04x01 - Georgia with Michael Rooker

[bunniefuu]

For ten years, the ride
to set has been my ritual.

It's how I clear my mind.

To where I leave my reality
behind, and I ride into Daryl's.

Only this time, I'm bringing
my Dixon family with me.

My brother. Yeah.

Dixon Brothers ride again.

Right on, baby.
Right on, right on.

Alright, hit it!

Here we go!

Yeah, baby.

That was crazy!

I know

What you're trying to do

And I know

A decade can seem
like a lifetime,

and at the same time,
happen in the blink of an eye.

So it's a bit surreal to be
returning to Senoia

to start another season
of "The Walking Dead."

Before , I didn't spend
much time in the South,

but sh**ting eight months a year

in the same town
with the same crew,

you can't help but fall
in love with the place.

Why you gotta put me down?

You are not using your head

For me, the road back to Georgia
has always been a solo journey,

but this ride calls
for different plans.

So I'm in Alabama to pick up
one hell of a local boy

for a reunion
that's way past due.

- Buddy.
- What's up?

Ugh.

Look at you.
Hi, brother.

Look at this.

For decades, Michael Rooker has
had an uncanny ability

to turn the most
badass characters into iconic

fan favorites,
from ruthless space pirates

to real-life serial K*llers,
to the most terrifying

and savage role of all...
My big brother.

You want something to drink? I'd
love a coffee. That'd be awesome.

Oh, let's get it.
Let's get it.

You got coffee?
We got coffee.

I'll have coffee.
What's a doebelly?

It's a breakfast sandwich
on a large bun with ham,

bacon, eggs, tomato,
and mayonnaise.

Can I, like, order a doebelly?

Yeah.
I think I want a doebelly, too.

Thank you.
There you go. You're welcome.

All right.

This looks good.
Mm!

What, is it super heavy?
Are we just gonna... Dude.

Are we gonna be taking a nap
right here after this?

I'm telling you, I'm not...

I'm kind of scared of the
doebelly, to be honest.

Mm.

How is it?

It's really good.
I won't lie.

It's good to see you, man.
Thank you for doing this.

Yeah, absolutely.
What have you been up to?

Working, working, yeah,
working, dude.

What do you get recognized
most for?

Yondu, Merle, " Portrait
of a Serial k*ller," like, what?

They love Yondu.

Yondu is a very cool guy,
very badass guy.

Yeah.
I mean, you're always a badass.

Have you ever not played
a badass in anything?

I don't play badass
when I'm hanging

and dealing with my grandkids.

How are the grandkids?
That's the only time.

How is the grandkids?

They're... they're beautiful.
They're beautiful.

I got a -month-old right now.
Dude.

She's got a tooth coming right
in the middle of her mouth,

and she's just, like...

Yeah, it's great.

She looks just like you, right?

Just like me, yeah.
Rrr!

Like the Popeye version of me.

You know, I start "Walking Dead"

in six days... six days,
seven days, something like that,

so this is a ride back to work,
you know what I mean?

Which is pretty dope
that I'm doing it with you.

Oh, dude, are you kidding me?
Yeah, yeah.

Absolutely.
Yeah.

The brothers together again.
Yeah.

How long is that show gonna
last, man, do you think?

"Walking Dead," man,
I don't know.

I never thought it would go
past the pilot.

As soon as they started
eating the guts

out of the poor horse...
Right, right, right.

I was, like, ehh,
that's it for me.

Yeah.
I'm done.

I can't take the horse.

Where are we going today?
What are we doing?

We're gonna go visit
my hometown, Jasper, man.

Oh, cool. Is that where
you grew up, Jasper?

It's where I grew up, yeah.
Nice.

What does that small town
think of the fact

that you're
like a movie star now?

I imagine, like, all the little
kids in Jasper

on Halloween are... Who is he?

On Halloween, they're either
Yondu, or they're Merle.

Merle, walking around
with Kn*fe hands?

Of course.
Yeah, baby.

Of course they are.
Of course they are.

All right, cool.
Should we get out of here?

I'm excited to hit the road.
Yeah, come on. Let's do it, man.

This was awesome.

This is great.
Dixon Brothers on the freeway.

Yeah, baby.

I've worked alongside
so many great people

on "The Walking Dead,"

but there's a unique bond
between the original cast.

For us, it was a weird little
zombie show no one else

believed in, and our lives,
they all changed together.

So it's pretty cool
to be bringing

Rooker back to where
it all began.

Smile.
Yeah.

After exploring Rooker's
hometown of Jasper,

we'll head east
into historic Birmingham.

Picking up my friend
Brent Hinds,

we'll follow
I- across state lines,

visiting a couple
of Atlanta landmarks

before reaching Senoia,
home base of "The Walking Dead."

A three-day, -mile ride.

I grew up in West Jasper.

West Jasper, yeah.
Yeah, yeah.

What'd your parents do?

My mom was a housekeeper,
mother, you know.

Raised a bunch of younguns.

A little Rooker must have been
a full-time job.

Dealing with me
is a full-time job.

That's what I'm talking about.

This whole little area
here is where I grew up.

Long ago, I was a fool, yeah ♪

Your time almost wasted

This was my grade school.
Oh, wow.

What were you like in school?

I flunked first grade.

How do you flunk first grade?

All you do is listen to stories
and eat crackers.

I'm back Better than ever

Oh, I'm back

Better than ever

When you're a kid
playing stuntman and stuff,

did you ever think you're gonna
grow up and be a movie star?

God, no.
Not even an inkling.

Now you're being filmed
motorcycling

through your neighborhood.

It all comes full circle, huh?

Yeah, right?
Yeah.

This is a street my cousins
and my aunts lived on.

This here used to be
my grandma's house right here.

- No way.
- Yep.

That's my cousin right there,
the lady cleaning the grass.

No, are you serious?
That's your cousin?

- Yeah, yeah.
- Should we stop back and say hi?

Yeah, let's go back and say hi.

She has no idea that we're here.

What a perfect coincidence.

There she is, right there.

What's up, girl?

What you doing?

Can I say hi?

Give me a hug, woman.

Oh, God, I'm so happy
you don't like being on camera.

Okay, let's do it.

Hi, Greg.
How you doing, man?

Hi, man, I'm Norman.
Nice to meet you.

How you doing, Greg?
I'm Michael.

Oh, okay.

This is what...
What'd they call you?

Merle, my name is Merle.
Merle...

That was...

"You still in that
'Walking Dead' mess?"

Yeah, that mess.

I was flipping
the TV last night.

- Uh-huh.
- That was "Galaxy."

"Guardians of the Galaxy."
"Guardians of the Galaxy."

You saw me on TV?
Yeah, I flipped it to...

I watched the last minutes.

I seen you k*ll all them guys
with that arrow.

That was the best part.
I know it.

Where we going?
Where we going?

Listen, you going in my house.

- Okay.
- She's kidnapped him.

- She's taking me away.
- Good luck!

People down here are a little
bit camera shy, y'all.

That's my cousin, Georgie.

She don't like cameras.

Michael! Get in here.
These dolls are awesome!

Aah!

You know all the dolls' names?

You don't really know
their real names?

Well, that's not fair.

- What's this one's name?
- Suzy Q.

- That's Suzy Q?
- Suzy Q.

Is this Julie?

Is she in trouble?

Is she... Why is she in trouble?

Why don't you have
any boy dolls?

I got boy dolls, look.

Show me a boy doll.
Right here, baby.

Say hi to everybody, Peter.

"Hey, how y'all doing?"

Hey.

You promised you'd make me
butter beans

and cornbread, woman!

She didn't make any food.

Norman, she didn't make
any butter beans.

What?
Because you didn't let me know.

I want you to look
at all these messages

I sent him,
and he didn't respond.

I see butter beans
and cornbread.

He didn't respond.
Oh, you've proved it.

There's a whole bunch
of messages to you, and...

I don't respond to messages.

Well, you would have got
some butter beans

and cornbread if you had.

Geez, she didn't make us
butter beans and cornbread.

She should have known I would
like butter beans and cornbread.

Take a picture with us
'cause we're gonna...

We can't stay here all day.

Come here.
We're busy people, woman.

Here, let me get this.

You ready?
I'm dirty.

You are dirty.
You're a filthy girl.

I'm messy.
You're a messy girl.

You're a mean, messy,
filthy girl.

Oh.

I can be.

- Bye, baby!
- Bye, dolls!

Bye, little dollies!

- Bye! Thanks for having us!
- Bye, Georgie!

- Bye-bye!
- She's great.

It's hard to say exactly
what makes Rooker, well, Rooker.

She's, like, calling all her
friends the whole time. I know.

But after meeting Georgie
and her dolls,

I can see that whatever it is,

it definitely runs
in the family.

All right, brother.
I'm following you.

Bye. Butter beans and cornbread
next time!

Butter beans and cornbread
next time, woman!

Shut up!

- Yeah!
- That is awesome!

You've never done this before?
Never, ever?

I think maybe once when I was,
like, .

Someone help.
Help.

When you work on
"The Walking Dead,"

we are a family,

and we all leave
a little piece of ourselves.

Oh, my God!

I still get asked about
the scene where I find you.

Yeah. Yeah. And I start
crying, and I start stabbing you,

more than any scene
on "The Walking Dead"

still to this day.
I bet.

I was listening to Willie Nelson
right before that scene

because it reminded me
of my dad.

That is a beautiful scene, man.

Leaving Jasper, Rooker and I
are riding miles east

to the city of Birmingham.

Birmingham has
everything you would want.

They do a lot of good
stuff down here. Yeah.

You travel to Alabama,
you want to hit Birmingham.

It has everything about, like,
the traditions of Alabama,

the history of Alabama.

Birmingham is full
of color, full of love.

It's full of opportunity.

It's full of people
that are working together

to make a better city
for those who come behind us,

just like those who fought
for where we are now.

Look in any history book,

and you'll see Birmingham
has a complicated past,

but today, there's new energy
running through the city.

We've been invited to meet
with a motorcycle club

who have strong ties to
its streets to find out why.

What's up, fellas?
How's it going?

- Hey, guys, how's it going?
- Hey.

- Smoke. Welcome to Birmingham.
- Oh, thank you. I'm Norman.

- All right. All right.
- Hi. Dimples.

Nice to meet you.

- Hey. Ice Cube?
- Nice to meet you, man.

Yeah, a pleasure.

These are all you guys's bikes.

- They're beautiful.
- Oh, man, are they ever.

How long have you guys
been here?

Tell me the history
of this place.

The organization was formed
back in ' .

We're one of the largest black
motorcycle clubs in the world,

over chapters worldwide.
Right on.

We've been in Birmingham

just doing our thing,
community service,

and doing good
in the 'hood, as they say.

Did you guys all know
each other before this,

or just through buddies,
I guess? a lot of us did.

To be a part of
the organization,

you have to be either retired
or active duty m*llitary,

law enforcement,
or business professional.

So, we were all pretty much
in the same community.

Oh, wow.
Can we see inside?

- Yes, sir.
- Yeah, show us.

What's up, man? Hi.

- Hey, man, I'm Randall.
- I'm Norman. Nice to meet you.

- Nice to meet you. Pleasure.
- How's it going?

- It's going great.
- Welcome to Birmingham.

- You were born and raised here?
- Born and raised.

I've been in public service
for quite some time

and stumbled upon being
the mayor the last months.

Oh, that's awesome.

I knew probably since
my junior year of college

I wanted to become the mayor
of my hometown.

Serious? Yeah, that's
about -plus years.

Wow, that's amazing.
That's super cool, super cool.

When you think about Birmingham,

I think everybody
knows its history.

But if you fast-forward to ,

we've had a spike
in v*olence in this city,

like a lot of urban cities
across America.

And I think part of what we've
done is engage various groups,

and Buffalo's one of them.

These are folk who have lived
the streets,

been in the streets,
understand the streets.

- Actually I have a question.
- Yeah?

When you come into a city,

and you've had a chance
to interact with

various motorcycle clubs
and organizations,

is there a theme you see
throughout,

is there something consistent?

Put it this way,
if my bike breaks down

on the side of the road,
it'll be another person

on a motorcycle
that'll stop to help me.

There's a freedom, but there's
also a brotherhood of,

"I got your back,
you got my back."

The South has a very, like,
family-oriented mentality,

you know what I mean?
Are you coming with us?

Are you riding?
I wish I could, brother.

I gotta get back to work.

Honor to meet you, man.
Pleasure is mine.

Pleasure is mine, man.
Yeah, absolutely.

Honor to meet you, too.
Pleasure, brother.

Y'all take care.
Pleasure.

- Are you taking us out?
- Yes, sir.

- It's a good day for a ride.
- Yes, it is.

It's cool you guys are
working with the mayor,

making a difference that way.
It's really cool.

It has been a very great
venture thus far.

Dimples, if you make a hard
right or hard left,

does that go up on two wheels?

I'm not gonna try to find out.

If you'll look off
to your right,

that tall statue
standing way over there?

- Yeah.
- Uh-huh.

He's called the Vulcan.
We call him the Iron Man.

He symbolizes the iron ore
that was manufactured here

In Birmingham
during the founding of the city.

Ah, the original Iron Man.

Coming up on the right, guys,

is the th Street
Baptist Church.

It is where the bombing
took place in

that k*lled
the four young black girls.

Oh, wow.

The th Street Baptist Church
is a place of worship.

It was bombed in the ' s,
and four little girls

were k*lled,
several people were injured.

It was a tragic situation
that happened,

and it pretty helped fuel
the Civil Rights movement.

We can look back at the things
that happened in Birmingham,

and we can think of ways
to make our communities,

make our cities,
make our states a lot better.

But no matter how far
we've come,

justice and equality should
never be taken for granted.

So it's my hope people
across Alabama, Georgia,

and throughout the nation

continue to resist
discrimination on any front

and stand up for their
fellow men and women.

Pleasure, brother.
Thank you, sir. Thank you.

Yeah, man.
Y'all ride safe. Next time.

Yeah, be well, guys.

All right.
Smoky, have a good one.

All right.

- Cool guys.
- Hell, yeah.

Before Rooker and I
set off towards Georgia

to reunite
with our "Walking Dead" family,

we're gonna meet up
with a local biker

to see another essential part
of Birmingham's history.

This is Chopper central
over here.

That's too many choppers.
What's up, buddy?

- Hey, how are you?
- I'm good, man.

Norman. Nice to meet you.
Jeremiah, nice to meet you.

Pleasure, man.
This is the Dojo.

It's kind of like
a community hangout

where we all
just build bikes and party.

How long have you been here?
Two years.

My girlfriend and I
traveled the country

in a little camper trailer
for two years,

and we didn't know
where we were gonna live,

and then these guys
are the reasons

That I moved to Birmingham
from Chicago.

How cool is that?
Yeah.

- This is Nick.
- What's up?

- What's up, man? Norman. Hi.
- Nick. Nice to meet you.

How you doing, man?
Michael.

Michael, Nick.
Good to meet you.

- And then John.
- Hey, bro.

I'm Norman. How are you?
Why the Haints?

What does that even mean,
the Haint?

It's a Southern word for ghost.

Oh, I never heard that before.

It's 'cause a chopper in Alabama
was kind of like seeing a ghost.

Oh, wow.
Yeah.

I gotta say, these are the first
choppers I've seen here.

They must all be here.
Pretty much.

It takes a weird dedication to
ride these type of bikes. Yeah.

Do you know what I mean? 'Cause
it's a lot of maintenance,

it's a lot of patience
on your part to make 'em run.

The last time I rode something
like this was

my Stingray bicycle.

It was all chopped out.

All my friends thought, man,
we are the coolest.

We are the coolest.

It was a pleasure to meet
you, man. Yeah, dude.

We're off with Jeremiah
to explore a colossal relic

from Birmingham's
industrial past.

That place is crazy-looking.

Let's blow up.

That's probably about
, degrees.

What is this place?
It's a haunted chicken factory.

What?
What the hell?

- Where we going?
- Sloss Furnace.

From every area of the city,

this rusty metal monster
has loomed over us,

And Jeremiah's gonna get us in
for a closer look.

The industry down here,
there's a lot of steel and iron,

a lot of metal.

Birmingham
is called The Magic City

because it grew so quick

because of those resources
that were there.

It's like it popped up
overnight.

This place is awesome.

Lots and lots of history here.

How you guys doing?
How are you, my friend?

- I'm Norman. Nice to meet you.
- Marshall Christie.

Michael Rooker,
good to meet you.

Good to see you, man.
How are you?

- Great, great.
- What's going on?

Melting some metal.

So, what is this place?

Sloss Furnace is...
It's kind of the reason

that Birmingham is here
as a city.

Birmingham is one of the few
places in the world

where all three natural
materials exist to create iron.

So you've got iron ore, coal,
and limestone all in the ground

right here around Birmingham.

Once that was discovered,

that's where
the Magic City happened.

Sloss Furnace itself
was founded in ,

and it ran all the way
to about .

The city of Birmingham thought
they might just tear it down,

and the citizens of Birmingham

were, like,
it was important to us.

We want to save it.

So they've reopened as a museum
to industry.

And then the artists took over?
And then the artists took over.

It's very like a Warhol factory
in metal.

- Right.
- You know what I mean?

It really is.
Yeah.

Let's suit you guys in some
gear, what do you think?

- Let's do it!
- All right, cool.

You got your shorts on
backwards there, brother.

I got them on backwards.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Does that happen often?
Oh, yeah. Oh, totally, yeah.

You look kind of sexy in this
outfit, I gotta tell you.

- That's you, man.
- Is this working?

- Yeah, it's working.
- It's working, right?

Let's blow up.

We're gonna have
y'all take this first ladle.

So I'm gonna swing around
over here, right? Right over here.

Norman, you're gonna come up
against the furnace,

and you're gonna rotate it
all the way over,

and you're gonna catch it
just like that.

That's...

And then we're gonna take you
over here to pour the mold.

Okay. Okay. Now
just straight back.

We're at a nice,
slow, comfortable pace.

No rushing around.
Got good, hot metal.

You can kind of see that metal
moving around on top there.

Yeah. That's probably
about , degrees.

And then you're gonna
straddle those other molds.

Once you get that
stream established

in the cup, fill it up.
Ready?

Yep. Good, perfect.
One more.

Go, go, go, go, go, go, go.

Up, perfect.

That was the best
rookie experience

I've ever seen in my life.

Best first pour ever.

It's got a very H.R. Giger
feel, right? Yeah. Yeah.

There's some spookiness
for sure in here.

I'm waiting for
Sigourney Weaver to jump out.

Exactly. Chase a little
orange cat somewhere.

Yep.

All right, watch your step
going down here.

This is definitely
your horror movie scene

waiting to happen.
This is crazy.

We should sh**t
"Walking Dead" here.

- Gracie Walker came here.
- Oh, really?

When they were looking for ideas
for Negan's place.

Dude, that guy's a genius.

When he made Negan's place,
he did all this to the walls.

Yeah. You know where he got
those ideas?

- Right here.
- Right here.

Is this water drinkable?

Uh...

- Go ahead and try.
- I wouldn't drink it.

I mean, pretty much
everything... I'll give you bucks.

On this site is iron.

I mean, if you were
iron deficient.

If you're iron deficient,
it'd be great.

You'll definitely be deficient
after you drink it.

All right, y'all ready to see
the fruits of your labor?

- Yeah, yeah.
- Okay.

So this is y'all's
Christmas morning up at Sloss.

Whew.

As you can see, we took
these molds from gloves.

Look at that, baby.

Shut up.
Snap.

Aw, dude, that is awesome.

Y'all ready to catch
some on fire?

Hell, yeah.
Yeah, let's do this.

So this is a trebuchet.

Medieval improvement
on the catapult.

A catapult is a single arm
that threw a projectile.

This one throws with a whip

and a basket.
Love it.

And it's always better
when it's on fire, right?

Of course. Of course it is.
Yeah, yeah.

Please.
Yes.

We'll get it loaded up here.

We call it the one-day
trebuchet.

'Cause they made it
in one day for a performance.

- I love it.
- All right, y'all ready?

Yep.

All right, Bones, light it up.

Whenever you're ready,
brother. Give me a countdown.

, , !

- Go!
- Ohh!

- Shut up!
- Oh, yeah.

- Ohh!
- Shut up!

Yeah!

Yes! That is... That is awesome!

Yeah. I want one.
Can you build me one?

I wanna do one!
In one day.

And that's a crossbow.
Yeah, man.

That's great.
Great first sh*t.

This is great.
Let's throw another.

- Let's do it. Rooker.
- Let's do it.

Wow, that's neat.

Gee! Oh, yeah!

Nice, nice, nice.

Unreal.

Art has the unique ability
to bring people together.

It can turn an old
industrial site

into a haven for creativity.

A place to make friends
and set some stuff on fire.

This makes me, like...
I might cry right now.

I might cry.

Step off to the side

'Cause I'm coming
like a b*llet ♪

Feels good to be out, right?

Yeah.

Dude, we sh*t fireballs
through the air last night.

Oh, my goodness.

This morning,
we depart Birmingham,

miles down I-
until we reach Atlanta,

the last stop before our
"Walking Dead" reunion

in Senoia.

Oh, didn't your mama
tell you not to play ♪

With a ticking b*mb

Yeah, baby, look at that.

All those little
outhouses make me wanna go.

But before we cross
into Georgia,

we're meeting up with musician
and Alabama native Brent Hinds

to check out
a real-life poultry-geist.

Yeah, I know.
I went there.

Just ahead on the right,
haunted chicken house.

Just ahead!

I thought we were gonna eat
before we did this.

What's up, buddy?
Hey.

What's up, man? Good to
see you, dude. How you doing?

- I'm good.
- Good to see you.

Yeah. You been good?
Hi!

- Hey.
- Meet my wife, Raisa.

Nice to meet you. Yeah.
Nice to meet you, too.

Brent Hinds needs
no introduction,

mostly because I already
gave him one

when we rode together
in Louisiana.

For those not in the know,
he's a guitarist and songwriter

for the Grammy-winning
metal band Mastodon.

He's one of the craziest guys
I have the privilege

of calling a super good friend.

- It's good to see you, man.
- It's good to see you.

What a pleasure. Hey, man,
thanks for having me back.

Yeah, thanks for coming back.
What is this place?

It's a... it's a haunted
chicken factory.

What?
They have real chickens?

Yeah, there's one over there...
Hope so.

We were noticing,
that's hanging out.

Oh, my God. He's trapped.
Look at him.

Yeah.
This guy's gotta be warm.

Oh, my God.

Hey, how y'all doing?
Hi.

What's up, buddy? I'm Norman.
I'm Chicken Dan.

Nice to meet you, Chicken Dan.

Here, this is a fundraiser

for our volunteer
fire department.

I'm the fire chief here.

You're from Alabama, ain't you?
Yeah.

Yeah. I feel you guys
know each other already.

Let me see...
Let me see that look again.

I love it.

Come on, we'll go down
and take you

in the haunted chicken house.

Let's do it.

Oh, this is scary.
Who's gonna go first?

Norman, you go first.
I'm not gonna go first.

This is it.

Good luck, everybody.

What the hell?!

That was good!

The chainsaw man
was a little intense.

I just jumped
into Rooker's arms.

That'll be crazy if a guy
came out, like,

in a black suit with all these
polka dots on him.

There he is!

Oh, my God!
You gotta high five me.

Yeah!
That was the best!

Come on.
I got you.

Aah!

You should go first.
I'm not gonna be the first.

No, no.
You got her.

You got this.
No!

My cousin's house!

Yeah, this is her house.
This is her house.

Like the cousin's house.

How creepy is she?

Hi.

Okay.

- Bye-bye!
- Hinds and Bye.

Whew!
Chicken Dan!

Why'd you do that to us?

That was awesome.
Thank you so much!

For some reason, it was
a little bit pleasurable.

All right, cool. Let's
go to Atlanta. Let's go.

Hot-lanta, here we come.

Oh, oh!

Jesus Christ!

Help. Here we go.
Come on down. I got you.

This is bull.

I'm here in Talladega with a guy
you might know as Eugene

to drive the pace car
for the Geico .

How many races have you
been to, Josh?

Uhh, this'll be my fourth.

- Really?
- Yeah.

This is, by far, the biggest?

Here to lead the field to
the green flag, from AMC-TV's

"Ride With Norman Reedus,"
and "The Walking Dead"...

Norman Reedus!

You want some of this
pace car, bro?

You want some of this?

Let's go, come on!

Oh, oh, okay, they all
want some.

They all want some.

Can I give him
the middle finger?

Is that crazy?
Man.

That's kind of my symbol.

Sorry, had to.

I'm only here once,
you know what I mean?

Norman Reedus!

I'm shaked, and I'm baked.
That was fun.

That was crazy, bro.

Chicken Dan.

They don't make 'em
like that anymore.

No, they don't.

They broke the egg on that one.

If you really want
to know a place,

you gotta hang with the locals,

and riding in Alabama with two
of its native sons

turned out to be
an unforgettable experience.

But now we're crossing
state lines

into "Walking Dead" country,

a place I know
a thing or two about.

I feel like the trees
are bigger in Georgia.

You ever heard the
expression, when someone says,

"I'm as high as a Georgia pine"?
I guess that's why.

Atlanta, baby!

Look at that skyline!

Yeah, man, there's some Atlanta
for you to the left.

Oh, there we go.

I can smell the Clermont
from here,

that's how close we are.

Wow, look at this fancy place.

The Clermont Lounge
is an Atlanta Institution,

and it's the oldest
strip club in America.

I once came here with
Jon Bernthal and Scott Wilson

when we were sh**ting season two
and had a night to remember.

Thankfully, most of that
I think I forgot.

Let's check this place out.

While the basement
still gets wild...

the revamped rooftop bar

provides some of
the best views of the city.

You guys are both from Alabama.

Yeah. So tell me,
how was Alabama?

I've taken that journey
thousands of times,

but never on a motorcycle.

Never on a motorcycle?
That was great for me.

Well, I gotta tell you,
I never, as a kid,

I never hung out in Birmingham,
and I'm really saddened by it

because Birmingham,
what a great city.

What do you remember
about Jasper back then?

I remember...
Pretty small area, right?

I was just...
I would leave the house.

It was just so much fun
to be out in the woods and play

and sh**ting my BB g*ns
and stay out all day long.

Yeah.
All I knew

was I would just play.

Being from Alabama, and you
being a successful actor,

what was that like, you know?

Oh, that's...
They're obviously so proud.

I can't go anywhere with my mom
or my cousin.

Anything music-related,
"He... he won a Grammy!"

I believe it, yeah.

I cannot go to a theater
with any of my sisters.

- They'll be, like, "You know who my brother is?
- " Oh.

"My brother is Michael from..."
Dude.

Yeah.
"And here he is, look."

No, they stand up and go,
"Oh, my God, there he is!

Look, he's right here."
I'm, like, get me outta here.

- Amazing.
- They talk back to the movie.

"Don't you hurt him!"
Yeah.

You always knew you wanted
to be an actor, right?

No, you know what I was?

I was always the kid
that would look at the TV

watching a commercial,
and I'd be going, like,

there's no way you
eat a hamburger like that.

We did a scene on the roof
where he's handcuffed.

Yeah, yeah.
It was so hot outside, like,

his head looked like bacon.

And he's up there, like,
just giving it

, % in the hottest day
of the year.

I almost pulled my arm
out of the socket.

And everybody was just, like.

"Rooker.
He was k*lling it today."

Norman, I mean, my God,
he had to work with me.

What about Steven comes up
with a g*n?

I slap the g*n away,
and it smacks you in the face.

I've never, ever said
what happened during that day.

I've never once ever
ratted you out, ever. Really?

- Cheers.
- This is a good day.

- Cheers, man.
- Yeah.

Nice to meet you, Michael.

Same to you, man.

I knew you guys would get along.

Whew, that was fun.

Man, was that ever fun.

Yeah, it got weird.
Oh, man, I know.

Last night, the allure
of the Clermont

eventually got the best of us,

and yeah,
we wound up downstairs.

Wasn't the craziest night
I've ever had there,

but still a ton of fun.

After reminiscing over Rooker

and Brent's childhood
in Alabama,

today begins with a new plan.

A call-back to being young
and carefree,

and in Atlanta culture,
that means roller skating.

So, do you skate?
Hell, no.

I don't know how to do this.

Everybody knows about
the skating rinks.

It is about the movie
"ATL" where it's, like,

you have crews of people
who are able to do

all these,
like, fantastic tricks.

You learn a lot of
different things.

You meet a lot of
different people.

And really, you know,
it's like Atlanta's Olympics.

You know, if we're stressed out
or if we need somewhere to go,

the skating rinks
will always welcome you.

You've never done this before,
never, ever?

I think maybe once when I was,
like, .

I don't remember it going well.
Ahh.

Whew!

Oh, oh!

Jesus Christ.

Ah!
Oh, my God.

Oh, my God.

I'll come hold this.

Twirl yourself around.

Help. Here you go.
Come on down. I got you.

This is bull.

You're good right here,
right there.

You're good.
That's perfect.

Hey, guys.
Hi.

How are you guys doing?
How are you?

Welcome to Cascade in Atlanta.

You guys look amazing already.
Thank you.

We're standing, right?
You have good taste.

I feel like this place has been
here for a long time, right?

Yes, it has.
It's a staple in Atlanta,

you know, culture,
Atlanta community, so.

Check it, I can spin already.
Look at that.

Turn up, I love it.

We start everybody out
with just a shuffle,

so you just want to take
your feet and do like this.

Good.
Do your shuffle.

Like running in place?
I feel like that...

You know that infomercial
where the guy's like...

I love it.
It's like a workout, right?

Yeah.
We're gonna just find the b*at.

Skating is all about the b*at.

Oh, the b*at.
Look at you, off the wall.

Ah, ha.
Yeah, you are.

You are off the wall.
I'm in the deep end right now.

That's the name of
a song, isn't it? Yeah.

My side to side brought me
all the way over here.

Norman, you're doing it!

Don't mess me up.
Don't mess me... whoa.

So what you guys are doing
right now is your stride.

Your stride is how you skate.

You make it look too easy.

Someone, help.

Help, little help.

Aah!

- This is bull.
- No, it's not.

This is bull.

- Okay, so turning.
- Good.

And turn right, take your time.

- Oh, turn.
- Good job.

Whoa.

We lost our friend.

- We gotta go back and get him.
- Yeah.

So, so what?

Oh, well, look at you.

I was gonna do that,
but I thought I'd just sit down.

How did you get here? What's
your story with this place?

Well, I was married and was
going through a divorce,

had a bad car accident.

And once I got
over the injuries,

I just needed
a great way to work out

and just get stress out,

and for $ ,
you can get your life back.

I love the idea that everybody
was so different, you know?

You have doctors.
You have teachers.

You have people with a story.

I was really bad at it,
and then I just kept going.

Everybody helps somebody,
you know?

It's like church.

It kept a lot of kids in this
community off the streets.

You know, this rink is like home
for a lot of us,

and we come,
and now I teach skating here.

It just took off. Oh, how
wonderful. How wonderful.

You're awesome. Thank you
for the lesson. Aw, thank you.

Yeah, you're super sweet.
You guys are athletic.

I want, like, a whole suit
made of diapers next time

I come here just in case.

Bye. Thank you so much!
Bye-bye. Bye-bye.

Thank you guys.

Whoa!
Hi, muddy.

This is way too much fun.

- Hi, honey.
- Hi, honey.

No, I can't believe you're
riding around with Rooker.

So excited when they told me

that we were playing brothers
in "Walking Dead."

I was, like, "The dude from

Portrait of a Serial
k*ller, " oh, my God."

You know, I used to wonder
what Daryl and Merle's life

Would have been like
before the zombie apocalypse,

growing up
in the Georgia countryside,

and the trouble they'd
no doubt find themselves in.

So I'm taking Rooker to a spot
just outside Senoia

that I'm pretty sure
those younger Dixon brothers

would have loved.

What's going on, fellas?

I got a feeling we're about
to get real muddy.

Yeah, you could forget
those bikes for a little while.

It's an ' s Porsche.
We modify 'em up.

This is kind of my inspiration
and interpretation

of those cars
from back in the day.

I grew up in middle Georgia
on a four-wheeler doing this.

And then I went and used to race
Porsches professionally,

and then I just kind of
combined that.

And this is it.
What all did you do to them?

All the suspension's
going through,

longer shocks, lifted up.

Dude, let's do this.
I'm excited.

You ready?
Yeah.

This is way too much fun!

Oh, yeah, it's dusty!

Holy.

We got some water up here,
so keep your speed up.

- You gotta drive it.
- Whoa, buddy!

Yeah!

- You got it, baby.
- That was crazy.

Ooh!

Whew.

I've never destroyed a Porsche
like that before.

Yeah. That was
nice. That was nice.

That'll be your first
and your last.

Dude, this is fun.
I kind of want to keep it.

Wow, so weird to be back, .
This is my street.

But it's so wild to just take
a ride directly onto the set,

basically,
of "Walking Dead" and start.

I think "The Walking Dead"
let Atlanta become, like,

the Hollywood of the South
as it's known today.

"The Walking Dead"
is beloved by locals here.

We would see places we knew
they filmed it,

and that was a big deal.

I went out and bought me
a crossbow.

I kind of get the
willy-nillies when all

the zombie men come out.

I had to go lay down.

So, you start your new season,
like, in a few days, right?

I do, yeah.

There's no other way to say it.

"The Walking Dead"
changed my life,

and there'd be no "Walking Dead"

without the devoted team
behind the scenes.

So tonight, I'm getting the crew
together at my restaurant,

Nic and Norman's, to express
gratitude to my TV family

and give Rooker
the homecoming he deserves.

This is, literally, the street
I take to work every day.

- Wow, it feels wild to be back.
- Ahh.

I remember taking this road
on my way back from meeting

Rooker for the first time.

Back then, I was all nerves
and anticipation,

clueless what the future
of our new show would hold.

And being with him now,
ten years later,

you don't realize how strong
some bonds have become

until you return to the place
they were forged.

Right on, right on, right on.

- Damn.
- Aah.

That was an epic journey.

All right, brother.
Right on, my man.

You want to go see
some old friends?

You ready for this?
I'm ready. Let's get it.

Let's do it. Let's...

Man.

Some people in this world

Only think they right

Keep your left eye open

They'll steal up on your right ♪

It's just that evil

Evil going on

Look at this crew.

What's up, man?
Hey, how are you?

Good to see you. Welcome.
Good to see you.

- Thanks, man. Hi, honey.
- Hi, honey.

How you doing, guys?

Oh, I can't believe you're
riding around with Rooker.

Yeah.
Ah!

Hi!
How are you?

Hey! Hi, woman!

You cannot believe
the we've gotten into.

Yeah, look at this monster.

Look at you.

What's up, Mike?

- How are you? Hi.
- It's been a long time.

Indeed, it's been too long.
Too long. Good to see y'all.

Look at this guy over here.

Yeah!
What's up, brother?

How are you, man?
I'm good. How are you?

What you doing?
I like you with this...

Compare, compare.

What do you think?

The day that we sh*t
your last scene

was the day that Norman and Andy

and I made a deal
to grow our hair long.

This was from when
we sh*t you. Yeah.

Dude, that's...
That's how long it's got.

Driving here from Alabama
with Rooker,

how weird to come
with my brother on the show

who we started the show
with, and be coming back.

The world's in sync
all of a sudden.

Yo!

When you work on
"The Walking Dead,"

whether your character's
still alive,

or your character's gone,
we are a family,

and we all leave
a little piece of ourselves

with everybody here.

So, it's important that
we give back to you

a piece that you gave us.

Is this... Uh...

It's your penis.

Oh, my God!

Look at my hand!

Yes!

This is the hand!

Dude!

Rooker with three hands
seems really dangerous to me.

Yes.

You know, this is ten seasons
for us on "Walking Dead,"

which is a huge
frickin' thing, right?

And also, my family
that I travel the world with,

My "Ride" family, I wanted both
families to come together.

The people behind the scenes
that work their ass off

To make both shows
what they are.

I want to thank Michael
for doing this episode.

My brother. Right?

Yeah.
My brother,

who we started this together.

And how perfect that we ride
from your hometown

back to Georgia together,
you know what I mean?

Dude, I gotta tell you, I am...

I can't even talk.

I loved it.
I loved it.

Yeah.

Yeah, brother.
You're the best, brother.

You're the best.
Yeah, man. Yeah.

Ask someone where they live,

and the answer is usually
pretty simple.

But ask what they consider home,

And that's when things
get tricky.

"The Walking Dead" is the
greatest summer camp on earth.

The reason the show
is such a good show

is the people who work on it.

The heart is always there.

It's because home
is more than a place

to park your car
or lay your head.

It's where you find comfort
and familiarity.

It's where you're protected,
and you're understood.

All these people, they would
do anything for me,

and I would do
anything for them.

And, you know, man.
That's pretty...

That's pretty special.

And being back here,
it all makes sense

because I was never just
going back to work.

All this time,
I was coming home.