You’ve done more movies than usual in
the past year. There’s the relationship
dramaSkyandTriple 9,about a group
of criminals, in which you play Aaron
Paul’s brother. And, of course, you had
a nice cameo in the reboot ofNational
Lampoon’s Vacation.Are you trying to
get out there more in the film world?
No, I had a little bit of time here and
there to do things. WithVacation,
I went to visit my friend Christina
[Applegate]. Comedy is rough. For
me, it’s so hard to do. WithTriple 9,
their set was right across from ours.
I’d change out of myWalking Dead
wardrobe to go over there and then
change back into my wardrobe.Do you have any desire to play a
superhero in a Marvel movie?
I’m always open to the right project
at the right time. I just saw the
Marlon Brando documentary,
Listen to Me Marlon.It’s one of the
best things I’ve ever seen, about the
choices he made [including playing
Jor-El in the originalSuperman]. I’d
like to pick things that coincidentally
fall into a category where my life is
at that moment. I didFloatingwhen
my dad was dying. And there was a
scene in that involving a son and his
father, and it felt right. It felt like one
of those things you have a hard time
talking about. But somehow you’re
working through it, and it’s your job
at the same time.Do you get oered Daryl-esque
characters a lot?
I don’t think it would interest me to
play a Daryl type in a movie. WhyHow often do you work out?
I have a trainer in New York I use
every so often when I’m getting
ready to go back on the show.
Nothing too specii c. I just try to
shed any holiday kilos and get my
mind right. When I’m down there [in
Atlanta], I have a gym in my house,
so I try to work out when I can, but
sometimes when you work so many
hours all you can do is get home and
fall on your face. I’m also running
through the woods in 40° heat and
my crossbow weighs a ton, and I’m
always riding bikes and building
things, so the kilos melt of. But, you
know, it would be silly if Daryl took
of his shirt and had a six-pack. Plus,
if I saw an actor on our show do that
and I were a viewer, I’d think that
was pretty vain and pretty sellout.
You kind of want Daryl to be more
cheetah, less gorilla.What else do you do?
I tried yoga and I really liked it. I
really want to get into transcendental
meditation. People keep telling me
I’d love it. I know Howard Stern does
it. He says he closes his eyes in his
closet for a few minutes, and it’s like
he’s slept for three hours.You mentioned Atlanta. It sounds to me
like your life there must be fairly idyllic.It’s awesome out there. It’s way, way
out in the country and super-private.
It’s all organic, the food is locally
farmed and grown, so it’s just a very
healthy way to live. Even on holiday,
I eat pretty minimal. I eat a lot of
fruit and vegetables. Our catering
department is super-high-end; they
make us things like lobster for lunch.
You kind of shove it in your backpack
and take it home for later. I try not to
eat a lot of sugar. I’ve never been a
“sit on the couch and shove food in
my mouth” guy. I like chocolate, but
could never gorge on it.How does it feel being a sex symbol?
I don’t know. The i rst time I ever saw
my name in print was for 8MM, and
it was a quote from [director] Joel
Schumacher that said, “You know,
Norman’s not good-looking. He’s
really interesting looking, but he’s
not good-looking at all.” And I was
like, “Thanks, jerk.” So I’m that
guy. I’m not People’s sexiest guy.would I do that? I do see a lot of
casting stuf that says “a Norman
Reedus type.” I’m like, “What the
hell does that mean? What the fuck
are they talking about?”What are they talking about?
I have no fucking clue. I remember
one of my earliest auditions, the
casting director goes, “Can you do
that a little more good-looking next
time?” Here I think I’m killing it.
And I’m like, “What do you mean?”
And they say, “Like the blond guy
on Lost.” And I was like, “What the
fuck is that?” Then I left the audition,
looked up the guy, and knew there
was no fucking way I was going to get
that job. There’s no way I could be
that good-looking.Is there a performance you’ve seen
recently that’s blown you away?
I thought Sicario [with Emily Blunt,
Josh Brolin, and Benicio Del Toro]
was a perfect movie. I’m also blown
away by things I’d never do but have
so much respect for people who did
them. I remember going to a i lm
festival when I i rst started acting. I
was in Six Ways to Sunday there, and
it was this cool indie thing. I was at
the airport and Brendan Fraser was
next to me, and he told me he was
there for George of the Jungle. He was
so cool I went to see it later. He got
fucking ripped to play George of the
Jungle. That’s super-admirable to me.
Was it a cool guy movie like Six Ways?
No. But that level of commitment
was super-cool.You need great delts
and greasy hair to
play Daryl Dixon.64 MEN’S FITNESS AUGUST 2016