'The Walking Dead' News: Jeffrey Dean Morgan Talks About Baseball-Bat-Wielding Negan's Cursing
"The Walking Dead" fans will finally get to see Negan and the rest of the Saviors when the TV series returns for the second half of Season 6 in February.
By his looks and demeanor, it seems that Jeffrey Dean Morgan was born to play the role of Negan, the maniacal leader of a group of survivors called Saviors, which protects communities from the walkers in exchange for resources. Morgan looks as tough as Negan is in the comics, and his turn as the cigar-chomping The Comedian in "Watchmen" is proof that the actor can easily portray a jolly yet violent character.
Morgan can also hold his own while using a baseball bat. In fact, the 49-year-old actor claims he "grew up with a bat in [his] hands." The actor has also been an avid fan of comic books since his early days, an experience that will help him transition into the character. Morgan started reading "The Walking Dead" comic book series a few years ago. Because of this, when his agent and manager were telling him about the role he was being offered without telling him the character's name, he had a feeling that it was Negan they were talking about.
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Aside from his scary-looking baseball bat named Lucille, comic book Negan is known for his choice of words. Morgan has no problem using colorful language in the TV show, as the actor himself uses a lot of profanities in his daily life. In an interview with EW, Morgan said:
"I'm not going to say it's an issue because they're working on it. We're going to push AMC — the plan is to push them as far as they can because it's who Negan is. He uses some colorful language. And I use some colorful language. And reading the comic, it's important. So we'll see where that lands. It's our intention that this character is going to leap off the pages of the comic book. It's very important that that's who it is."
