After much speculation on the subject, the creator of the popular television series ‘The Walking Dead’ has confirmed the sexuality of character Daryl Dixon.
‘The Walking Dead’ is adapted from a comic book series of the same name. The character of Daryl Dixon does not appear in the comic books but has become a fan favourite in the television series.
Norman Reedus, the actor who plays Daryl Dixon, caused a stir earlier this year when he stated that head showrunner Frank Darabont had toyed with the idea that Dixon might be “prison gay”.
“[Darabont] 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.’” Reedus told GQ in September.
However, the topic has been laid to rest in an interview with Robert Kirkman, the series’ creator on ‘The Talking Dead’.
“We play Daryl Dixon being somewhat asexual on the show. He is a very introverted character, and I think that’s some of his appeal.” Kirkman said. He also addressed the public discussion of Dixon’s sexuality:
“It caused quite a hubbub online. And I just wanted to make it clear that the possibility is there.
“I would have been fine with it; the network would have been fine with it; but we ultimately didn’t do that.
“I can make it official: Daryl Dixon is actually straight.”
Kirkman did add some news that may be of consolation to queer fans of ‘The Walking Dead’: “Coming back in our next half of the season we are going to be introducing a very prominent gay character from the comics that’ll be debuting.” he said.
