By SHARMILA NAIR
alltherage@thestar.com.my

LET it be known that I was the person who spoiled Breaking Bad for Andrew Lincoln, the star of Fox International Channels’ other hit television show The Walking Dead.

This looks like a wedding photo? Nyeh, sure.

Lincoln and Norman Reedus, who respectively play Rick Grimes and Daryl Dixon in The Walking Dead, were in Singapore last week as part of a promotional tour, and yours truly was one of a few journalists from around the region who had the opportunity to talk to the stars about the television series and more.

By the way, if you don’t want any Breaking Bad spoilers, skip the next four paragraphs.

“His character is already dead in his show, so he can just appear on yours, right?” I asked, referring to Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston’s wish to make an appearance on The Walking Dead as a zombie in the background.

“Oh my God, I haven’t watched it yet. Shut up … I was just gonna watch the last season. Spoiler alert,” said Lincoln.

“You didn’t know?” asked Reedus, to which his cast mate said no. “Where have you been?” he asked.

“Doing The Walking Dead!” replied a distraught Lincoln.

Well in my defence, no true Breaking Bad fan would wait this long to watch its series finale – which aired late last year – so I’m not going to feel bad about ruining it for Lincoln.

Anyway, besides possibly ruining the ending of what some say is one of the greatest television series of all time … for the actor of another show that is well on its way to reaching the same status, the interview went pretty well.

Usually, when people hear that I get to rub shoulders with celebrities (all in the name of work), the inevitable question that follows after that is: “Do you ever get starstruck?”

And the answer to that is usually, and honestly, no.

So far, I have been lucky to have had opportunities to meet many A-list stars including Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Jake Gyllenhaal, and although I may have had “fangirl” moments before or after meeting some of them, it was never during the interview.

However, all that changed last week at The Walking Dead junket. When the show’s two main stars, Lincoln and Reedus, walked into our meeting room at a swanky hotel, I couldn’t even look up to see their faces. That’s how nervous I was.

The only thing that was running in my head was “I’m in the same room as Rick and Daryl. I am going to die” – and couldn’t even think of a question to get the interview going.

However, some brave soul broke the ice and quickly, even before anyone could say “Don’t Dead, Open Inside” (a Walking Dead fans’ inside joke), Lincoln and Reedus became the most awesome people I have interviewed, ever.

Reedus, dressed in a fitted light gray shirt, black tie and black pants, looked hot as hell with his unkempt hair falling – but in a sexy way of course – over his face.

Norman Reedus is seriously a super hot guy – on and off screen.

He was distracted whenever Lincoln spoke and from where I sat, it looked as if he was staring straight at me. Reedus could’ve just blanked out, and was probably just thinking about food or maybe what possessed him to wear that hideous pair of socks that day, but hey, a girl can always dream, can’t she?

The chemistry between the cast members is undeniably strong and the unspoken brotherhood they share on screen translates in real life as well.

Lincoln and Reedus are obviously good friends and it’s the kind that totally makes you jealous for not being part of the exclusive gang that makes a living pretending to be zombie killers. Oh well, maybe in another lifetime.

But cementing the fact that they are two of the coolest people on and off the screen, Lincoln and Reedus spent quite a fair bit of time mingling with the journalists after the interview just to take photos, sign autographs and simply talk.

No way was I going to say no to taking a photo – or two, or three – with my favourite stars from the television series that I watch religiously. I have people to brag about this and the photos would come in handy!

Sharm says: A friend, who saw the picture of me hugging Lincoln, commented that it looks like a wedding photo; and you know what, I’m going to pretend it is! Maybe one day, I’ll print it out and send it to him as an apology for ruining Breaking Bad for him. Sorry, Lincoln.

Don’t forget to check out The Walking Dead article in Star2 on Feb 6.