During a press invited conference at New York Comic Con for The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, Norman Reedus spoke candidly about the range of acting he has undertaken throughout this show compared to the main show when we asked him. Known for his iconic portrayal of Daryl Dixon in “The Walking Dead,” Reedus expressed his enthusiasm for embracing diverse characters and genres.

Norman Reedus, reflecting on expanding his range on his acting when we asked him, shared a glimpse into his thought process and motivation. As he discussed his enduring role as Daryl Dixon in “The Walking Dead,” he emphasized the personal and professional growth he has experienced over the years. Reedus candidly expressed his desire to evolve as an actor and explore new dimensions of character portrayal.

“I’m aging in real time and I’ve learned lots of lessons. I wanted to try to do something different. I spoke a lot about finding vulnerabilities in him (Daryl) and I don’t mind being the hero, I just don’t want to know that I am the hero,” said Reedus.

Reedus stressed the significance of working to earn character moments and commencing from a position of vulnerability. He aimed to genuinely capture Daryl Dixon’s challenging journey, where he grapples with both physical and emotional brokenness as he embarks on the next phase of his life. Additionally, Reedus underscored his intention to portray Daryl in a distinct manner, particularly in showcasing the character’s brighter moments, setting him apart from the main show.

“I wanted to earn the moments and I wanted to start low. And as he character, he’s broken when he gets there. He’s physically broken, and he’s finding himself again and becoming a man again in a different way.”

Norman Reedus opened up about a specific, pivotal moment in his acting career, which was the scenes he shared with Jeffrey Dean Morgan in Season 7, Episode “The Cell” of “The Walking Dead.” In these scenes, Reedus aimed to portray his character, Daryl Dixon, in a raw and unvarnished manner. He sought to strip Daryl down to his most vulnerable state, emphasizing the character’s brokenness and vulnerability. Reedus explained that the intention behind this approach was to create a compelling character arc in which Daryl could rebuild himself from the ground up, both emotionally and physically on The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon.

“We did it with Negan in The Cell. I remember being the guy down here and trying to fight my way back up and when Negan is like, ‘what’s your name?’ And I don’t say Negan. That’s like a “fuck yeah” moment, you know? I wanted to be stripped down starting from zero.”

Ever wonder what David Harbour’s life was like before Stranger Things? It may not be what you would’ve expected.

Success as an actor is often hard to define. Sometimes critical acclaim or commercial profitability are the metrics used to define success. However, there’s another lesser attained category that only a few actors ever get the honor of being – a cult classic. Thanks to Stranger Things, David Harbour has certainly hit that mark. He hasn’t always been the household name he is today and chances are most fans wouldn’t have known his life prior to the culture defining Netflix series. But judging from the response at New York Comic Con this year, they certainly wanted to know more and David was happy to share about his life prior to the show.

For starters, he grew up in New York in the East Village and stayed there for much of his life as he pursued a career as an actor. However, he wasn’t exactly dominating the big or small screen in any capacity. His appearances were mostly confined to recurring roles on short lived TV series and doing off Broadway plays. It got to the point where he was started to worry about where next month’s rent would come from. He was on a tv series that had just shot its first season and he needed it to get renewed to ensure he’d be fine financially for the coming months. He waited by the phone and hoped to get the good news, but when the phone rang, it didn’t go the way he wanted.

As you can imagine, he was saddened by the news, but it was relatively short lived. Not too long after, he got a call to audition for a certain Netflix show – Stranger Things. After auditioning though, he wasn’t exactly encouraged. He figured at first that someone with a better track record or name would get selected as it was a fairly large role and he was right. Someone else did get selected but ended up rejecting the role. Who passed up on that opportunity, we may never know, but the rest, as they say is history.

It was really great getting this story and many others like it from David and other cult classics at Comic Con. Be sure to check out the other coverage here on the Knockturnal for more interesting stories like this.

NYCC

Exclusive: Norman Reedus Expresses His Acting Versatility on The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon

“I’m aging in real time and I’ve learned lots of lessons. I wanted to try to do something different. I spoke a lot about finding vulnerabilities in him (Daryl) and I don’t mind being the hero, I just don’t want to know that I am the hero,” said Reedus.

“I wanted to earn the moments and I wanted to start low. And as he character, he’s broken when he gets there. He’s physically broken, and he’s finding himself again and becoming a man again in a different way.”

“We did it with Negan in The Cell. I remember being the guy down here and trying to fight my way back up and when Negan is like, ‘what’s your name?’ And I don’t say Negan. That’s like a “fuck yeah” moment, you know? I wanted to be stripped down starting from zero.”

David Harbour Talks About Life Before “Stranger Things”at NY Comic Con 2021

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