A Surprising Way Jeffrey Dean Morgan Landed the Role of Negan
Jeffrey Dean Morgan is the epitome of a Hollywood bad guy that fans love to hate.
He's charming, charismatic, handsome, and got the type of smile that can only invoke dread. His ruggedness makes him a convincing antihero or, often enough, a straight-up villain.
He played the sarcastic, vile Comedian in Watchmen, murderous gang leader Henry Delarue in The Salvation, psychotic killer Sam in Desierto and even a small-time bad guy in USA's Monk.
But his most famous bad-guy role didn't start until 2016.
The Walking Dead's Negan is a straight-up villain, knocking off our favorite characters and slinging that baseball bat over his shoulder. Morgan first comes into play at the end of Season 6, leaving viewers on a cliffhanger before bashing in Glenn's head in the Season 7 premiere. He's become popular enough that Negan has appeared in 95 episodes since his first appearance, effectively joining the main cast midway through the show's run.
Morgan has played Negan so convincingly that it shouldn't shock anybody that he didn't have to audition for the role.
His first time hearing about the job as Negan wasn't his own doing. Morgan said that his agent had called saying he'd already been offered the role. No audition, no screen tests. He would be the new "big bad guy" on AMC's supremely popular zombie drama.
Morgan stated in an interview that he'd begun reading the comics because people would randomly approach him and tell him he should play Negan. He also said he'd always been a fan of the show since its start in 2011. In fact, his comic book counterpart bears a resemblance to a clean-shaven, more robust Morgan.
Negan, a former gym teacher, first came into play as the leader of the Saviors, using authority and resources to subjugate other communities. He'd eventually wind up imprisoned in Alexandra – the walled-off community of the Militia – for several years. He was later released and came to terms with his past, and in recent seasons, has been more of an anti-hero than antagonist.
Few characters can be described as "perfectly cast" to the point where they could never be recast, but Jeffrey Dean Morgan seems to be one of them.
Is there any actor you think would have played a more convincing, menacing version of the Walking Dead villain? Or was Jeffrey Dean Morgan the perfect Negan? Share this article and let us know.