Norman Reedus

Early life, family and education

Norman Mark Reedus was born on 6 January 1969 in Hollywood, Florida, the son of Marianne (née Yarber), a teacher and former Playboy bunny, His parents divorced when he was young. He has a sister, Leslie.

As a teen, Reedus lived in Japan with his mother. He attended Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas, for a semester.

Career

Reedus worked at a Harley-Davidson shop in Venice, Los Angeles, California, and contributed artwork to various shows as a painter, photographer, sculptor, and video artist. He first acted in the play Maps for Drowners at the Tiffany Theater on Sunset Boulevard.

Film and television

Reedus played Jeremy in his major film debut Mimic and Mac in Giovanni Rodriguez's Red Canyon. He played Murphy MacManus in the 1999 film The Boondock Saints. In 2005, he starred in as the main protagonist the hour-long "Cigarette Burns", a John Carpenter-directed episode of Masters of Horror, in which his character seeks a uniquely cursed lost film about an imprisoned fallen angel. He reprised the role of MacManus in the 2009 sequel The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day. He played Scud in Blade II. He guest-starred in Charmed as Nate, the boyfriend of Paige (Rose McGowan). Reedus starred in Hello Herman, which opened nationwide and on-demand on June 7, 2013. Reedus stars in the reality series Ride with Norman Reedus, which premiered in June 2016. Most recently, he started Bigbaldhead Productions with an overall deal at AMC.

Reedus played Daniel Pine in the 2025 John Wick spin-off, Ballerina, alongside Keanu Reeves and Ana de Armas. In March 2024, Thunder Road Films, Dragonfly Films and Impossible Dream Entertainment announced a "reimagining" of The Boondock Saints, with Reedus and co-star Sean Patrick Flanery reprising their roles from the first two films and serving as executive producers, although Troy Duffy would not return as director for the third film; instead, he plans to write a series of novels.

''The Walking Dead''

In 2010, Reedus began playing Daryl Dixon in the AMC television series The Walking Dead, a horror drama about a group of friends and family members who fight to survive in a violent apocalyptic world populated with flesh-eating zombies and the few surviving humans. The character was not originally in the comic book series of the same name, but was created specifically for Reedus after his audition for the character of Merle Dixon. The Walking Dead comic creator Robert Kirkman feels "absolutely blessed Reedus has honored the show with his presence, and the way he has come in and taken over that role and defined Daryl Dixon. A lot of Reedus's portrayal of the character in the first season inspired all the writers to do what we did with him in the second season. We love writing him and end up doing cool stuff with him." The drama has evolved into the highest-rated in cable history, smashing all previous records. Reedus was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance and has overall received critical acclaim for the role.

Reedus reprised his role of Daryl as the lead of a spin-off series centered on his character, following the conclusion of the 11th and final season of The Walking Dead. Angela Kang is the showrunner for the series, which debuted in September 2023.

Modeling, music videos, and art

Reedus has modeled for Prada, Yohji Yamamoto, Alessandro Dell'Acqua, Durban, Levi's, Lexus, and Morgenthal Fredrics. In 2015, Reedus posed for a Cruelty Free International advertisement in support of ending cosmetic tests on animals.

In the mid-1990s, while working as a model, Reedus appeared in the music videos for "Wicked as It Seems" by Keith Richards, "Violently Happy" by Björk, "Flat Top" by Goo Goo Dolls, "Cat's in the Cradle" covered by Ugly Kid Joe, "Strange Currencies" by R.E.M., and "Fake Plastic Trees" by Radiohead. In 1999, he appeared in the video for "Mean to Me" by Tonic. Since achieving fame as an actor, he has also appeared in the videos for "Judas" by Lady Gaga, "Sun Down" by Tricky (feat. Tirzah), "Gypsy Woman" by Hilary Duff, "No Cities to Love" by Sleater-Kinney, and "Curse of the Blackened Eye" by Orville Peck.

Reedus is also a painter, sculptor, and photographer who has shown his artwork in galleries in New York City, Barcelona, Berlin, and Frankfurt. He released a book of photography on October 31, 2013, called The Sun's Coming Up... Like a Big Bald Head. In September 2014, Reedus announced a fan-art compilation called Thanks for All the Niceness.

Video games

He was set to star in Hideo Kojima and Guillermo del Toro's reboot horror game Silent Hills, but Kojima left Konami and the game was canceled in 2015. Reedus reunited with Kojima to star in the videogame Death Stranding, released in 2019, where he takes the role of Sam Porter Bridges, the protagonist of the game, a courier tasked with reconnecting a post-apocalyptic United States. Reedus reprises his role in the game's sequel, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, which was released in 2025.

Reedus has also reprised his role as Daryl Dixon in the 2013 video game The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct, which is based on the television series, and has additionally provided his likeness as Daryl for Fortnite Battle Royale, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, and Dead by Daylight.

Author

In 2022, Reedus released his debut novel The Ravaged.

Personal life

Reedus was in a five-year relationship with Danish-Peruvian ex–Victoria's Secret Angel and supermodel Helena Christensen from 1998 to 2003. Despite reports to the contrary, the two were never married. Together they have a son, Mingus, born in 1999. They have remained friends and shared joint custody of their son.

Reedus owns part of the restaurant chain Nic and Normans.

In February 2005, Reedus sustained a head injury when a truck collided with his car in Germany. His nose was reconstructed with the aid of four screws and his left eye socket with titanium.

In 2015, during the filming of Sky, Reedus met German actress Diane Kruger; the two were first seen together as a couple in July 2016. In November 2018, Kruger gave birth to their daughter, his second and her first child.

Reedus has lived in New York City since 1997.

In August 2025, his son Mingus was arrested in New York City and charged with third-degree assault, assault recklessly causing injury, criminal obstruction of breathing, second-degree harassment and aggravated harassment after he allegedly assaulted a woman in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood. Prior to this, Mingus had previously pled guilty in 2022 to assaulting a woman.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Music videos

Awards and nominations

References

References

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