Norman Reedus Got Countless Injuries While Filming ‘The Walking Dead,’ Says He Was ‘Popping Advil’ Like ‘Tic Tacs’
Being an actor doesn’t seem like that much of a high-risk job, but The Walking Dead star Norman Reedus is sharing all the on-set injuries he sustained while on the job, and why he wishes he had left some of the stunts to the trained professionals.
Norman Reedus talks ‘The Walking Dead’ spinoff show
The Walking Dead is one of the biggest shows of the last decade, and fans are sad to see it go off the air after 11 seasons. Reedus has been there for every single one, and some are wondering if the actor is ready to say goodbye to zombies.
Definitely not; Reedus is currently gearing up to film the first season of a Walking Dead spinoff show centered around his character, Daryl Dixon.
“I’m not done with Daryl,” Reedus said in an interview with Men’s Journal. “Playing him is a dream job — I’d be such an a—— if I decided not to keep doing it.”
While working on the show has been a dream job, Reedus did admit that it can come with drawbacks — more specifically, the intense on-set injuries the actor has sustained while working.
The on-set injuries Norman Reedus got while working on ‘The Walking Dead’
In the first season of The Walking Dead, Reedus got some serious whiplash after being dragged by his neck in one scene, and that was just the beginning. The actor has injured his shoulder and knee, gotten black eyes, needed stitches on his forehead, and knocked himself out going through a door.
“[I was] popping Advil like they were Tic Tacs,” he shared. The on-set injuries kept up until the end; just a few weeks before the final season of the show wrapped, Reedus fell and suffered a concussion that sent him to the emergency room.
When asked what he would do differently with his time on The Walking Dead, it’s not surprising that Reedus says he would not have done as many stunts as he did.
Where they shot ‘The Walking Dead’
“We weren’t shooting Succession,” the actor explained, referring to the popular HBO show.
“We weren’t drinking champagne and eating lobster on yachts. We were out in the woods sweating with bug bites all over us eating squirrels and possums. It was hard work. The hours are crazy, it’s nonstop. But everybody always kept fighting to make the show as good as possible.”
The Walking Dead was filmed in Atlanta, Georgia, in a series of rural locations that mimicked the post-apocalyptic vibe the series was creating. Even without the intense stunts Reedus was doing, the Georgia heat and wildlife definitely made set life more uncomfortable.
Reedus’ time on The Walking Dead is coming to an end, but fans of the actor are excited to see what’s next for Daryl Dixon. There aren’t a lot of details about the upcoming spinoff — even Reedus said he’s not sure what will happen — but the actor is ready to keep telling this story, saying, “I started Daryl. I want to end him.”
