It's a weird time to be Negan on The Walking Dead. Don't believe that? Just asked Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who plays the character. After being taken down once and for all by Rick Grimes in the Season 8 finale, the man who used to wield his trusty bat Lucille is now locked in a cage with no freedom in sight.
"I think what's been interesting this year for me is that we're seeing Negan vulnerable," Morgan told GameSpot and a small group of other outlets during a visit to The Walking Dead's set in Atlanta. "I think that Negan's been locked up for a spell. I don't think anybody interacts with him, except for possibly Rick."
Being isolated from everyone can't be easy for Negan, a guy known for going on long rants to anyone and everyone within earshot. After all, he built up an entire community around himself full of people who looked to him for leadership. Now he's just a man in a box who sporadically gets to speak with Rick, the man he considered an enemy.
"I think Negan probably lives for that," Morgan admitted. "I think that's all he thinks about, 'Please, Rick, come down here.' So, I think that's when he gets a little bit of bravado."
Still, even with those few visits, imprisonment is getting to Negan. "I think he's going insane, is truthfully what I think is going on," the actor revealed. "I think that the four walls have closed in on him, so he's battling trying to keep some sense of sanity. It's not going well."
Of course, that doesn't mean you won't still get long Negan monologues. While the character's appearance in the second episode was brief, there's plenty more to come with the character. Chances are, though, he won't be quite the showman he once was.
"He's used to performing in front of a lot of people and putting on a show," Morgan said. "I think [being] unable to do that has killed a part of him that is very important to his psyche. I think that he's going through a lot of s*** right now. I don't think he's eating well. I don't think he's getting to talk to people. These are things that are important to Negan."
As for what it will take to actually spring him from the cell, given that soon enough his talks with Rick will come to an end, that remains to be seen. The Walking Dead airs Sundays on AMC.
