The Walking Dead’s Norman Reedus Appreciated Frank Darabont’s Commitment to Making Him Filthy

The Walking Dead became one of the biggest shows of the past decade, but its origins were much more humble, including original director Frank Darabont taking matters into his own hands when it came to making sure Norman Reedus’ Daryl looked authentically grimy. The first six episodes of the series helped establish a number of components about the series that would continue to be prominent throughout its tenure, including Daryl’s embrace of grit and grime. Reedus himself recently recalled a key moment in which he realized that he and Darabont were kindred spirits in regard to Daryl’s filth.

“I didn’t know Frank as well as you guys knew Frank. It was only six episodes, I came on on number three,” Reedus recalled to Jon Bernthal on his Real Ones podcast. “Frank didn’t have the conversations with — he was like, in love with you and Andy [Lincoln] and Sarah [Wayne Callies], you guys were the group. I didn’t know him as well as you knew him, I just met him. You guys when to Comic-Con, I believe, and it was announced while it was at Comic-Con, some crazy sh-t like that. I was bummed.”

He continued, “I remember working with him and he was so in it, like I remember, at one point, I’m crawling under a car and I jump up on T-Dog and all of this stuff happens, and the makeup artist, [Frank] was like, ‘Norman needs more dirt,’ and she was like, ‘No, no, that matches.’ And he goes, ‘Ugh,’ picks up grease off the ground and just wipes it across my face. I was like, ‘Oh, my God, I love you so much.’”

Darabont wasn’t the only one who loved seeing Reedus covered in dirt, as the star himself took every opportunity to get even more messy, regardless of what the makeup team planned for him.

“You remember, back then, all I wanted to be was filthy, I was so dirty. I would steal the dirt, get back to my room, and apply more to it when they weren’t looking. They’d be like, ‘You’re so filthy,’ and I was like, ‘I want them to smell me.’ I loved it, I’m a dude, I thought, ‘Yes!’” the actor joked. “But Frank, to work with, he was so inspirational.”

Reedus will return to the zombie franchise with the upcoming spinoff The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon.

What do you think of Darabont’s work on the franchise? Let us know in the comments!