Matthew Lillard Reveals He Almost Played ‘The Walking’s Dead’s Negan

Jeffrey Dean Morgan helped to turn his character of Negan on “The Walking Dead” into a maniacal legend. I personally won’t ever forget that scene, especially any time I watch baseball. You know the one. Well, it turns out, Matthew Lillard (Scream) came within inches of playing the villain…and would have had a very different take.

While speaking on The Wrap‘s The Big Thing Podcast, the actor revealed that he received multiple callbacks for the part, but didn’t get the part that ultimately went to Morgan. However, a few years later, he found out how close he came. “The creator of the show comes over, and he said, ‘You have no idea. You had the part for like 10 minutes. At that point, I would’ve had another 10 years of work.”

Ouch. Lillard has had no problem finding work, recently appearing in films such as Scream 7, The Life of Chuck, and the Five Nights at Freddie‘s franchise. Still, talk about missing out on a dream job (a very stable one, to boot).

Lillard then offered how he would’ve played Negan. “He’s super masculine, and I just would’ve been more wicked and funny. He was super badass and masculine. We would have had very different takes.“

Just to look at the two side by side, it’s clear that Lillard’s Negan would have had quite a different vibe to him than Morgan. Lillard has played a whole host of villains, most of whom deliver that “wicked and funny” tone that the actor says he would’ve brought to the role.

As it stands, Morgan’s Negan became iconic. We’ll never know what Lillard’s take would’ve been like, but I’d sure like to visit the alternate universe where I could take a peek at that. Even if it means raising the dead.