‘The Walking Dead’ Star Norman Reedus On Daryl Dixon’s Filthiest Moment

Warning: This article may contain spoilers for The Walking Dead.

The recent episode of The Walking Dead placed Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) in a precarious position and at the hands of Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and his band of saviors. Dixon was held in a prison cell and tortured in an effort to get Daryl to side with Negan, but The Walking Dead hero held out and refused to ally himself with Negan. The torture intended to compel Daryl to side with Negan, which included showing him pictures of Glenn’s (Steven Yeun) remains, force-feeding him dog food sandwiches, and exposing him to a constant barrage of music, only served to alienate Reedus’ character that much more. While Daryl suffered for his beliefs, Norman Reedus reveals that the situation was just as unbearable for him as it was for his Walking Dead character.

The Walking Dead‘s Norman Reedus Says It Was A “Weird” And “Rough” Scene To Film

Norman Reedus spoke with Entertainment Weekly about filming the scene for The Walking Dead episode, “The Cell,” in which he was naked and covered in filth, revealing that shooting the episode was as uncomfortable as it seemed to viewers. Reedus says the set was cold, particularly because he was naked, but adds that what bothered him most of all was the dirt and grime used in the shots.

“It was weird to sit on that floor butt naked. I mean, I was totally naked, so it was rough,” says The Walking Dead star.

Later, as the scene progressed and Norman was dressed in the sweatsuit jail outfit, the scenes only got dirtier with Reedus suggesting that it was the dirtiest scene he has ever had to film on The Walking Dead. The show’s make-up artist was regularly adding more make-up, while the fabric of the sweatsuit accumulated more dirt, making Norman feel that much filthier.

“Yeah, that was I think one of the filthiest I’ve ever been on this show, if not the filthiest,” says The Walking Dead star. “I mean, I’m very happy to be out of those sweatpants and that sweatshirt — that jail suit that they gave me. It was just itchy and horrible. It was gross.”

The Walking Dead Sets Up Daryl To Be Broken And Norman Reedus Suffers For It

Primarily, “The Cell” was about breaking Daryl and, as Norman Reedus tells The Hollywood Reporter, even simulating that Walking Dead event involved some unsavory experiences. Much like some fans of The Walking Dead, Dwight (Austin Amelio) questions why Daryl won’t just give up and say he was with Negan, but Norman explains that there’s more at stake than just allying himself with Negan. There’s the memory of Glenn and how he lost his life driving Daryl to resist Negan and his Saviors to the bitter end.

“If Daryl was to say, “I am Negan,” he would be disrespecting the memory of Glenn,” says The Walking Dead‘s Reedus. “And that’s why Daryl can’t do it.”

Resisting Negan in that way left Daryl Dixon vulnerable to the torture that ensued. One aspect of that torture involved being forced to eat dog food filled sandwiches and, while Reedus wasn’t forced to really eat dog food, the Walking Dead actor suggests that what he did eat was just as bad. Norman says the sandwiches were filled with Spam and other meat products mixed together and stuffed into stale rolls. Reedus adds that dog food couldn’t have been much worse.

As for the song Daryl Dixon was forced to listen to repetitively, Norman says he’s not aware what song was ultimately chosen, because it was added later in the production process. The Walking Dead star does reveal that the show’s producers were trying to secure rights to a children’s song, but copyright holders were reluctant to give permission for the song to be used in a torture scene.

In the end, Reedus says his Walking Dead character is in a bad place, emotionally and psychologically, as well as physically. He wasn’t given time to really grieve for Glenn and now he’s been left to feel responsible for that death, so Reedus suggests his character does feel responsible for Glenn’s death and also feels he deserves whatever happens to him.

“He’s lost the will to fight. That’s why he won’t say that he’s Negan. It’s such a ‘f— you!/Yeah!’ moment. You want it to feel like it’s the last thing he has left. It can’t look like it’s a middle finger. It has to look like Daryl is feeling like his humanity is the last thing that he has.”

The next episode of The Walking Dead airs Sunday, November 13 on AMC.

[Featured Image by AMC]