout. Developed by Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas and Diane Ruggiero, iZombie follows Rose McIver (Once Upon a Time) as Liv Moore, a reluctant zombie and morgue assistant who gets her brains from murder victims.
As a side effect of her appetite, Liv gains memories of the victim’s last days, and puts it to use assisting the Seattle Police Department. Specifically, assisting Detective Clive Babineaux, who is eager to believe in her “psychic abilities” as long as they net him results. Through the first season, their working relationship blossoms into a solid partnership, and Clive grows to become Liv’s friend and practical center.
The man who shares his face, actor Malcolm Goodwin, sat down with me to talk about the jaw-dropping finale, Clive’s belief in Liv, and where he might go in season two.
DIYA MISHRA: I know the writers’ room opened up shop recently. Have you heard anything about where you’re taking Clive in season two?
MALCOLM GOODWIN: Not yet, but I’m itching to know. We all meet with the writers in a couple of weeks and I’m sure we will all be fishing for where each of our character’s storylines will go.
DM: Going into the second season, Clive is the only one out of the main cast who doesn’t know about zombies. Do you prefer Clive knowing, or remaining in the dark?
MG: The creators of the show, Rob and Diane, along with the other writers, are so creative and smart with each character that I fully trust whatever decision they make in regards to whether Clive will ever know that there are zombies in the world. I enjoy Clive not knowing because he represents the people in the real world who have no idea that zombies exist, although he’s around them everyday. I think it’s fun that the audience is in on it and can enjoy the game of him being so close to a truth that would probably blow his mind.
Advertisement
DM: I love Clive playing straight man, but at a certain point he does have to get suspicious of Liv’s eccentricities, right? I’m surprised it didn’t happen with her more unusual personality switches.
MG: I’ve always thought that Clive saw her personality switches as side effects from getting visions from the victims. Almost like someone who channels. But Liv’s personality has fluctuated with him from day one, so that’s how he knows her. He probably thinks she’s bi-polar, but he’ll never suspect it’s because she’s eating the victim’s brains.
DM: Why do you think he’s so ready to believe Major went as far as killing Julien?
MG: Well Major did call him over to his place confessing to shooting Julien three times in the chest. But when Clive went up to Major’s bedroom, there was no body. He even gave Major the benefit of the doubt and went to look for Julien, but when he found him he was benching 350 pounds with no gunshot wounds. Not knowing there’s a world of zombies, that does sound pretty crazy to him. All of that contributes to Clive’s hunch that Major may be connected in some way, because he only knows Julien through him, and the sneakers Julien is wearing are identical to Jerome’s, who he has also met through Major. I don’t think he believes the sneakers are Jerome’s, because he’s content with the story Lieutenant Suzuki fabricated about the disappearance of Jerome and Eddie, but the coincidence is enough for him to be suspicious.
Advertisement
DM: Now that we’ve seen the whole season, can you tell us what your favorite scene to film was? Your least favorite?
MG: I have too many favorite scenes, so that’s a tough one, but I would have to go with Major going HAM at the MeatCute! I loved the music that played alongside the action. I don’t have a least favorite scene. If I were pressed to choose it would be filming outside in the woods during the paintball episode. It was freezing that day and I forgot to throw on some thermals so I was trying not to shiver during takes.
DM: Lastly, would you actually kill your grandma in the zombie apocalypse? Or do you have another strategy?
MG: If she was a Walking Dead zombie or a World War Z zombie then “Hasta la vista, Mee-Ma!” But if she was an iZombie zombie, I would have to figure out a way for her to get brains until a cure is found. Or discover a substitution for brains that curbs her cravings and prevents her from going into full zombie mode.
Advertisement
DM: Thank you for sitting down with us!
MG: Thanks for the questions! And thanks for all the support you have given the show and everyone who’s worked on it. It’s truly appreciated.
Read our review of the iZombie’s final episode here!
Advertisement