'Walking Dead' Star Norman Reedus Reveals That Daryl Dixon Is Gay

Since season four of the hit AMC television show ‘The Walking Dead’ came to an end there has been a great deal of speculation amongst fans as to the possible sexuality of character Daryl Dixon.  A fan favourite created just for the television series Daryl Dixons popularity has gone from strength to strength with each episode.

The idea that Daryl could be gay started way back in season three, during this time Daryl was faced with some pretty open flirting from his best friend Carol that made him squirm more than anything else.  Whilst a lot of people just saw this as friendly banter between friends, and because of that friendship Daryl felt uncomfortable, though some saw a little extra in his reactions.  Then, in season four Beth set her sights on the crossbow toting redneck, with no actual success.

Could this be because Daryl isn’t interested in women?

Is the only reason these two aren't a couple because
Daryl's gay?

Fans also speculated that Daryl being gay could also explain why he’s one of the few main characters to as of yet to have no romantic subplot, only strong female friends.  Along with this there’s also the fact that his big brother Merle has thrown a number of homophobic slurs at him and the history of physical abuse from his father.  Could this once again be explained away by Daryl being homosexual?

When asked about the possibility of Daryl being gay at a convention ‘Walking Dead’ creator Robert Kirkman confirmed that it had been discussed and that he would be more than willing to allow the show runners to take the character in that direction if they wanted.

So, lots of possibility but nothing confirmed right?  Well, that was the case until recently when Daryl Dixon himself, Norman Reedus, addressed fan speculation after the shows co-creator Scott M Gimple announced that a gay character would be joining the show.

Talking to GQ magazine he revealed that he’s always been playing the character as closeted gay since the start of the second season after the idea was pitched to him by the original showrunner Frank Darabont.

He said, ‘I remember talking to Frank Darabont, after the first season – we were at a party in LA.  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 fuck? He will never admit it.’ I was like, ‘That’ll blow minds – let’s do that.'

Daryl even spurned Beth's advances.

Reedus added, ‘He’s definitely not a ladies’ man or thinks of himself as having enough confidence to be that type of person. I want to play him searching for confidence, not full of confidence, you know what I mean? I like all the little things that are awkward … I would rather play him like not somebody that’s got cool-guy moves or anything like that.’

So does this mean that Daryl Dixon will soon be joining the ranks of geek tv LGBT characters such as Captain Jack, Xena and Willow?  I for one certainly hope so.  Having Daryl be gay would not only be awesome for the LGBT community but an excellent direction to take the character.

I guess we will just have to wait and see what happens as the show unfolds.

Amy.
xx

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