This Cast Member Leaving the Walking Dead Hit Jeffrey Dean Morgan the Hardest
As The Walking Dead returns for its final season in the fall of 2022, many are reminiscing about their favorite characters over the years.
The Walking Dead wasn't afraid to kill people off that's for sure. And what's great about the show is that even the regular characters never knew if they'd be next.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan first appeared in the hit show in 2016 when he took on the role of Negan. He was a special guest star in season six and then became part of the main cast in season 7. It's a role that has led to him winning three awards – the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Guest Performer in a Drama Series in 2016, and the Saturn Award for Best Guest Performance in a Television Series in 2016 and 2019.
Morgan as Negan
Negan is a ruthless leader as well as charismatic and cocky. Jeffrey Dean Morgan portrays the character so well and it's clear that Sharon Bialy, The Walking Dead's casting director got it right with Morgan as Negan.
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When characters leave The Walking Dead
Before the final season landed, Morgan talked with Lauren Cohan on Zoom about their experience in the show.
When asked about cast members leaving (or being killed off!), Morgan said:
"You know when they kill you on this show? When you buy a house in Georgia. If you get comfortable, you're dead. I had a three-year deal initially. I remember asking [the showrunner] Angela [Kang], "Should I buy a house?" And she was like, "Ehhh." And I was like, Well, that's it. I'm dead!"
The hardest character death
When asked about which character's death was the hardest in terms of the cast member leaving the show, Morgan said it was the character of Rick, portrayed by Andrew Lincoln. As we all know, Rick is actually alive and well, but the very fact that Andrew, who's been on TWD for years right from the very beginning, left, was devastating for Morgan. He described how there was a lot of discussion about it and how it might affect the show. The cast hadn't seen this coming and so it seemed to have unsettled them a little. Morgan said: "We all thought there was no way he's not coming back" but he didn't.
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As Morgan said, the show has managed to reinvent itself so many times.
What's next?
As the main show is ending, what's next in store for Jeffrey Dean Morgan? Having already appeared in The Walking Dead: Origins spin-off in 2021, Morgan is set to appear in The Walking Dead: Dead City in 2023. So, for all those superfans out there, there's more of Negan to come! Phew!