Norman Reedus Says Daryl Dixon Was Originally Supposed To Ride A Horse On The Walking Dead

Daryl Dixon riding around on his motorcycle has become a staple of The Walking Dead, but originally, producers wanted his brother, Merle Dixon (portrayed by Michael Rooker), to ride a motorcyle and for Norman Reedus’s character to ride on the back of a horse.

On Tuesday’s episode of Conan, Reedus explained how a difficult experience controlling a horse for a previous role led him to convince producers that he too should ride a motorcycle.

CONAN: I’m a huge fan of the show. And such an iconic part of your character is motorcycle and the bow and then I find out that originally you were supposed to ride a horse. Is that right? When you first went out for the part? Your character is supposed to ride around on a horse and you nixed that?

NORMAN: I saw it written. And I kind of — I’m kind of afraid of horses with their big eyeballs. And they can smell your fear. And all that stuff.

CONAN: I can smell your fear.

NORMAN: I’m sure everyone can smell my fear. But then I did this movie with Robert Redford in order called “The Conspirator” and I was supposed to pull up on a horse and yell at people and be real tough and the horse went like this like it knew what I was doing and about two seconds into it the horse would just start to like trot backward and get in single file line with the other horses. And I could hear Redford screaming “someone handle Norman’s horse!” And I’m going to get fired off this job. And I just — I thought — I thought the same thing. When I read that in “the walking dead” script whose motorcycle is that? And they’re like it’s your brother Merle’s. If Merle could ride a motorcycle, Darrell probably knows how to ride a motorcycle. I spun it into that.

CONAN: That’s very smart and also you’re living in a world where things become zombies. A horse could become a zombie horse. And attack you. And that’s another argument you could have made.

NORMAN: Right.

ANDY: And your brother would be getting everywhere faster than you, you know? [laughter]

CONAN: And a compromise you have to ride a horse that rides a motorcycle. [laughter] [Applause]

Ride with Norman Reedus follows actor and motorcycle enthusiast Reedus as he takes viewers on a ride on the open road to explore local biker culture and its history and celebrate some of the best and brightest collectors, mechanics and motorcycle craftsmen around the country. Each episode of Ride will begin in a different city where Reedus and his riding companion – a fellow actor, musician, friend, or local chopper fanatic who shares his passion for motorcycles – will journey to a new destination. Along the way, they will stop at various locales such as custom bike shops, tattoo parlors, collector’s warehouses, or a roadside smokehouse… with plenty of time for unplanned detours and tire changes. The series will also showcase different types of motorcycles each week, including vintage, minis and cruisers.

Ride with Norman Reedus airs Sundays at 10/9c on AMC. The Walking Dead will return for its seventh season in October.