Norman Reedus thought he was going to die from Walking Dead concussion

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https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/...ry-concussion/

Norman Reedus says he almost didn't make it out of The Walking Dead alive. On March 11, the Daryl Dixon actor suffered an on-set concussion while filming the series finale, postponing production for a few days. (Filming resumed after a week-long pause and The Walking Dead wrapped its final episode on March 30.) "Norman suffered a concussion on set," Reedus' spokesperson, Jeffrey Chassen, said in a statement at the time. "He is recovering well and will return to work soon. Thank you to everyone for their concern." In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the actor revealed the injury was more serious than what was reported in March.

"Oh dude, that was horrible," Reedus said. "That whole ordeal for me personally was terrifying. I thought I was going to die."

Reedus added: "It was very serious. It was scary. I've been hit in the face and the head a million times. I've gone through car windows, but that one rung my bell."

After the accident, Reedus recalled, "I had a neurologist. I had all sorts of s---. I failed the light test. I had a security guard in the driveway, just in case. I was holding onto the walls walking through the rooms. It was nuts."

A week after the incident, Reedus posted a message to social media assuring fans he was "getting better" before being cleared to return to work. While Reedus recovered, a stand-in double was used in some scenes where the actor's character didn't appear on camera.

Reedus, who has starred across all eleven seasons since 2010, says he felt guilty that his injury delayed the already extra-long shoot: instead of the standard 16 episodes, the expanded final season spanned a total of 24 episodes.

"You're shooting over a year, and now we're having to postpone some of the shooting because I'm lying in bed," Reedus told EW. "So the guilt of me not being at work and people are like, 'Are we going to go a week over? Are we going two weeks over?' — that was bothering me."

The Walking Dead will end with its series finale (and an accompanying live finale fan event) on November 20. Reedus will then reprise his role in the untitled Daryl Dixon spinoff series, which will shoot and take place in France.