At this point, it's tough to imagine anyone other than Jeffrey Dean Morgan playing the role of Negan on The Walking Dead. But of course he wasn't the only option in front of the producers when they were looking for someone to play the guy who would introduce himself on the show by using a barbed wire-wrapped baseball bat to bash the brains out of two beloved characters.
Henry Rollins, who was the physical inspiration for the way artist Charlie Adlard drew Negan in the comic book source material, auditioned for the role. There was a rumor that Timothy Olyphant auditioned, but Olyphant has denied that. Matt Dillon also reportedly auditioned. There was some behind-the-scenes talk of Jon Hamm or Garret Dillahunt (who went on to join the cast of Fear the Walking Dead) playing the character.
But the name of the actor who says he was the true runner-up has never been mentioned. That actor is Matthew Lillard, and during an appearance at Walker Stalker Con in Atlanta Lillard even said the role was his "for less than five minutes."
As transcribed by FanFest, Lillard told the Walker Stalker audience that
I got a call. They said they want you to audition for The Walking Dead. It’s a big part. I’m like okay cool. I didn’t watch the show, sorry. So I went in to audition and they loved it. They were like wow they really loved it you’re in the running for this part. I’m like oh that’s great. It usually means it’s going to somebody else. And they were like hey they want you to come back and do it again. They don’t want you to be as funny, they want you to be a little more dramatic. I was like okay. So I went back in and did it again. And they were in Atlanta and I was working and doing the audition in LA. So they were like it’s between you and another guy and they want you to come in one more time. And they want you to come in one more time and they want to see if you can do both of them at the same time. Funny and dramatic."
According to Lillard, the casting directors wanted him for Negan but the offer was already out to Morgan – who was apparently taking his time responding. Morgan took so long that the casting directors called his agent and said they were moving on. To Lillard. And that's when Morgan accepted the role.
Of course, that's all Lillard's side of the story. Morgan hasn't commented.
I can't picture what a Matthew Lillard version of Negan would have been like, I've never seen him play a character who even came close to Negan. I know he can be funny, but I'm not sure about him being able to control a situation in a threatening way.
Morgan certainly pulled it off, and can still be seen playing Negan on The Walking Dead, Sunday nights on AMC.