The Walking Dead Jeffrey Dean Morgan is Negan!

[Art Vandelay]

I think JDM is miscast. I'm too conscious of the fact that I'm watching a performance.

 

[BestGirl]

He's being deliberately theatrical, like Ezekiel.

 

[Art Vandelay]

I don't think he is, though. I think Negan really is meant to be that guy.

It's more than that, though. JDM just isn't physically imposing. I can see people treating him like a king if he looked larger than life, but I keep thinking why would anyone follow him? How is he the alpha male?

 

[BestGirl]

At this point, people are following him because he's been so successful. He runs pretty much everything in that part of the world. His popularity is really no less puzzling than Ezekiel's.

 

[Art Vandelay]

I think Ezekiel is running a very different community, not one based on fear and intimidation and the threat of violence. My point is, how has no one challenged his authority yet? I could understand if Negan was physically a large guy, someone you wouldn't want to mess with, someone people would naturally gravitate to and give the mantle of leader to, but JDM isn't all that big. He's not nearly as charming as some people are making him out to be, and there's nothing about him that would suggest you could see why people would follow him.

 

[TheVileOne]

Cult of personality.

[YT]7xxgRUyzgs0[/YT]

It's about charisma.

 

[MurkeNyou]

I don't think he is, though. I think Negan really is meant to be that guy.

It's more than that, though. JDM just isn't physically imposing. I can see people treating him like a king if he looked larger than life, but I keep thinking why would anyone follow him? How is he the alpha male?

I think he's just shown he backs up his orders himself, he gets his hands dirty. That inspired people for thousands of years, being a dictator isn't going to work out for the guy if he doesn't (pardon the expression) take a swing at the biggest target.

 

[Art Vandelay]

Cult of personality.

[YT]7xxgRUyzgs0[/YT]

It's about charisma.

But he doesn't have charisma. People are mistaking finding him being kind of funny for him being charismatic.

 

[Elevator Man]

The Walking Dead: Jeffrey Dean Morgan injured himself playing Negan (and Andrew Lincoln loved it)

It’s 97 degrees on a steamy June day in Senoia, Ga., but that’s not the only reason things are heating up on set of The Walking Dead. Negan has just arrived in Alexandria (for an episode that will air this Sunday on AMC). It’s time to take inventory, and… well, just take things. After all, that’s what Negan does. He takes things. It might be your life. It might be your guns. It might be your flat screen TV. It might be all of those things. He takes what he wants. And he enjoys it all waaaaaaay too much.

The same could be said for the man playing Negan, Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Sure, he has to suck down lemon-lime Gatorades between takes to keep from dehydrating in that leather jacket in the Georgia heat, but the actor is having a blast playing the charismatic big bad. And his castmates have noticed.

“He is having way too much fun,” nods Andrew Lincoln in mock disgust after they wrap a scene together in which Negan emotionally torments an Alexandrian who shall remain nameless. (Hint: It is someone not in the cliffhanger lineup of death.) But that’s not to say that Morgan always has the last laugh. “The other day he was smiling and carrying on so much he pulled a rib muscle,” laughs Lincoln, clearly relishing this story waaaaaay too much. “He doubled down in pain. I was like, ‘Yeah, take that motherf—er!’ And it wasn’t even during a take. It was a rehearsal!”

And Lincoln was not the only one who took delight in Morgan’s momentary pain. “Oh, everybody did!” says Lincoln, still beaming. “No one went to help him. We just went, ‘There you go. Suck it up, sunshine!’” (Norman Reedus confirms this account, especially Lincoln’s unbridled joy at the incident: “Andy was very excited that he hurt his rib and very excited that Jeffrey hurt himself. He was really into that.”)

Naturally, we asked Morgan for his take on what happened. “I’ve been fighting cramps,” says the actor. “I get horrible cramps midway through a scene, my ribs will cramp up or my legs or something. So I just had this contraction and I was trying to yell, and it made me buckle over. I was screaming at him and laughing at the same time. So I’m still laughing, and he thought it was hilarious. He’s like, ‘That’s what you get, you f—er! That’s what you get!’”

It was a small win for the man who plays Rick Grimes, a character that has not had a lot to smile about lately, unlike Morgan’s Negan, who is all smiles and bravado. “Yeah, it kills him that I’m having so much fun,” says Morgan, “I’m like, ‘It’s not me, Andy, that’s having fun — it’s Negan!’ But I mean, there’s a lot of that that goes back and forth in between takes, depending on the scene, of course. But there are other scenes that are so intense that there are days that the cast doesn’t even make eye contact until the end of the day, and I get it.”

And we get the joy out of seeing the guy playing Negan being on the receiving side of pain for a change rather than on the delivering end of it.

Also if you click on the link above there's a new clip (posted after the end of the article) from ep.704 with Negan and the saviors arriving at the ASZ to collect.

 

[The Joker]

But he doesn't have charisma. People are mistaking finding him being kind of funny for him being charismatic.

Afraid not. I am fully capable of separating the two traits of funny and charasmatic, and I find Negan very charasmatic.

 

[Filmfan93]

But he doesn't have charisma. People are mistaking finding him being kind of funny for him being charismatic.

Respectfully disagree. I think he has plenty of charisma.

 

[MurkeNyou]

You don't assimilate Bikers and Truckers without being charismatic. As was said in episode 2 "Don't bull' a bull'artist", those hard people will see right through that. Negan had to be the mix of a strong, personable guy who you want to be around, and will watch your back. but don't cross him, because that smile can go from pleasing to scary given the intention behind it.

 

[righthooksrus86]

i think JDM is great. He's not the biggest dude but he doesnt need to be imo. Even so he's bigger than Rick and Daryl who were like the alpha dogs before he came along. He's still intimidating enough to be a threat. Look at Rick he's just a skinny dude but that dont make him less of a badass and someone that can take control of a whole group of people.

 

[Art Vandelay]

How has his hair grown this much in only a week?

 

[Elevator Man]

I thought JDM had a lot of great moments in the recent episode (704 "Service"). He brought that intensity back with how he was taunting Rick and the ASZ community. I think he was testing Rick when he had him hold Lucille to see if he’d attempt to attack him with it. He was definitely pushing Rick’s buttons bringing up Abe and Glenn’s death, Maggie being a vulnerable widow. As well as wanting to marry Maggie for being a lonely "empty" widow, taking all their guns (thanks Carl), aiming a firearm at Daryl (who once again didn't flinch), etc.

 

[The Joker]

They loaded the latest episode with Negan quotes from the comics;

"I can't be the only one who's noticed you put the fat lady in charge of food rations"
"In case you didn't notice I just slid my d**k down your throat and you thanked me for it"

 

[NotNickFury]

They loaded the latest episode with Negan quotes from the comics;

"I can't be the only one who's noticed you put the fat lady in charge of food rations"
"In case you didn't notice I just slid my d**k down your throat and you thanked me for it"

Plus, it was changed to remove the F-bomb, but also 'Pardon me young man and excuse the ***** out of my g*****n French, but did you just threaten me?'

 

[righthooksrus86]

The scene where he killed that first walker with lucille before they let him in the gates was funny as hell to me. He said something along the lines of "I just killed one of these dead pricks that could've killed one of yall...Service..." and then takes a bow, lol JDM just oozed charisma in that scene.

 

[Chip Chipperson]

I started watching again because I love Jeffrey Dean Morgan

Sadly I think I might stop watching because of Jeffrey Dean Morgan

 

[Sawyer]

okay gurl

 

[Elevator Man]

The Walking Dead: Jeffrey Dean Morgan likes to infuriate Andrew Lincoln on set

Most of us worry about angering our coworkers. Not Jeffrey Dean Morgan. In fact, he only knows he’s doing a good job playing Negan on The Walking Dead when he pisses them off. And the person he loves pissing off the most is none other than Andrew Lincoln.

But wait, allow him to explain. Anyone that has been on set of The Walking Dead knows that Lincoln really gets himself into a mood before filming. The man takes his craft very seriously. So for Negan to properly get into Rick’s head, Morgan knows he has to get in Lincoln’s as well. “I know I’m doing my job the more mad Andy Lincoln gets,” says Morgan. “So if off-camera he’s screaming and swearing in between takes, I know me and Negan are doing our job and I’ve gotten him pretty riled up. And then of course we have to go and apologize and get back to being friends after takes, but it’s been intense. And that is fun.”

Torturing Andrew Lincoln — who had the last laugh one day when Morgan injured himself playing the big bad — is just one of the reasons Morgan loves his job. “Well, there are a couple of things that go into why I love playing Negan,” says Morgan. “One is the cast that I get to work with. It’s an amazing cast from top to bottom, and crew. It’s just a really great group to be a part of. We really are kind of this huge family, and thankfully they’ve embraced me. Maybe not embraced my character as much, but they’ve embraced me. So that’s been awesome. It’s a hell of a place to work. We have a good time and we work hard. It’s just passionate and fun and cool.”

Of course, it’s not just the cast and crew — it’s also the character and joys of playing a big bad. “I’ve just never had more fun playing a character,” Morgan admits. “He’s really complicated and it’s a lot of work. A lot goes into what you will see on the screen with this character. But I go home every night thinking, oh my God, that is the most fun I’ve ever had. And he’s horrible. Negan does some horrible things, which I don’t necessarily feel great about while we’re doing it. But then again, reading the graphic novel and bringing him to life, it has been incredibly challenging. And I love that challenge of bringing him to life. And I love watching the cast reaction.”

 

[Rowsdower!]

I've enjoyed his performance so far. And I DO think he is charismatic... the way I would measure this is, the other Saviors (Dwight, Mustache Guy, etc.) all just seem like a bunch of degenerate a**holes and I'm licking my chops to see them get killed. But Negan? Even though he's done the worst sh** of all of them and killed one of my favorite characters (Glenn), I still enjoy watching him. I like the power games he plays with Rick and the others, and while he might not be Lord Humungus or Bane, he's physically imposing enough that I think it all works. My only gripe is some of the lines they give him. I feel like it undercuts his menace when he says things like "cool" and "awesome." A guy who commands an army shouldn't have the vocabulary of Beavis and Butthead.

 

[Lantern Venom]

I've enjoyed his performance so far. And I DO think he is charismatic... the way I would measure this is, the other Saviors (Dwight, Mustache Guy, etc.) all just seem like a bunch of degenerate a**holes and I'm licking my chops to see them get killed. But Negan? Even though he's done the worst sh** of all of them and killed one of my favorite characters (Glenn), I still enjoy watching him. I like the power games he plays with Rick and the others, and while he might not be Lord Humungus or Bane, he's physically imposing enough that I think it all works. My only gripe is some of the lines they give him. I feel like it undercuts his menace when he says things like "cool" and "awesome." A guy who commands an army shouldn't have the vocabulary of Beavis and Butthead.

I think that's the show's way of trying to translate Negan's comic book speech. He drops 5 F-bombs per speech balloon in the comics, which would likely cause problems with the TV censors. Thus, they've replaced that with crude phrases and darkly humorous allusions.

 

[mocomic]

I've always loved JDM as a performer. He was great in Watchmen, Supernatural, and Texas Rising.

Here is how you can tell he pulls it off . Lovable as Donnie in Greys Anatomy, his Negan is as reviled as Joffrey on GOT's .

I mean when he gets his will be like Super Bowl ratings.

 

[The Joker]

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