Daniel Sharman as Troy Otto
“Fear the Walking Dead” star Daniel Sharman said that his character, Troy, is fascinated with Madison (Kim Dickens) because “there is so much love, leadership and purpose in her.” AMC

Madison (Kim Dickens) almost took Troy’s (Daniel Sharman) eye out in the Season 3 premiere of “Fear the Walking Dead.” But why does Troy continue to find himself drawn to Madison after the horrendous incident?

In a recent interview with BT TV, Sharman explained why the younger Otto son is fascinated with the Clark matriarch. “Madison attracts Troy because there is so much love, leadership and purpose in her,” Sharman said. “He sees the way she interacts with her daughter [Alicia] and that attracts him. He sees her courage and hutzpah and those qualities are something he deeply admires. He also likes her ability to adapt and play the game.”

Sharman added that Troy is also “looking for a motherly figure,” so he sees Madison as someone who can potentially fill that hole in his life.

READ: Strand lies to Daniel in “Fear the Walking Dead” Season 3, episode 4 sneak peek

Although Troy’s need for mothering isn’t too obvious, executive producer Dave Erickson told Entertainment Weekly that it didn’t take much time before Madison figured that out. “I think what she’s come to realize after the first couple episodes is that as sociopathic and violent as Troy can be, there’s also something of a broken kid in there,” Erickson said of Madison. “She sees in him a need for mothering. … And her feeling is she can control him, and if she can control him, then he becomes an asset — he becomes something that she can use to protect her family.”

In Season 3, episode 3, Madison learned from Jeremiah that Troy and his older brother Jake (Sam Underwood) have different mothers. Madison found out that just like her dad, Troy’s mom also died due to alcohol addiction. Interestingly, Erickson revealed that there’s more to tell about Otto’s family history. “We start to get a better sense of that as the story plays out,” Erickson said. “We get a better sense of what [Troy’s] upbringing was and the fact that he was made as much as he was born as this person.”

“You are going to learn it all,” said Sharman when asked how many details will be revealed about his late mother. “You don’t just learn what happened in his past, but also you get to see a lot of Troy in action.”

“Fear the Walking Dead’s” next episode (Season 3, episode 4) titled “100,” airs on Sunday, June 18 at 9 p.m. EDT on AMC.