ATLANTA — From 2016 to 2018, I played the role of Daniel on “The Walking Dead,” a TV show that depicts the apocalypse. In the face of a zombie invasion, people fight for food and supplies and try to find hope in an atmosphere of total panic.

My character was a warrior. He defended his group, The Kingdom, against zombies and other invaders. What I didn’t know, when I finished my time on the show, was that a variant of the apocalypse would so soon be coming to my life off the screen.

From Feb. 25 to March 3, I traveled to Australia to celebrate Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras along with Sam Smith, Dua Lipa, Kesha and thousands of other revelers from around the world. We marched in a Pride parade, participated in interviews with local TV stations and attended a week of concerts, parties and dinners in celebration of L.G.B.T.Q. pride.

Though we heard reports of the coronavirus from China, we thought the virus was contained. In my last week in Australia, I started to have a mild cough and assumed it was a cold.