5 Actors Who Almost Played The Walking Dead's Negan Before Jeffrey Dean Morgan

One of the most memorable (and controversial) characters on "The Walking Dead" was Jeffrey Dean Morgan's Negan. He's a villain who introduced himself in the comics by bashing in the head of one of the most beloved characters in the series, and he introduced himself in the show by doing that twice. Whereas the show's previous big bad, the Governor, got killed off after only a season and a half of mayhem, Negan's reign of terror lasted two full seasons — and he didn't die at the end of it. He stuck around and has haunted the franchise for years, and is now the co-lead of a spinoff series alongside Maggie Greene (Lauren Cohen). 

But the Negan haters can't even be mad, because Negan is undeniably a fun, intriguing character by this point. He's a little crazy and, thanks to his introduction setting expectations very low RE: his moral fiber, he can pleasantly surprise viewers by showing occasional shreds of humanity every now and then. It's the sort of role a lot of actors would love to play, which why it's no surprise that the casting list of potential Negans was long and varied. Below are five famous actors who almost got the role of Negan. Which of them do you think would've done the best job?

If you're a "Scream" fan, you should instantly see the appeal of Lillard in this sort of role. His performance as the psychopathic Stu Maher was a clear highlight of the first "Scream," and it's no coincidence that fans have so badly want his character to return to the franchise despite his very definitive death. These days Lillard seems to be on the up and up, but back in the mid-2010s his career was in an odd lull. Being cast as the villain in the biggest show on TV would've been huge for him. 

At a 2022 Walker Stalker Con panel, Lillard explained his audition process for Negan:

"So I got a call. They said they want you to audition for 'The Walking Dead.' It's a big part. I'm like, 'Okay, cool.' I didn't watch the show, sorry. So I went in to audition and they loved it. They were like, 'Wow, they really loved it, you're in the running for this part.' I'm like, 'Oh, that's great. It usually means it's going to somebody else.'"

Lillard revealed that he'd been told by the casting team that it had come down to him and Morgan, but ultimately Morgan had delivered a "fiercer" performance and won out. Luckily, things would improve for Lillard after this point anyway. A year and a half after Negan murdered Glenn, "Twin Peaks: The Return" premiered on Showtime, where Lillard got to give one of the most impressive performances of his career. In 2024 he starred in "Five Nights at Freddy's," a movie that wasn't a critical darling but was undeniably pretty popular with the kids. He hasn't starred in anything as high-profile as "The Walking Dead," sure, but he's still doing just fine.

Esteemed actor/music legend Henry Rollins seems perfect for the part of Negan, mainly because the comic character was drawn based off of Rollins' appearance. In a 2016 interview, Rollins himself shared the story of how he nearly played the character:

"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."

A lot of fans think it's a shame that Rollins never got the part, including a "woman at [his] office" who'd been a fan of the show. Rollins recalled how she'd told him after watching the season 7 premiere, "It should have been you." 

In November 2015, Garret Dillahunt sparked fan interest by tweeting a picture of his "reading material for the day," which was Compendium 3 of "The Walking Dead" comics. This is the volume where the war with Negan plays out, and the book's cover features Negan holding his famous bat Lucille. 

Dillahunt claimed that he had no intention of misleading fans with this tweet, that he posted it because he genuinely is a fan of the show and wanted to read up on the Negan lore before the show could get around to it. But upon realizing how fans were interpreting the tweet, Dillahunt realized they might be onto something. "Then I started looking at it," Dillahunt said, "And I was like, 'That would be cool to be Negan.'"

Dillahunt revealed that his interest in Negan led to him talking to "Walking Dead" showrunner Scott Gimple, which he believes may have led to him being cast in "Fear the Walking Dead" soon afterward. But as for the role of Negan himself, Dillahunt doesn't think he ever had a proper shot, especially since he was currently busy starring in his own TV show at the time. As he explained:

"There was some discussion about the possibility of it, but there was no way I could do that with 'Hand of God' going on, on Amazon. Not that it was offered to me. ... I keep telling Jeffrey, 'It was always yours, man. I never could have got that part.'"

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Matt Dillon was considered for the role of Negan. Granted, they also reported that Timothy Olyphant auditioned, but Olyphant himself would later come out to confirm that this wasn't true. Neither Dillon nor Olyphant seemed particularly busy circa 2016, with "Justified" having wrapped up for Olyphant and Dillon just finishing his time on the TV show "Wayward Pines."

Dillon hasn't said much about potentially being cast as Negan, but it's easy to see the appeal for him in the role. His later 2018 role in "The House that Jack Built," a movie where he played an unsettling serial killer, makes clear how intimidating he's capable of playing. He's also famous for his sleazy role in "There's Something About Mary," where he played a similarly-mustached man with a questionable moral code. There's no legion of "Walking Dead" fans devastated that Dillon never got the role, but he probably could have handled it just fine. 

By the time "The Walking Dead" was looking for its Negan, the final season of "Mad Men" was wrapping up and Jon Hamm suddenly had some extra free time. "I think Jon Hamm would be perfect [for Negan]," comic creator Robert Kirkman said in a 2015 interview. Hamm himself soon discussed the role publicly, saying:

"I've met Robert quite a few times. He's a lovely guy and I think he's done wonders with that show and I know it's very close to him, obviously. It's, you know, I'm always very nervous about anybody saying like, 'do this' or 'do that.' I'm like, 'okay.' That's why I'm in a hundred things all the time, because I always say yes. So, I don't know. We'll see. It would be fun, that's for sure. ... I'd have to gain weight, I guess, and work out, but that would be fun too, right?"

For reasons no one ever revealed, Hamm never got the role. It might've been for the best, because honestly? I'm not seeing it. Hamm's a fine actor, but I don't know if viewers could've gotten Don Draper out of their heads as they watched Hamm's Negan intimidate Rick's crew. I much preferred seeing Hamm in his roles at the time like in "Baby Driver" or "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt." While it would've been cool to see Hamm cement himself as the unofficial king of AMC, I'm glad Hamm went in a more lighthearted route in his post-"Mad Men' career.