The Walking Dead - Norman Reedus Interview

It was a landmark 2011 for Norman Reedus—he killed it on everyone’s favorite apocalyptic drama, turned up as a brawling biker in Gaga’s “Judas” video, and went rogue for the historical retelling of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. But off-screen, the hot-tempered talent morphs into a downright gent... with the hint of a newly acquired Southern accent.

How have people reacted to your character on The Walking Dead?
People love the show and they are loving Daryl. God bless them, I think that’s part of the reason I’m still around! I’m in Georgia so a lot of people I’m meeting are like, ‘You’re my redneck boy!’ Everyone’s really liking the guy. I haven’t been challenged by a bigger redneck than me yet.

Running away from zombies must keep you in shape during shooting.
You kind of lose weight and get fit just by being in Atlanta because it’s a hundred billion degrees here! Atlanta’s definitely a character in the show; you’re constantly sweating, you’re constantly uncomfortable. It kind of helps.

Has filming in the area affected your life outside of the show?
Yeah, I bought a 1979 F150 Ford truck. I don’t know how the heck I’m going to park that in Chinatown when we’re done. But yeah, the accent sticks with you. I went back to New York recently and all I wanted was to come back to Georgia. I’m really falling in love with it here. Except tuna fish. Can’t get good deli tuna anywhere in this state!

Will Daryl ever ditch the crossbow?
You can’t not look cool with that thing so I’m going to hold on to it as long as possible. But Daryl’s like MacGyver when it comes to murder; he’ll kill you with whatever is around.

You’re obviously having the time of your life. Did you always want to be an actor?
When I first started acting for money I fought it, tooth and nail. I didn’t embrace it. And then it changed. There’s some sort of cathartic reasoning behind all of it so I started to take it seriously. Now, me giving a dirty look to everyone sort of turned into a career.

Source: The Atlantan