This was posted Tuesday, April 25, 2017 by Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com for his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
Madison Lintz, known for her role as Sophia on "The Walking Dead" and now a regular spot on Amazon's "Bosch," is part of an acting family.
Her sister MacKenzie was on CBS's "Under the Dome" from 2013 to 2015. Her mom Kelly Collins Lintz was in "We're the Millers" and recent release "Gifted" and has 27 acting credits on imdb.com. One brother Matt has been in "The Messengers" and "Pixels." Plus, her youngest brother Macsen is now also on "The Walking Dead" in a minor role so far in the Kingdom.
Her father is the lone non actor. Rather, he's real estate agent. "He keeps us sane," Lintz said.
"Bosch," which focuses on a cop Harry Bosch (Titus Welliver) with plenty of personal baggage, has already been renewed for a fourth season. Lintz understands how a regular gig is a blessing in the acting world. "I'm getting paid," she said. "That's good. It's a working job."
She plays Bosch's teen-age daughter. After living with her mom the first two seasons in Las Vegas, her mother gets a gig in Hong Kong. Maddie wants to stay stateside so she moves in with Bosch this season, which means Lintz gets more airtime.
"I think Maddie Bosch is a grounding sub-story line. She provides a sense of innocence to the show," Lintz said. In the first episode of season 3, for instance, she bugs him about his smoking habit and his addiction to work.
"I have some staple teenager moments," she said. "He gets to know what it feels like a single father."
Bosch is based on the Michael Connelly set of novels. She's only read the most recent one but once she graduates high school, she plans to dig through the others.
As for her time on 'The Walking Dead," which only encompassed a handful of episodes, she said it felt like a lifetime ago. "I was 10, 11 and 12," Lintz said. "Now I'm almost 18. People ask me about the show and I realize I don't remember a lot of it. It's been that long. I start to forget."
Sophia was the daughter of Carol, played by Atlantan Melissa McBride. "She's a badass!" Lintz said. "I love Melissa. We actually knew her before I booked 'The Walking Dead.' [McBride was a casting agent for many years as well as an actress.] When I found out she was paying my mom, I was really exciting. My mom knew her as well."
RELATED: My 2014 profile of McBride.
Lintz's role on "The Walking Dead" was small but ultimately pivotal.
At the start of season two in 2011, when Rick's group got caught up on a blocked highway and a rash of zombies came toward them, Sophia ran off into the woods. (Re-watching that moment on Netflix, I marvel how dexterous and fast the zombies were back then.) Rick chases after her. He finds her and instead of escorting her back to the group, he leaves her in what he thinks is a safe space and lures the two walkers away. Of course, with more experience, he would have just taken them down on the spot. But Rick was ignorant back then and spent time killing the two walkers with a rock. When he got back to where he left her, Sophia was gone. She may have tried to get back to the group but got waylaid by a walker. Rick's move cost Sophia her life.
The group parked at a local farm owned by Herschel for awhile and spent copious amounts of time season two searching for her.
Sophia ultimately was found in Herschel's barn where he was hoarding walkers hoping there was a cure and Rick had to shoot the zombie Sophia in a later, heartbreaking episode. Her death changed Carol into the warrior she is today.
Six years later, Lintz doesn't watch the series. "It's a bit yukky," she said. But she did watch scenes with her brother in it: "It''s a little freaky. He was the same age as I was when I booked the show. I'm super proud of him."
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Lintz, who lives in Alpharetta, is a senior at Covenant Christian Academy. "It's been amazing," she said. "When I got away to Los Angeles, they send me my assignments by email. I send them back." She plans to move to Los Angeles after graduation in time for season four. She does plan to attend college later, study English and writing. "I want to learn how to write screenplays and novels," she said.
Currently, she is working part-time at a local Cheeky restaurant in Forsyth County as a hostess and once she turns 18 in May, she plans to serve. "I don't necessarily do it for the money," she said. "I don't plan to be a starving waitress but I want to know what it's like under that stress, for character development and personal development."
ON AMAZON
"Bosch" is now available for all Amazon Prime members
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