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‘The Walking Dead’: Norman Reedus Made Cassady McClincy Cry Due To Improvised Scene

Norman Reedus making fans cry at a convention isn’t unusual, as they are overjoyed and excited in meet The Walking Dead actor. However, making a cast mate doesn’t happen very often and he was able to do just that to Cassady McCincy, according to ‘The Walking Dead Facts and Easter Eggs.’

This season, in episode four, ‘Silence the Whisperers,’ Reedus (Daryl) made actress Cassady McClincy (Lydia) emotional and cry. In a moment of improvisation, Reedus pulled McCincy in for a hug after her character had expressed that her father had protected her. This moment caught McClincy off guard yet felt so real that she was overcome with emotion. Reedus’ character was also abused as a child, so the moment was one for Daryl and Lydia to connect and bond.

In a February article with Entertainment Weekly, Reedus discussed Daryl’s backstory, “Daryl can take a hit. And he gets it. He’s like, ‘If I was a wild girl who grew up in this world and had a mother like Alpha, I would be a wild animal too,’” said Reedus.

“Daryl has that side of him, so he’s not really bothered by the fact that she took a swipe at him, but that whole first thing where he’s dragging her out of the cell, that’s all an act. He’s not taking her up there to kill her. He wants her to think that he’s doing that, but that’s to get Henry (Matt Lintz) involved in the conversation. Once that happens, he lets her go.”

'The Walking Dead': Norman Reedus Made Cassady McClincy Cry Due To Improvised Scene

“He caught a glimpse of the switch marks on her arm, so when she does it, he grabs her arm and he pulls the sleeve down. He’s like, ‘I knew it. I know what that looks like,’ because Daryl was an abused kid as well,” Reedus said.

“He knows what a birch tree switch can do to an arm, what it looks like — so when he catches a glimpse of it, he’s pulling down the sleeve to let her know that he knows what that is. Then he takes it a step further by bringing the birch tree down there just to see if she notices what that is, but it’s mostly to let her know that he knows. Now once you break that ice, you can start to have a conversation. She’s not going to take that well. She’s not going to just cry in the corner. She’s going to keep on fighting, which is what Daryl would’ve done too.”

Reedus previously improvised another scene involving McClincy. In Season 9, when Lydia was taken prisoner, Reedus did not get involved with Lydia’s questioning by Tara (Alanna Masterson) and Michonne (Danai Gurira). Instead, Reedus had Daryl stand outside the jail cell instead of being in the cell with Lydia.

What do you think of Norman Reedus’ choices to improvise in these scenes? What are your thoughts on the Daryl and Lydia relationship? Is it similar to a father and daughter relationship?

Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

3 thoughts on “‘The Walking Dead’: Norman Reedus Made Cassady McClincy Cry Due To Improvised Scene

  1. Norman Reedus is an extremely versatile actor and very talented. I love it when he acts from the gut and heart! I am always in Daryls corner!

  2. I like when Norman improvises during a scene. I think it makes it more believable, it’s more natural.

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