Norman Reedus, best known for his role The Walking Dead series has earned a reputation of a “badass, motorcyclist and survivalist”. However, he hasn’t been absent from controversy. Norman is a quite known actor, voice actor and model, having multiple features in a range of different mediums such as video games and music videos.
He was featured in the Cruelty-Free International charity campaign in 2013
which aimed to end animal testing in the USA. A blog on “Forsaken Chronicles” states that as a “vegetarian and a huge animal lover, Norman hit a home run for me”. The campaign itself was successful for social change, as well as Norman’s image. A new side of him was being seen from his typical cold and dark roles that he’s casted. He set a “good example” and an inspiring message. Overall, this feature in the campaign, especially during his continuing rise to fame as “Daryll Dixon”, has left a positive mark on his career and image.
Forsaken Chronicles Blogpost: https://forsakenchronicles.blogspot.com/2013/08/norman-reedus-joins-cruelty-free.html
However, his career isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. It isn’t surprising to hear that he’s been featured in multiple controversies over the years. Released in 2014, a article from Bustle talks about his interview with GQ featuring the title “Reedus, Maybe think before you speak about Rape”. The title is extremely shocking for any audience member and immediately pushes a negative look on the actor. The interview mentions Norman speaking about his life such as his “complicated childhood”. The article shows some remorse, giving the audience sympathetic look on him before the article takes a sharp turn and speaks about his role as Jennifer Love Hewitt’s boyfriend, recalling a conversation, “Well, do I rape her? Do I kill her?” and continues to say “No! Absolutely not!” after being told he’ll be the “sweet boyfriend”. The sudden assumption that he would be some sort of villain is prioritised in the article. The topic of rape, even in 2014 is extremely sensitive and would certainly cause a disruption to his level of fame. The audience would question, “Am I a fan of someone like this?”. The article expresses this enigma by stating, “It’s a shame because the rest of the interview is really interesting”. The official site of GQ shows us that Norman has a love for “grotesque things and finding beauty in them”, specifically because they have a meaning to him. Fans, who are familiar with Norman’s taste may push this aside, however newer fans (specifically women or victims of rape) likely would immediately act negatively. At further read of the interview, I discovered that just after the line above, he states that it’s “just cause that’s who I was. Who I thought that everyone thought I was”, which was likely the line that saved himself from a hole of controversy. Overall, the points made in the Bustle article is valid however doesn’t provide the full story, and therefore despite being an overly negative and personal response, can still affect Norman’s fanbase and fame.
Bustle Article: https://www.bustle.com/articles/41396-norman-reedus-rape-comments-in-gq-interview-were-uncalled-for-insensitive
GQ Official Interview: https://www.gq.com/story/norman-reedus
The most recent of the 3 texts is Norman’s novel, “The Ravaged”, released in 2022. The book is about a guy named Jack where he chases the ghosts of his past, ravaged by the loss of his wife, daughter and son. The book itself is dark, unsurprising for Norman considering his love for stories with meaning and gritty realism. The book received a rating of 3/5 on Goodreads and a 4.4/5 on Amazon UK. An interview on the “LiveKellyandMark” YouTube channel shares an interview about his inspirations for the book. He talks about how it was inspired by a businessman he met on a plane and his regret of not spending enough time with his family. This shows how Norman sees the world and the people he meets as an inspiration. The book is a collaborative product with him and Frank Bill (an author). The “NetGallery” has multiple reviews on the book. The book, despite Amazon and Goodreads ratings, fail to live up to expectations. “Evie S, Reviewer” mentions how it’s expected that “with many celebrity books, it fell short”. Norman, being a popular celebrity was likely the main selling point for the book. People may look at this book and assume that this is a simple money grab or a lazy story overall with a lot of repetition. The review is just one of many who has shown an incredible dislike for the shallow plot, especially from someone who aspires to have meaningful representations of himself in media. We’ve got to consider, is this Norman’s real thoughts or is this simply just a retelling of another man’s story.
LiveKellyandMark Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxGyG4I6NLw
NetGallery: https://www.netgalley.com/book/244227/reviews
Now what begs the question, which of these is an accurate representation of Norman Reedus as a person, and which is the representation of what the media thinks of him? With some discussions, I’ve learned that Norman is only really known as “Daryll Dixon”, likely because of how successful The Walking Dead is. I only found articles or Tumblr posts from people who showed a dislike for him and had done their research. However, because of how he is almost always playing into the “Tough guy” stereotyped role, we almost never see another side to him (besides in interviews).
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