Jeffrey Dean Morgan Says He Was a ‘Huge Fan’ of “The Walking Dead” Before Being Cast on the Show Virginia ChamleeWed, July 29, 2026 at 9:00 PM UTC 0 Jeffrey Dean MorganCredit: Getty; AMC Jeffrey Dean Morgan is sharing how he joined The Walking Dead as Negan after being a longtime fan of the show Morgan said he became “obsessed” with the series when it premiered in 2010 and never missed an episode He now stars as Negan in the spinoff The Walking Dead: Dead City, which premiered in 2023 Jeffrey Dean Morgan says joining the cast of The Walking Dead was an “immediate yes” for him, as he was alread...
Jeffrey Dean Morgan Says He Was a ‘Huge Fan’ of “The Walking Dead” Before Being Cast on the Show
Virginia ChamleeWed, July 29, 2026 at 9:00 PM UTC
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Jeffrey Dean MorganCredit: Getty; AMC -
Jeffrey Dean Morgan is sharing how he joined The Walking Dead as Negan after being a longtime fan of the show
Morgan said he became “obsessed” with the series when it premiered in 2010 and never missed an episode
He now stars as Negan in the spinoff The Walking Dead: Dead City, which premiered in 2023
Jeffrey Dean Morgan says joining the cast of The Walking Dead was an “immediate yes” for him, as he was already a die-hard fan of the show.
Speaking on a new episode of Out of Order, Morgan, 60, shared that, when it first premiered in 2010, he frequently watched the show, which revolved around a sheriff who wakes up from a coma only to find society destroyed by flesh-eating zombies, called “walkers.”
“I remember watching The Walking Dead and thinking, ‘Wow, I mean, this is — this is changing television,” he shared, adding that he “became obsessed with the show” and “was such a huge fan.”
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Jeffrey Dean Morgan on The Walking DeadCredit: AMC
He continued: “I never missed it ... I remember going to Comic-Con, because I always had a project somewhere at Comic-Con, and people coming up to me and saying, ‘Hey, I know you’re a fan of The Walking Dead. The comic book just came out, and this character Negan is introduced, and man, you should play him.’ ”
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Some five years later, he got his chance, getting a phone call from the show’s creators, saying they wanted him to be an unnamed character who turned out to be Negan, the villain.
“I was an immediate yes,” Morgan said of joining the cast. The character’s first on-screen appearance came in the show’s season 6 finale, “Last Day on Earth,” which aired on April 3, 2016.
The actor still stars as Negan — who has since evolved from a villain into an anti-hero — in the show’s spinoff, The Walking Dead: Dead City, which premiered in 2023 and is now in its third season.
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Source: "AOL Entertainment"
Source: Entertainment
Published: July 30, 2026 at 12:09AM on Source: MORNING MAG
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