The Walking Dead: Daryl Was Originally Going to Be “Prison Gay,” Says Norman Reedus

When the question of Daryl’s sex life — a frequent topic of recent offscreen conversation, with two potential female love interests and some speculation that he could secretly be a homosexual — came up, Reedus revealed that the gay rumors aren’t totally crazy — that Frank Darabont, the series’ first showrunner and the director of the pilot, had seen the character that way as well.

It started when GQ asked whether Daryl, who of course lives in a bit of arrested development, might turn out to be a virgin, rather than the well-traveled type many fans would probably assume from his exterior.

“You know, a virgin is interesting,” Reedus said. “I remember Frank Darabont, after the first season we were at a party in LA, He said, ‘I’ve got an idea for Daryl. He’s gay. Would you be interested in that?’ I was like, ‘Let me hear you out.’ He said, ‘Well, he’s prison gay—like, you’ll catch him looking at a member of the same sex, but if you mention it to him, he’ll just stab you and be like what the [frick]?—he will never admit it.’ I was like, ‘That’ll blow minds—let’s do that.’ And he said, ‘I knew I hired you for a reason.’”

The idea apparently left with Darabont — at least in that form — but it had nothing to do with his departure, according to the actor.

“I like playing all these different things,” Reedus said. “Daryl’s not the type of guy who’s gonna throw somebody up against a tree in the moonlight. I don’t see him as having that kind of confidence. You could drop him off in the middle of the woods with a stick and he’ll come back well fed and doing well, but I don’t think in matters of the heart he’s real secure.”