When AMC’s The Walking Dead premiered on October 31, 2010, few imagined it would last 11 seasons and spawn multiple spin-offs — including The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon. Especially one of its most famous stars, Norman Reedus.
The actor, who plays the fan-favorite, crossbow-wielding Daryl Dixon, was primarily working in film when he received the pilot script (written by former showrunner and executive producer Frank Darabont) for the hit horror drama. Based on executive producer Robert Kirkman’s popular Image comic, Walking Dead chronicles a ragtag group of humans — led by sheriff's deputy Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) — struggling to survive in the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse. Despite his agent’s reservations (more on that later), Reedus took a flyer on the show and now headlines his own spinoff.
But, given the series’ habit of killing beloved characters or turning them into the undead, Daryl’s future wasn’t necessarily guaranteed to be one where the character went unscathed.
"There was a time Daryl was supposed to have his arm cut off," Reedus tells the Television Academy in an exclusive interview. "But, AMC was like, ‘No, we can't cut his arm off.'"
AMC was also like, "We need more Daryl Dixon." The Europe-set Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon recently completed its third season and has been renewed for a fourth and final season. Reedus also has a travel series with AMC, Ride with Norman Reedus, which just aired its seventh season.
To celebrate the mothership series’ 15th anniversary, the actor reveals how he landed his iconic role and looks back on some of Dixon’s memorable (and very bloody) action scenes.
Photo credit: AMC
Television Academy: It's hard to believe that The Walking Dead premiered 15 years ago. How did you land the role of Daryl Dixon?
Norman Reedus: I was basically just doing movies at that time, but it was pilot season. I'd never really done TV. It was my agent's idea to go to L.A. They give you like a million scripts — a lot of doctor shows, a lot of buddy cop shows. Then I read Walking Dead. I was like, "This is the best one.” [My agent said], “No. No zombies. It’s never going to happen.” And I was like, “But this is the only one I'd watch.”
You originally read for the role of Merle, correct?
Yeah, I was reading Merle’s lines, but was told that Michael Rooker was going to do the part. I'm a big fan of Michael Rooker, so I thought maybe he was on the fence — or he had conflict or something. Then Frank liked my audition and wrote a brand-new part for me. He came up with the vest with the wings, the whole thing.
Daryl is one of three characters from the pilot that lived to appear in spin-offs — including Carol (Melissa McBride, Daryl Dixon) and Rick (Lincoln, The Ones Who Live). Given the show’s high body count of beloved characters, that feels like a major accomplishment. Were you ever worried Daryl might get killed off?
I was just pretty grateful to be where I was at. If they were going to kill me off, I think maybe I could handle it — maybe not. I don't think I'd be a very good zombie. I was always worried about doing that and walking around with contacts that I couldn't see out of. I'd seen so many of my castmates do that — some were better than others, you know what I mean? I was worried about not being able to pull that off.
Any near misses for Daryl?
There was a time Daryl was supposed to have his arm cut off. I designed this prosthetic arm that had a fixed thumb, so that I could still use a crossbow and still ride a motorcycle. We worked on that for a long time. But, AMC was like, "No, we can't cut his arm off." Then they gave my arm to the character of Aaron (Ross Marquand).
Merle (Michael Rooker)'s death was a turning point for Daryl / Photo credit: AMC
What do you feel was Daryl’s biggest turning point?
The biggest thing for Daryl in the whole series was when his brother Merle died [season 3, episode 15].
After that, [the writers] originally had Daryl written as being this negative, nasty guy — sort of like Merle. I went to the writers and asked if I could do the opposite; that when Merle died, it gave Daryl a chance to become a new person. [Merle’s death] kind of let Daryl shed this wall around him and step up and be the type of man he wished he was, the type of character that doesn't lie to anybody and will do anything to protect anybody that he cares for.
What action sequences from the past 15 years are particularly memorable?
So many! I blew up that lake with a rocket launcher [season 6, episode 9] — that was crazy. I swung a big chain around like Indiana Jones [uses his whip] — that was fun. I flew through the air like Michael Jordan on top of a couple of people.
There was also a knife fight with the character Beta (Ryan Hurst) that I really enjoyed. I stopped holding my knives pointy end up, and started holding them pointed down, towards my elbows, for that fight because Ryan Hurst is so tall. He's like 6’7” or something, and I couldn't reach him. The only way to kill him was to get inside and chop him down like a tree. So, I adapted my fighting style around that season — which also involved this sort of ballet in a fight scene where I'm ducking under arms. I’m also coming up and I'm cutting legs as I try to to stand back up.
Actors and crew sometimes pull pranks on sets. Any stories you can share without getting in trouble?
Oh, my God! It was mostly me pranking Andy Lincoln, to be honest. We kind of had a prank war going for a long time. The first one started when we went to Tokyo on a press junket. We were so exhausted — like, another level of exhaustion. And it was live TV in a room with a bunch of cameras from different media outlets. I speak a little bit of Japanese because I lived there for a while when I was a teenager. So, [Lincoln] whispered in my ear, “How do I say ‘thank you’ for [hosting] me in your country?” I whispered [a response] in his ear. When the interview starts, he stands up and says: “Toire wa dokodesu ka.” Everyone looks at him like, “What?!” So he did it even bigger. Then he sat back down and whispered in my ear, “What the hell did I just say?” I told him, “You just asked where the toilet was. On live TV.” So, that was great.
Also, there was one time when I filled his trailer’s air conditioning with pounds and pounds of glitter.
Fans are thrilled Melissa McBride is back as Carol on the new show. What’s that experience like for you?
She was always supposed to be a part of it, but Melissa couldn't [be a regular on] the first season. She showed up in the second season. She's kind of been my BFF since day one on the show, and I couldn't imagine doing it without her.
This interview was edited for length and clarity.
