I went to Juilliard as a clarinet major, and somewhere between the beginning and the end, I stopped playing it. I asked myself who was I reaching... I just fell out of love with it.
Lawrence Gilliard, Jr.
Although I was born in New York, I moved to Baltimore when I was young. And I like to say New York birthed me, but Baltimore raised me. A big part of my heart was always in Baltimore.
Once I got the job on 'Walking Dead,' I started thinking about how I always wanted to get back to the East Coast. My mom lives in Baltimore, and I have a lot of family in Baltimore and New York.
The plan was to go Juilliard, graduate, and then go across the street and play in the New York Philharmonic - that was the plan, anyway.
What the School for the Arts taught me was a great work ethic. They showed me - not just taught me - that if you work hard, you can see the effects. They gave me that lesson, and I have used it at every stage of my life. And I am still using it now in my new role on 'The Walking Dead.'
