Why Jeffrey Dean Morgan Will Make the Perfect Negan on The 'Walking Dead'

Today is my birthday, and what a great present it was to wake up to the news that one of my new favorite shows, The Walking Dead, has made a casting announcement regarding one of my favorite actors. It was announced last night that Jeffrey Dean Morgan had been cast as the sociopathic character Negan, who is the feared leader of a group of survivors called the Saviors. This group of survivors offer protection from the zombie horde, but at a cost of supplies from the communities they offer to protect. Negan is fierce and unrelenting when it comes to getting his point conveyed, although at times he has also shown reasonable mercy if he believes that he can find usefulness in those that he spares.

Negan is a character who enjoys provocation, games of power and tests of willpower. The stronger the resistance to his authority, the more he enjoys the challenge of enforcing his will. As villains go, Negan brings a level of psychological advantage to most challenges as he appreciates his opposition's will and intentions. He believes that he will always overcome because of this characteristic.

Through the comics, Negan has shown himself to be smart, cunning, ruthless and everything you'd expect to find in a great antagonist, which makes his casting choice even better as we're set to see him guest star in the finale of Season 6 and become a regular through Season 7.

Now, as I stated above, Jeffrey Dean Morgan is one of my favorite actors, and finding out that he will be portraying a character like Negan gave me goosebumps just thinking about it. He is perfect for the role and here's why:

His Acting Range

Over the years, Morgan has brought to life many characters across a wide range of genres. He's brought to life a loving but distant father as John Winchester in Supernatural. He's given us the brutal vigilante as The Comedian in Watchmen. He's brought us the defacto leader, Clay, in The Losers, and he's even brought us the lovable character Denny Duquette in Grey's Anatomy.

He's shown us countless times that he has an incredible ability to build characters from the ground up as well as truly embrace a well-defined character. This ability is something that will surely aid in his portrayal of Negan, ultimately leaving us with a memorable performance as he has done in his many other roles.

His Appearance And Mannerisms

If there is one actor that just simply looks the part of Negan, it's Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Apart from the missing chin dimple, Morgan looks the part with the squared features and chiseled jawline as well as the charming and devious smile. His appearance is one of the more clear-cut reasons why he's the perfect choice to portray Negan.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan has the 'look' of someone who carries power and respect, but could ultimately snap at any moment with an emotional outburst; again, perfectly matching what we know about the character of Negan.

Ultimately, it all boils down to Negan being a smart and psychopathic monster, and watching Jeffrey Dean Morgan play various aspects of sociopath/psychopath over the years in his various other roles, makes me truly believe that we are going to see something incredible when he is introduced.