The Walking Dead: You’ll Never Believe What Other Actors almost Played Negan!
Alright, so we can probably all agree that the role of Negan went to the right actor. Jeffrey Dean Morgan has been absolutely killing it from the moment he stepped out of that RV. Since the early days, where Glenn was getting his brains bashed in, fans loved to hate Negan! Believe it or not though we almost didn’t get Jeffrey Dean Morgan. There are a few other actors who almost nabbed the role for themselves! There’s one actor that Robert Kirkman himself even thought should have the role! You’ll never believe what other actors almost played Negan!
Kirkman really, really wanted AMC‘s Jon Hamm to play the bat-wielding psycho. He even said as much to MTV during an interview, claiming “I think Jon Hamm would be perfect.” pretty cut and dry if you ask me.
As the time for Negan to show up on The Walking Dead drew closer rumors were rampant! It seemed like there was a new Negan every couple of days. See, interestingly, Negan was actually kind of based on Henry Rollins, a musician. They share a similar appearance, so Rollins was given the chance to audition for the role. He revealed this to Forbes, years ago, claiming “I went for the audition and there were five pages of really cool dialogue with all these curses and it was beautiful, but I didn’t get it.”
See, both the above actors would have been interesting, there’s no doubt. Morgan’s charm and charisma are unmatched though, even by those two. Jeffrey Dean Morgan just made the roll his own, and we can’t imagine anyone else playing the role. This next one might shock you even more, though!
Here’s one you may not have been expecting. Garrett Dillahunt! That’s right, John Dorie was almost Negan instead. I wonder if that means that Jeffrey Dean Morgan is John Dorie in an alternate timeline. I think he could still kill it! He was just recently killed off of Fear The Walking Dead in a heartbreaking episode. Back when they were casting Negan he never got very far into the audition process because he was already tied to another show.
Dillahunt spoke to EW, “Yeah, I was a fan. There’s a lot of press out there about me auditioning for Negan, which never really happened. There was some discussion about the possibility of it, but there was no way I could do that with Hand of God going on, on Amazon. Not that it was offered to me. I keep telling Jeffrey [Dean Morgan], “It was always yours, man. I never could have got that part.” But talking to [showrunner Scott M. Gimple] about that, we developed a little relationship and he knew I liked the shows, so I guess when this role came along and I was suddenly not on a show, it was like, here we go!
The last surprising actor is none other than Matthew Lilliard, Shaggy himself! How’s that for actors you won’t believe almost played Negan! He spoke at a WalkerStalker Con panel in Atlanta!
“So I got a call. They said they want you to audition for The Walking Dead. It’s a big part. I’m like okay cool. I didn’t watch the show, sorry. So I went in to audition and they loved it. They were like wow they really loved it you’re in the running for this part. I’m like oh that’s great. It usually means it’s going to somebody else.”
“And they were like hey they want you to come back and do it again. They don’t want you to be as funny, they want you to be a little more dramatic. I was like okay. So I went back in and did it again. And they were in Atlanta and I was working and doing the audition in LA. So they were like it’s between you and another guy and they want you to come in one more time. And they want you to come in one more time and they want to see if you can do both of them at the same time. Funny and dramatic.”
Hamm, Rollins, Dillahunt, Lilliard, are all interesting choices but the final choice was the right one with giving Jeffrey Dean Morgan the role of Negan. The Walking Dead wouldn’t be the same without him!
What are your thoughts on these other actors? Let us know in the comments below! Can you believe the actors that almost played Negan?
Alexander is passionate about everything related to gaming, comics, television, and film. You can usually find him watching some kind of DC show and can also find his writing on Multiversal News, something he’s helping to build.
