‘Watching two zombies making out was the weirdest thing I’ve seen’

She’s the Australian star of the cult zombie series Fear The Walking Dead and Alycia Debnam-Carey is looking forward to a crazy new season of stabbing people in the head.

ALYCIA Debnam-Carey might make her living trying to survive a zombie apocalypse but she desperately hopes she is never called on to do the same thing in real life.

One of the stars of cult zombie series Fear The Walking Dead, the former Newtown School of Performing Arts student is about to return in season three of the cult show on Foxtel’s FX Channel.

“I definitely have thought about it many times,” she said of the zombie apocalypse.

“And I think how fast I would be dead! It’s opened my eyes up as to how bad I would be at it!”

This season will kick off with some massive shocks and will see the storylines initially split into three — Strand is trying to find a new purpose in the world, Ofelia is trying to survive after being captured and Alycia and the others wind up on a ranch run by a bunch of doomsday preppers.

“I think we’re going to see her sort of branching out, not so much taking advice but taking some charge,” Debnam-Carey said.

“Alicia (her character is Alicia Clark) is going to have a lot more independence.

“It was a really, really fun series to make, being out on the ranch with some great new characters.”

The words “ranch” might alarm some fans of The Walking Dead, because that conjures up that dread phrase: “Hershel’s Farm” and the notorious season two, which had a handful of brilliant moments interspersed with episodes of boredom.

But this looks very different, with one of the new characters in particular promising to provide more trouble than a horde of walkers.

Ofelia faces new struggles in Season Three.

“The show explores so many emotions, what other people do to other people and what you would do for your family,” she said.

“People who don’t adapt well to current life, they somehow rise up in the apocalypse.”

Debnam-Carey said her favourite scenes were with one-screen mother Madison (Kim Dickens), brother Nick (Frank Dillane) and stepfather Travis (Cliff Curtis).

“I adore working with them,” she said. “I’ve learned so much and they truly are like a family. We all really, really like each other’s company.”

Kim Dickens (Madison) and Alycia Debnam-Carey (Alicia) end up with doomsday preppers.

Big brother show The Walking Dead is notorious for pulling pranks on cast members but Debnam-Carey said that’s not so much the case on FTWD. But they still enjoy a laugh. After Kim Dickens said an inappropriate phrase by mistake in the middle of the scene, the next day she was surprised to find cast and crew all wearing T-shirts printed up with the phrase, Debnam-Carey said.

“We’re not so much into pranking, but we have more freedom to goof around and have fun,” she said.

Walking around with extras dressed up as zombies all the time is just something you get used to, she said.

“There was this one time when there was this lovely couple, who were a couple in real life, they were all made up. They started making out and that was the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen, a couple making out as zombies!”

Travis meets some new friends at the start of season three.

Debnam-Carey to the US aged just 18 and has swiftly found a home for herself. Apparently getting the America accent right is the least of the problems for younger Aussie actors.

“I got help with it and the show is watched by so many Americans that I wanted to get it right but it wasn’t too hard. I think the younger ones can pull it off because we have grown up with American TV and movies. For people of my parents’ generation it’s much harder — when my parents try to do an American accent, it’s horrible!”

And her advice for budding actors wanting to follow in her footsteps?

“One of the most valuable characteristics is to be prepared. Of course you have to do it because you love doing it. And if you are patient, things will come into play. From the outside it can seem almost easy but there is a lot of time and effort that has to go into it. You have to work hard and be nice to people.”

Strand is back but facing new challenges.

She binge-watched the first four seasons of The Walking Dead but now is just kept up to date with developments.

So who does she think Alicia will become more like this season — Carol or Michonne?

“Carol would be more interesting but I think Alicia will end up more like Michonne. Madison will be more like Carol,” she said.

FEAR THE WALKING DEAD returns to Foxtel’s FX Channel on Monday June 5.