Henry Rollins Was Up For The Role Of Negan On THE WALKING DEAD

Henry Rollins Was Up For The Role Of Negan On THE WALKING DEAD

You won't find too many Walking Dead fans upset with Jeffrey Dean Morgan's portrayal of the comics' most sadistic villain but you have to admit, Henry Rollins would have done a bang up job.

By MarkJulian - Jun 15, 2016 06:06 PM EST
Filed Under: The Walking Dead
Source: Forbes

While speaking to Forbes, former Black Flag frontman Henry Rollins revealed that he was up for the role of Negan on AMC's The Walking Dead.  Regardless of how you feel about the show's cliffhanger season finale, Jeffrey Dean Morgan did a phenomenal job as Negan but casting Rollins would have brought a different sort of intensity.  However, going by Rollins' statement it's hard to determine just how close he came to landing the part, despite the fact that the character is partially based on him.   

"Since I didn’t get the part I can tell you this. I was up for the role of Negan because Charlie Adlard, who worked on the comic book, based that guy on me and so I was a shoo-in for an audition. The internet was wild with speculation because in the upcoming season they were going to introduce the character. A woman that works in my office put my name and the character’s name into an internet search and all this speculation came up. I went for the audition and there were five pages of really cool dialogue with all these curses and it was beautiful, but I didn’t get it. I later saw a photograph of the guy who did get it and he looks almost exactly like the comic book rendering. The woman at my office watched the episode where he turns up, the dialogue that I auditioned with was in the show and she said, ‘It should have been you.’ Obviously it wasn’t or this conversation would be very different but that happened. I had to sign one of those documents where you can’t talk about it but now it’s over and done with… so yeah, I was up for that part. I get great auditions, I auditioned for stuff like Narcos too, but rarely does anything come my way. What usually comes my way is a no audition thing like The Last Heist or He Never Died that the film’s writer, Jason Krawczyk, wrote with me in mind."

Maybe Rollins' audition take will surface online one day?  With Rollins revealing his audition, it will be interesting to see if any other actors reveal that they were also up for the part?  Aside from Morgan and Rollins,  Garret Dillahunt (Justified) also tested for the role.



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FishyZombie
FishyZombie - 6/15/2016, 6:48 PM
IMO, Jeffery Dean Morgan was too reserved for Negan.
KillEmAll
KillEmAll - 6/15/2016, 6:58 PM
Yes lets judge JDMs performance as Negan based on the maybe 12 minutes of screentime he actually had in a single episode. Smdhhh Comic Negans look was based on Rollins. He auditioned and didn't get the part because shocker this other guy JDM did a bang up job pun intended.


Such sticklers here. Forming an opinion on an actors interpretation of a character based on not even a full episode. Maybe wait til October and eat crow.


Yall make my head hurt sometime, if i get cancer im blaming you [frick]s.
BackwardGalaxy
BackwardGalaxy - 6/15/2016, 7:50 PM
@KillEmAll - is this your first time using the internet?
Danbito
Danbito - 6/15/2016, 7:06 PM
I think the issue is that the comics pretty much give a vibe where he so vibrant, where you can tell he's almost yelling his dialogue. The show has him in a more calmer manner, which came off as more plain. Personally, I never pictured Negan with a southern accent. Nothing with JDM, he actually he pretty good with what he was given and he knows how Negan is. I think it's the show direction and approach to the character more than the actor in this instance.

Who knows, maybe Rollins was too Comic Negan and didn't fit their own adaptation for Negan
KillEmAll
KillEmAll - 6/15/2016, 7:08 PM
@Danbito - Someone being rational and logical on this site? Bravo sir.
KillEmAll
KillEmAll - 6/15/2016, 7:19 PM
BANG UP JOB lmfao

ManDeth
ManDeth - 6/15/2016, 7:21 PM
What really sucks is that Jeffrey Dean Morgan was so awesome as The Comedian but we can't have more of that. Instead we get 16 years of Hugh Jackman as Wolverine.
H8DaNextUBanned
H8DaNextUBanned - 6/15/2016, 7:33 PM
Jeffrey Dean Morgan is awesome, but Henry Rollins would have been perfect!
THRILLHO
THRILLHO - 6/15/2016, 7:46 PM
Damn, wonder why they chose Morgan over Rollins.

CaptainAmerica31
CaptainAmerica31 - 6/15/2016, 7:53 PM
I remember seeing people campaign him for the Cable role
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