15 Things You Didn't Know About The Walking Dead's Danai Gurira
Isabella Campbell Quick Links
Michonne is one of the badass characters that made The Walking Dead such a popular show. These days she finds herself as one of the leads on the show and developing a blossoming romance with Rick. She has a special bond with Carl that makes her even more like family. She was introduced as a mysterious character that was literally walking a couple of dead armless zombies by a chain. She’s the girl with the ninja sword, slaying her victims easily with one swoop of the knife. She was seen as fearless and brave, a character that you don’t want to mess with in any way. Michonne is one character that you are happy to have on your side. She is one of the central characters in The Walking Dead, but Michonne isn’t the only character that actress Danai Gurira has played. When it comes to playing strong characters, Danai Gurira has that down pat. She’s a force to be reckoned with in Hollywood as a beautiful, talented and versatile actress. There are so many more things to know about Danai aside from the fact that she plays Michonne.
The actress has been in Hollywood for a while, but playing Michonne has certainly put her on the radar more than any other part. These days she’s a hot commodity. Whether you watch The Walking Dead or not, you know of Michonne. She plays the role perfectly and not for one minute do you think she doesn’t belong on the show.
15. She Never Watched The Walking Dead Before Appearing
There probably aren’t too many people in the world that haven’t watched The Walking Dead. They are certainly out there, though, as few and far between as they are. Some people just aren’t into zombies or even the violence that the TV series displays. It would be hard to create a zombie series that didn’t involve violence, however. Prior to being a part of the TV series, Danai had never even watched the show herself. When she was called into an audition for the role of Michonne it was only then that she decided to become familiar with the show. These days, of course, she is now one of the leads and is well-known everywhere but before she was famous she wasn’t into shows like that. "I hate horror movies! I avoid them like the plague. I don't like getting scared. Why would I want to do that? I want to sleep tonight. I want to sleep well."
14. She Believes in God
As a Christian woman, Danai Gurira has a strong belief in God. That belief and faith in God has given her the strength to move forward in her life and follow all of her dreams. Danai grew up as a Christian, and she has never swayed from that faith. She has no problem sharing her views on her faith either because she’s not ashamed of it in any way. She doesn’t worry about what people would think about it because she knows that it had a strong role in getting her to where she is today. She couldn’t imagine her life without her faith in God. It’s great to see someone so passionate about their faith and not willing to compromise it in any way. Not only does she use her belief in God in her life but she loves sharing that belief with the rest of the world. How can you not respect that?
13. She Doesn’t Drink Coffee
There is someone out in the world that doesn’t drink coffee? Shocking, right? Who is this woman? She must be a superhero or something because I can barely open my eyes in the morning without some solid caffeine running through my veins. How does one make it through the day without that delicious aroma and bittersweet taste? I always make sure to set the timer so that the coffee is already waiting for me when I get up. It’s truly how I get through my day. I have to assume it’s that way for everyone. I mean, how does anyone live without coffee? There certainly are those that do so however and Danai Gurira is one of them. She says that she stays away from coffee totally because it gives her the jitters. Good for you girl, because I couldn’t do it.
12. She’s A Valentine’s Day Baby
What are the chances of having a Valentine’s Day baby? Pretty slim, though there are many people that share holidays as birthdays. I have a brother that celebrates his birthday on Halloween and a friend that celebrates hers on Christmas. Valentine’s Day is all about love and Danai knows all about that as she was born on the very same day. She has a very special birthday, and that is one that everyone can remember. She was born the same year that I was in 1978 on Valentine’s Day. It’s likely that her parents never went out to celebrate Valentine’s Day together because they wouldn’t want to leave their little girl alone on her birthday. I know I wouldn’t want to. It’s a fun time to be celebrating your birthday because the holiday is not only about love for your spouse but love for everyone.
11. She’s Spent Time in Zimbabwe
You don’t get much more exotic than Zimbabwe and Danai knows all about it. Her parents are originally from there but went to America for a short time. Although Danai was born in America, she has moved around a bit as well. When she was a child during the first few years of her life, she lived in Ohio but then moved with her parents to Zimbabwe. That would certainly be a change of scenery, but all little kids tend to adapt to new surroundings. She returned to the United States when she went to college at Macalester College. There she received a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and a Master of Fine Arts in acting from the New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Due to the time that she spent in Zimbabwe with her parents she now considers herself to be “Zimerican.”
10. She Dislikes Horror Movies
Not everyone has a taste for the horror genre, especially when a lot of it seems to be overly gory and violent. Of all the people that you would think would be afraid of horror movies, you would think that Danai wouldn’t be one of them. After all, she does spend a lot of her time playing Michonne, a zombie chopper in the TV series, The Walking Dead. Is it possible that Danai can’t handle scary movies when even after she kills zombies for a living? She surrounds herself around violence and scary scenes of a world overrun with zombies. But that’s as far as she wants to go with being scared. In her normal day to day life, Danai doesn’t like horror movies; she states that she doesn’t like the feeling of being scared. We can’t blame her; she already gets enough blood-soaked days on the set of the hit show.
9. She Used to be a Model
It’s not surprising to find out that Danai did some modeling, the woman is breathtaking to look at. She has striking features that any modeling agency would die for. Before she was the famous actress that she is today, Danai would model as a means of bringing in money. It was how she survived while she attended college. She didn’t mind being a model, but at the end of the day, it wasn’t where she wanted her career to go. She always dreamed of being an actress, and modeling was just a stepping stone towards that dream. Acting wasn’t her only dream either, in fact, she enjoyed writing just as much as the acting. She has been known however to model on occasion if it's for a great cause. Aside from that, however, acting was her sole pursuit, and that was where all her focus went.
8. She Speaks More Than One Language
These days it’s hard to come by anyone that can speak more than their native language. It’s just not common for someone to speak multiple languages. That’s not the case with Danai however, not only does she speak more than one language, she speaks four. She is a gorgeous multi-lingual who is known to be very intelligent as well. This talented lady can speak Shona, English, Xhosa and French. English and French are pretty common but the other two are a bit more exotic. I’m not familiar with the other two but they may have some connections to her time in Zimbabwe; it would make sense that she learned the native language from there.
7. Her Favorite Breakfast is English
When it comes to breakfast, it has to be one of my favorite meals. I can eat it for dinner; it really doesn’t matter. I have pretty basic desires when it comes to breakfast. Give me some over easy eggs, toast, and bacon, and I’m a happy girl. I can’t get enough of it. Considering all the exotic locations that Danai has traveled to you would think that she would have exotic choices for her favorite breakfast as well. When it comes to her favorite breakfast choice, however, she prefers an English breakfast. A traditional English breakfast consists of bacon, sausage, eggs and even grilled tomatoes. There are often other cooked foods that arrive with the breakfast as well such as beans or hash browns. There is a traditional tea that is served with the breakfast as well, but it’s probably not hard to get some coffee if you so prefer.
6. She’s a Playwright
As stated before Danai Gurira loves to write, it’s one of her passions aside from acting. She left modeling to work on her craft because that’s what she wanted for her life. We all know Danai mostly as an actress, as one of the leads on The Walking Dead but her life is so much more than being an actress. She is a true talent in Hollywood, a jack of all trades so to speak. During her career, she started writing plays, not just because she loved it but also because she felt like it helped her work on her acting skills. She’s a firm believer in always working to improve your skills. She actually won an award for a play that she wrote; I bet that’s something you never knew about her. The play that she wrote was called “Eclipse” and it was an exceptional work of art.
5. She Believes in a World Filled with Strong Women
The world these days is filled with strong women, the kind that works alongside the men as CEO, military personnel, among many others. These days, women are still fighting for the right to equal pay even though that day in and day out we are doing the same jobs as our male counterparts. Danai considers herself to be a strong woman as well and she likes to surround herself with women who are strong-minded as well. The bigger the personality, the better and she would love those personalities to come with big strong hearts and the mindset that a woman will go after anything she wants in life. She believes that women can still achieve anything they want despite the struggle it may take to get it. When she writes, she likes to focus on characters who would be considered to be strong women as well.
4. She Believes in Helping People
Part of her belief in God comes from the belief that she needs to help people in the world. She has spent most of her life in the pursuit of helping people and bringing some joy and hope to their lives. She believes in a life that requires her to put her money where her mouth is. When it comes to helping the people of the world, she believes that everyone should be a part of the same mission. She uses her voice as well as her power in the media to help as many people as she can. She has been part of missions to help people from the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina as well as furthering the education of the people of Zimbabwe. She spent a lot of time in the country, and it's her belief that they should get the same opportunities as everyone else.
3. She Loves Staying Fit
You can tell by her physique in The Walking Dead that Danai likes to stay in shape. She has a strong body, and it helps her to go after all the zombies that harm her friends. When asked about her lifestyle Danai has stated that she doesn’t work out just for the sake of it, she actually loves it. When she is not working, she lives for the most part in New York City. It’s there that she enjoys spending a lot of her time walking around the city. Being active is important to her, and that means not just walking through the city but also exercising as well. Judging by the muscle that she has on her small frame she probably does a lot of weightlifting as well as walking. Her love for being in shape is inspiring to all of us because it’s good for us both mentally and physically.
2. She Wants to Fly
Well, who wouldn’t? The power to fly would not only be the coolest superpower ever but very convenient as well. I mean you could easily get from point A to point B in no time at all if you had the ability to fly in the same way that Superman does. You could skip the long lines at the security area when going to the airport. Instead, you would just shoot into the air and fly to wherever you wanted to go. You would no longer be late because you would never be stuck in traffic again. Danai Gurira already has that down pat as a plan if she ever develops a superpower. She wants to fly if she ever gets the choice and I couldn’t agree more with her.
1. She Knows Where to Get the Best Food
If you live in New York City, you may want to hit up Danai Gurira for some food choices in the city. She likes to try new restaurants in the area but still has her favorites that she can’t pass up for anything. When it comes to restaurant choices, one of her favorite foods is Tibetan food. If you’re not familiar with Tibetan food, it's food made mostly with barley options. There are dishes with noodles, dumplings, goat, mutton, yak, butter, goats milk and there are many options for soup. Many of the foods that are prepared are with animals that would typically live in a Tibetan climate. The food is delicious, and it’s one of her favorites. In New York City she visits a special place. “I go to this hole-in-the-wall place called Cafe Himalaya for astounding Tibetan food.”
Sources: fashionnstyle.com;
