Daryl Dixon may have never been! The Walking Dead's Norman Reedus reveals in GQ's first-ever Age Issue that he once considered giving up acting. Luckily, the 45-year-old actor decided to overlook some films he wasn't very proud of and was eventually cast in a show about a bunch of killing zombies — giving him the most-talked about role of his career, not to mention unexpected sex symbol status.
"I really matured a lot in my mind and became a happier person in this job, because I really like this job, and I like the people I work with, and I like the environment I work in," Reedus told the mag. "The cuts on my forehead, and the bruises, and the black eyes, it doesn't matter; it's awesome. I think that mentality has matured me a lot in the past couple years."
Reedus has shown off his dramatic flare while starring in the AMC smash hit since 2010. The show also satisfies his thirst for the dark side. "Even with photography and artwork, I've really liked having grotesque things and finding beauty in them. I've always been a fan of horror films, and I like aggressive music, and I like aggressive people — they all kind of were interesting to me," he told the mag. "I mean, I really don't see myself ever being, or wanting to be, in some sort of light romantic comedy about nothing."
Perhaps this is why the Florida native practically laughed at his team when he was offered to play Jennifer Love Hewitt's boyfriend in 2001's Heartbreakers.
"When that came around at the time, my agents at the time were, 'They like you for this part, and it's a Jennifer Love Hewitt movie.' And I'm like, 'Well, what do I do?' And they're, 'You're her boyfriend,'" he recalled. "And I go, 'Well, do I rape her? Do I kill her? What do I do?' And they go, 'You're her sweet boyfriend.' And I was like, 'No! Absolutely not!' But yeah, I just assumed I had to rape and kill her."
Reedus also feels as strongly about rooting for the bad guys. "I like the Joker better than I like Batman, you know what I mean?" the Boondock Saints star said. "I'm still like that."
The AMC actor — who admits he doesn't mind not fitting in — may have a public professional life, but he'd rather keep his private life just that. When asked about dating models in the past, he replied: "I've been with several. Not any to the extent that… Helena [Christensen] and I were pretty serious."
Reedus and the former supermodel, 45, dated for five years until 2003 and share 14-year-old son Mingus. As for being a dad, he considers it "pretty f—ing serious."
The Walking Dead returns for its fifth season on Sunday, Oct. 12 at 9 p.m. EST on AMC. As Reedus puts it, it's "pretty hard-core."