NICOLAS CANTU OF 'THE WALKING DEAD: WORLD BEYOND' ON PLAYING ELTON AND HIS WEAPON OF CHOICE

Los Angeles actor NICOLAS CANTU currently stars as “Elton Ortiz” in AMC’s The Walking Dead: World Beyond, a series focusing on a different group of survivors facing various unique challenges within the expanding zombie universe of The Walking Dead.

PHOTOGRAPHER: JOHNNY TERGO

Jacket: MONCLER, Turtleneck: ZARA, Pants: ALEXANDER MCQUEEN, Shoes: DR MARTENS

Nicolas also voices the character ‘Dak’ in the Dreamworks animated series Dragons: Rescue Riders as well as the voice of ‘Gumball’ in Cartoon Network”s The Amazing World of Gumball. He is of Mexican descent and is fluent in Spanish. Nicolas is a gamer and is known as Junky Janker on all platforms. 

In this exclusive interview, NICOLAS CANTU dishes on his character Elton from The Walking Dead: World Beyond, playing his character Elton, working in the zombie universe of The Walking Dead, the apocalypse, his weapon of choice, acting, skating, and more.

STYLING: ENRIQUE MELENDEZ, GROOMING: PAIGE DAVENPORT @ EXCLUSIVE ARTISTS USING R+CO

Jacket: RICK OWENS

What’s the most exciting element about The Walking Dead: World Beyond?

For me as a lover of zombies, it's definitely the world building the show does. Our show is set in the same universe as The Walking Dead but it almost looks like a completely different apocalypse. The designs for the empties in our show are incredible and the environments are just as great. Working on a set like that was awesome.

How was Elton Ortiz’s evolution throughout the show?
Elton is definitely on a journey of discovery. Not just of himself but also of his deceased mother. He sets out with the other teens to complete a manuscript his mother left unfinished but he comes to realize that not everything is as it seems.

What’s the best part about playing his character?

I really loved the stunts on the show. Elton is a black belt so they had me karate kicking empties left and right; it was a very involved process. But I really enjoyed playing his intellectual side as well. Being the brains of our group of survivors gave me many opportunities to formulate plans and discuss survival strategies, it made me feel like I was helping even though Elton doesn’t carry a weapon.

Suit and Shirt : RAF SIMONS

What’s the most memorable moment for you throughout the whole process of making the series?

I can't really talk about it without spoiling the show. But, later in the season Elton has what I can only describe as a big moment and that shoot really stuck with me; I felt like a superhero.

How did acting start for you? Was it something that you’ve always wanted from a young age?

I started acting when I was 7 years old and I think what sparked the inspiration was my curiosity. I would watch all these TV shows and movies and wonder how they did it all. So I told my mom I wanted to be an actor and she was like, “Sure.” 

Suit and Shirt : RAF SIMONS

What scares you?

Horror movies, I get really immersed in them and then it's all I think about for like 2 weeks.

What would be your weapon of choice on a zombie apocalypse and why?

Definitely a spear. I think a very important part of combat in the apocalypse is reach. Of course you could skewer zombies from afar but everybody else’s dream weapon is like a baseball bat or a katana. So even in that match up you’re set because nobody can swing a bat if you're stabbing them 3 feet away from you. Keeping distance = winning fights 

What’s your dream project?

If I had to make up a movie to star in, it would probably be a supernatural buddy comedy.

Jacket: MONCLER, Turtleneck: ZARA

Out of all the roles that you’ve played, is there any role/character that resonated with you the most and why?

Elton resonated with me a lot because of his general mindset. Living in an apocalypse can be difficult and Elton knows that first hand. And even though he’s aware that the human race as a whole will go extinct, he doesn’t let those nihilistic beliefs stop him from being optimistic. 

Aside from acting, what else keeps you busy?

I like skating a lot. I’ve been going to a lot of different skateparks and hitting street spots around where I live, that's been really fun.

Jacket: RICK OWENS, Pants: DSQUARED2, Shoes: DSQUARED2

What’s a valuable lesson that you learned throughout your career that you still carry with you today? 

Once you’ve done enough thinking, don't keep doing it.

If you were a book, what book would you be and why?
I would probably be one of those big art books that you buy and glance at one time. Then put on your coffee table to make it seem like you read books and doom it to a life of your guests opening it, skimming through a few pages, putting it down, and never thinking about it ever in their life ever. Only taking away the fact that maybe you read books and that's like awesome.

---

Created by Scott Gimple, Robert Kirkman and Matt Negrete, The Walking Dead: World Beyond stars Aliyah Royale, Alexa Mansour, Annet Mahendru, Nicolas Cantu, Hal Cumpston and Nico Tortorella. The series airs Sundays at 10 p.m. ET on AMC.