Norman Reedus Slams Reports He Doesn’t Want Daryl Dixon To Be Gay
‘The Walking Dead’ star Norman Reedus has come out against a report claiming that he would be against his character, Daryl Dixon, coming out as gay. Good for him!
Beyond the whole cure thing, perhaps the biggest mystery on The Walking Dead that fans are dying to solve is the mystery surrounding Daryl Dixon’s sexuality. Norman Reedus‘ Daryl has been pegged as everything from straight to gay to bisexual to asexual. Meanwhile, Norman has been playing him “like he’s a total virgin,” as he revealed to Zap2It. However, that doesn’t mean that Norman is against his character being gay — and he has slammed a report that indicated he was upset by the idea.
Norman Reedus On Daryl Dixon Being Gay: Slams Reports He’s Against The Idea
Here’s what Norman tweeted on Oct. 27:
This is total bs by the way http://t.co/7hiScbUeSh
— norman reedus (@wwwbigbaldhead) October 27, 2014
The link leads to an Inquisitr pick-up of a GLOBE story which quoted a source as saying:
“Insiders say he fears the same-sex shocker would hurt ratings by disappointing his legions of female fans. Norman isn’t anti-gay in his personal life, but he’s become one of the biggest male sex symbols in television. He gets thousands of fan letters from women each week – along with dozens of marriage proposals.”
First of all, we know fandom. There is a huge female audience that would absolutely love it if Daryl were gay (or bisexual). That said, Norman has said a number of times that he’s cool with that characterization.
‘The Walking Dead’ Recap: Daryl & Carol Raid Downtown Atlanta For Beth
As he told GQ in their October issue, “I remember Frank Darabont [developer and executive producer of TWD‘s first season], after the first season we were at a party in L.A. 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 f**k?—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.'”
Norman Reedus On Daryl Dixon: ‘I Don’t Think In Matters Of The Heart He’s Real Secure’
With that door open, Norman went on to say that “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.”
Of course, you can be gay and also a virgin averse to throwing people up against trees, but we see his point.
We love that Norman is so open to every interpretation of his wildly popular character, and that he seems to understand fan culture and how to interact with his devoted audience.
HollywoodLifers, what do you think? Do you like the interpretation of Daryl as gay, bisexual, or ace? Any Bethyl or Caryl shippers vehemently against the idea? Let us know! (But be cool.)
— Amanda Michelle Steiner
Follow @AmandaMichl
More ‘The Walking Dead’:
- ‘The Walking Dead’: Andrew Lincoln ‘Worried’ About Episode 3’s Brutality
- ‘The Walking Dead’: Why Rick Needs To Follow Abraham To D.C.
- ‘The Walking Dead’ Recap: Rick Keeps A Very Important Promise To Gareth