Women love Norman Reedus as Daryl on The Walking Dead but the feeling may not be mutual. Series creator Robert Kirkman addressed his sexuality in response to a fan mail question in The Walking Dead #130. He assured fans that AMC would be fully behind the possibility of a gay character. In fact, they already have one. Lee Pace plays a bisexual man on Halt and Catch Fire.
“All that I cay say is that it’s been discussed,” Kirkman replied. “We have very specific ideas about Daryl’s sexuality (or the seeming lack thereof), and if there’s ever a quiet period in the show where he’s not constantly distracted by crossbowing… we’ll tackle it in the show.”
That’s not likely to be anytime soon, what with them having to escape Terminus and escort Eugene (Josh McDermitt) to Washington D.C. in season 5.
It won’t happen until season 7 Reedus and Steven Yeun joked during an appearance on Conan. Yeun explained that Daryl and Glenn would hook up after falling on each other and accidentally kissing. Reedus held Yeun’s hand and said they would have “cockfights” in the woods.
While it seemed farcical at the time, perhaps it was an attempt to test the audience’s reaction and acclimatize them to the possibility of a gay character. Reedus would presumably know his character’s sexual preference. If Daryl is gay, it won’t have any practical effect on the story without a love interest. The obvious choice would be the leader of Terminus, Gareth (Andrew J. West). After all, we know he likes to eat meat.
