Talk about getting into character.
While filming The Walking Dead‘s mid-season finale, “How It’s Gotta Be,” Andrew Lincoln actually punched his co-star Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Negan), resulting in a broken nose and a whole lot of apologizing.
Currently in the midst of press rounds for his larger-than-life monster movie, Rampage, Morgan spoke to The Howard Stern Show about The Walking Dead season 8, and what it’s like to play such a wicked, deeply unlikeable character. In fact, he’s so unlikeable that it seems Andrew Lincoln got a little carried away when Rick and Negan came to blows back in December.
I knew immediately, when the scene started and the cameras started rolling, that we were too close to each other. We’re toe-to-toe. I punch, he punches, and neither of us moves. We’re both taking punches, you know what I mean? And on like the second punch, he just cracked me on the bridge of my nose. I think I dropped to a knee. But immediately, when you get hit in the nose, your eyes water. I stood up and I was like ‘Uh, dude.’ He was more upset than I was!
And he’s not the only one. During a separate interview on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (h/t ComicBook.com), Daryl Dixon himself, Norman Reedus, echoed JDM’s comments, stressing that Lincoln has exactly zero hand-eye coordination when it comes to The Walking Dead‘s biggest fights.
The thing about Andy is he’s got no coordination at all, whatsoever. Zero. So, [Negan actor] Jeffrey Dean Morgan calls me and he goes, ‘Tonight’s gonna suck.’ I’m like, ‘Why?’ He goes, ‘Because I have the big fight scene with Andy. He’s gonna punch me in the face. He’s gonna drink a lot of coffee. He’s gonna get super excited. He’s gonna punch me in the face.’
Reedus continued:
He has no coordination. The thing is, he does it, and then he completely denies that he did. Jeff’s on the phone, he’s going, ‘Man, he’s gonna punch me in the nose.’ Then, my other line rings and it’s Andy going, ‘Okay, so tonight, I’m getting ready, I’m gonna add a karate kick, and I’m gonna chop him and I’m gonna throw it, and I’m do all this stuff!’
Season 8 of The Walking Dead reaches its grand, bloody conclusion on Sunday, April 15th, and it’ll send Morgan Jones on a one-way journey over to Fear The Walking Dead, AMC’s sibling series that is now on the verge of its historic fourth season.
