'The Walking Dead': Celebrate Norman Reedus' Birthday With A Look At How He's Changed Through The Years

Norman Reedus has changed a lot over the course of his career, and now you can see that play out in real time.

Reedus is now synonymous with The Walking Dead thanks to his portrayal of fan favorite Daryl Dixon, but that isn't where his career started of course. You can see his transformation from the Floating and Mimic early days to the beloved Murphy MacManus of the Boondock Saints movies.

From there it's a walk and a jump to his endearing crossbowman Daryl Dixon, a character who sports a surprising number of hairstyles.

You can view the entire video above.

While Boondock Saints has a significant following, Reedus really hit it big with The Walking Dead. You might be surprised to learn then that almost everyone around Reedus didn't want him to take the role.

"It was like one of those scripts you get and everybody's like 'don't do it," Reedus told Jimmy Kimmel. "Yeah, it was a stretch, I mean it was out there ya know, but I saw a guy looking for his family, that was the real story, and it paid off."

The character of Daryl also went through some significant transformations from early scripts.

"There were always scripts that had him taking drugs and being racist, like his brother was," Reedus said. "I fought to change those because I felt he should be more of an Al-Anon member and not a full-blown Alcoholics Anonymous member. He should have grown up with it, felt ashamed of it and wasn't comfortable with who he was. That allows him to grow into somebody you respect. Now he talks to you like this [facing front], like he means everything he says. He's super direct, super honest and you can count on him."

The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9/8c on AMC.