He has also proved his comedy chops, starring for years onRaising Hope.
One gig he could not land, however, was the role of Negan onThe Walking Dead.
The role eventually went to Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
Credit: Richard Foreman, Jr/AMC
What can he share about his new character?
What was it like joining an already established show in the midst of a full reboot?
And whats this about him wanting another major crossover?
Read on to find out.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: So start off by telling me how this all came about.
Howd you end up on this show?
I know you were a fan ofThe Walking Dead.GARRET DILLAHUNT:Yeah, I was a fan.
Theres a lot of press out there about me auditioning for Negan, which never really happened.
Not that it was offered to me.
I keep telling Jeffrey [Dean Morgan], It was always yours, man.
I never could have got that part.
This is our first episode, so Im still finding my feet a bit.
Were all still finding the voices of the new characters.
Its weird to join a show in progress always because youre standing on their backs.
You know, they had three seasons and here we come in.
But theyre such a good group.
Its been really seamless I think, and I wish to work with them more.
Is this still our show?
And it very much is.
Im probably more sensitive to it than they are.Theyre probably fine.
But I just want to double-check that I fit in.
You look like youre in a western, and thats not accidental.
But its not like I have cowboy boots on, you know what I mean?
Hes got that low-slung-y thing.
Im hoping formorecrossover, I think thatd be fun, eventually.
In what way?Like, we all cross over all the time.
Because zombies arent that impressed with the twirling, so that might go out the window pretty quick.
So the main thing I asked for was that Im a good shot.
Its a pet peeve of mine when people with machine guns cant hit a thing.
I cant say Ive seen every single episode, but Ive seen most.
Ive known Kim [Dickens] sinceDeadwood, and I was very excited to work with her again.
I think theyre really talented, and I was pleased to join them.
How would you do in a real zombie apocalypse?I think okay.
As long as theyre nice slow ones like this.
If theyre them fast zombies, forget it.
My running days are over, man.
Those guys are tireless, and Im not.
How much have these guys told you in terms of the whole arc of the season and your character?
They dont know Im sold from the jump, so I pretended like, Well, I dont know.
Wheres this going to go?
I like being a likable fellow, I like being a little funny, but capable.
I like those kinds of people.
So yeah, they clued me in quite a bit.
There are always moments, even in great tragedy.
Ive been at funerals where you crack up.
I think its how you survive, and it might be more his modus operandi.
I think a lot of its hes lying to himself, but its how hes coping.
