Meaghan Lyndaker heard through the grapevine that Bill McLean was looking for a few good zombies.

She was so in.

“I was like, ‘Ah, that would be so cool!'” she said.

Lyndaker has a form of muscular dystrophy called spinal muscular atrophy. She’s used a wheelchair since age 5.

“You don’t see a lot of people in wheelchairs in films, so I thought it would be cool to get it out there and show we do actually do things,” Lyndaker said.

After one night of zombie training and two hours of makeup, she popped up as an extra on the screen multiple times in McLean’s new feature film, “How to Kill a Zombie.”

“I got to knock Bill down and eat him, so that was kind of fun,” she said. “Well, I tried to eat him. He gets away. I got hit by a car, all sorts of action.”

When not bloodied up in latex and face paint, Lyndaker works at a marina in East Boothbay and has her own business, Meaghan King Photography (King is her mom’s maiden name).

Name: Meaghan Lyndaker

Age: 22

Lives: Newcastle

What was your inner zombie like for “How to Kill a Zombie”? Oh, hungry for sure. . .  It’s a zombie thing.

Seeing yourself on the big screen was: It was so cool. The first time I saw it I was with my dad at the premiere, so obviously the theater was packed. It was so weird to have people turn and be like, “Hey, that’s you!” Although I like to think I looked a little better than I did in the movie! Then I went to see it with my best friends and they would laugh even just seeing me on screen, which was funny to me.

Think you’d like to act again? I’m not sure that I, personally, am cut out for acting. My younger brother is an actor and to see him really transform himself into the role just isn’t something I think I could do!

Where else would you like to see more wheelchairs? The problem is that so many roles that call for wheelchair users are filled by able-bodied people. I know there’s a huge talent pool of disabled individuals who would love to be represented in TV and movies as just everyday people!

What’s been your favorite event to shoot for Meaghan King Photography? I had the pleasure of shooting a vintage military-themed wedding for a Marine and his (now) wife. I absolutely loved all her details that stuck so closely to such a classic theme, and my camera loved them too!

Do seniors in senior portraits have to pose with a tree or look thoughtfully off to the side? No! Senior portraits have come a long way over the past decade or so, especially in certain areas of the country. I think it’s so important to have your senior portrait experience be fun and represent you, not just a generic photo.

Best advice to a bride on her wedding day, from a photo perspective: Give yourself time! This is important for photographs, but also overall. Budget extra time into your timeline; it’s better to have a few minutes to spare to spend with your bridesmaids to get the nerves out than to be in a crunch because a vendor is running a little behind!

kskelton@sunjournal.com

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