Growing up in Zimbabwe helps “Walking Dead” actor forge passion for theatre in Africa

ATLANTA – Growing up in Zimbabwe and visiting South Africa as a young woman helped forge Danai Gurira’s passion for producing theatre in Africa.

As a young girl, she saw how females could be placed at the margins of society.

As a college student, she saw the power of artistic expression in South Africa, where creative people used theatre and other art forms to fight apartheid.

The playwright and actress says those experiences “seeped into my soul.”

Now, when she’s not filming on the Georgia set of “The Walking Dead,” Gurira devotes much of her time to Almasi Collaborative Arts, the non-profit she co-founded that seeks to foster collaboration between Zimbabwean artists and American theatre professionals.

Gurira plays swordswoman “Michonne” on “The Walking Dead. The show’s fourth season resumes airing Feb. 9.