Karina Ortiz is a newcomer to the universe of The Walking Dead as she plays Amaia on Dead City.

The New York native made her debut on the second episode of the show where she played the role of Amaia, who was left behind in New York with the rest of the survivors when the apocalypse began. In particular, when the military bombed the bridges that connect NYC with the other states, people suffered. Having that in mind, it’s not a surprise that they are in NYC with the walkers.

As a Dominican-American actress born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Karina Ortiz appeared on numerous successful shows prior to The Walking Dead: Dead City, such as “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” “Blue Bloods,” and “Orange is the New Black.” After graduating from The City College of New York in 2009 with a BA in Theatre, she began pursuing an acting career full-time. In her first job out of college, she portrayed Angelita in the play “Platanos and Collard Greens” on Off-Broadway stages throughout NYC.

In this exclusive interview, we catch up with Ortiz as she talks about The Walking Dead: Dead City.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

How did you approach Amaia prior to when your scenes were shot on Dead City?

Well, my approach was first. I wanted to make sure that everything was very personalized for me. and that I was very aware of the things that she has gone through, the people that she’s already lost in her life. What she had to do to become a leader of this group in New York.  I was very aware of the things that she has gone through, the people that she’s already lost in her life. What she had to do to become a leader of this group in New York. I really wanted to honor her story and what she went through. So a lot of the work had to do with creating her and I wanted to make sure that she was really a 3 dimensional character. While she’s tough, there’s a lot of vulnerability underneath there.

What is your favorite memory on the set?

One of my favorite moments was teaching some of the production crew and cast the slang “Yerrr” and they were questioning like ‘What is that?’ It was hilarious, and we were doing a take where we were taking a very serious approach, Jeffrey Dean Morgan walks by and yells right before they yell cut. It was hilarious.

Can you describe the hand weapons your character and group has? To me, it reminded me of the hookshots from The Legend of Zelda.

They’ve been altered. They were like the nail guns, and they’ve been altered to shoot out and then open up to cause a lot of damage, and then retract. And you retracted by quickly winding it up. it’s something that they needed. Obviously, guns were not easily accessible. So they needed to create something that could shoot long range, and also something that they can keep using over and over again. So that was, that’s kind of like the behind that.

Why was it important to honor the lost ones on that dinner scene?

I feel that in The Walking Dead, you don’t often get to see people just have a moment to truly honor the people they lost. And in that world, and that city world with everything that they’ve gone through and everything that they’ve lost, it’s very important for them to still do things and ceremonies that humanize them that remind them there’s hope. and we’re gonna honor the people that we loved, and we’re gonna make time for that. I thought it was really beautiful.