Fan-favorite Walking Dead actors Norman Reedus and Andrew Lincoln, who portray Daryl Dixon and Rick Grimes, provided the fandom with off-screen entertainment in the form of a years-long prank war. In 2024, Reedus shared some inside information regarding two pranks that never came to fruition.
At the 2024 NYCC event, Reedus shared that one prank he always wanted to pull on Lincoln was a fake script, delivered only to him, featuring the death of Rick Grimes. This was during a conversation with TWD director and SFX guru Greg Nicotero about talking to actors when they received the news that their character was scheduled to die.
This triggered Reedus' memory of the fake Rick script, "Do you remember when I was begging everybody to put out a script where Andy (Rick) dies?" It was clear on whether or not this prank was actually pulled off.
The other, much more hilarious prank that Reedus reminisced about was a bit more involved. This was planned during the pandemic, when actors were required to be tested frequently, so a visit to the medical trailer was a common occurrence. Reedus elisted producer Tom Luse to make a poster of a man giving himself an anal swab.
He also had Luse make a giant Q-tip, to make the prank even more hilarious. The doctor was supposed to leave Lincoln alone where he would then see the poster and the giant Q-tip. This would have been extremely funny, if only it ever happened. Sadly, due to scheduling this one was never executed.
Check out the clip below, and view the entire panel here courtesy of Popverse.
One of the best pranks Reedus was able to pull on Lincoln was the glitter bomb in his car. Imagine filming in the hot and humid whether of a Georgia summer, then getting into your car to blast the AC to cool off, but instead you are met by glitter showering your sweaty body. That stuff never fully goes away!
Another time Reedus filled Lincoln's trailer with live chickens, another time he put an airbrushed Daryl Dixon license plate on his car, and it took Lincoln weeks to notice. He also convinced Lincoln that he didn't want him to appear on his motorcycle travel show, Ride with Norman Reedus, but preferred to have Lincoln's father-in-law, Ian Anderson, from Jethro Tull.
In 2014, Lincoln was able to pull a fantastic scare on his co-star. Enlisting the help of Nicotero, and zombie prankster Nick Santonastasso, they got him good! Watch it below.
The pranks were all in good fun, and now that Reedus and Lincoln have stopped filming together, it's been pretty quiet regarding the pranks. Hopefully, they are able to find ways to continue this tradition.
Follow Undead Walking on Twitter and Facebook and sign up for the once-daily Undead Walking newsletter to avoid missing out on everything inThe Walking Dead universe.