#taiwan interview

Translation of interview from cnpanyu I translated this from scratch; apologies but some points of the interview do shift topics suddenly. Hopefully it reads coherently. I appreciate any feedback! (EXCLUSIVE) AMC The Walking Dead’s Daryl Dixon in Taiwan; Thoughts of an Unmarried Father The man who plays Daryl Dixon in AMC’s The Walking Dead may not be the show’s male lead but his appearances have increased with each season. 44 year-old Norman Reedus’ popularity is has been soaring; he is also the male lead in Lady Gaga’s music video: “I’m just a Holy Fool, oh baby he’s so cruel, but I’m still in love with Judas, baby.” In 2011, ‘Judas’ captivates the audience with Lady Gaga’s daring move of substituting a gun with a lipstick, using it to caress Norman’s face, before washing his feet. From his wispy stubble to his wild, uncontrollable gaze, Norman Reedus has earned much attention from many. Norman Reedus (NR): I really don’t know what’s attractive about me, really, I mean, I like the this grayish-white part of my stubble. Does that count? I didn’t have it in the beginning, it’s sort of what filming Walking Dead does to me. The more work I do, the more it grows and, it’s from a lot of my characters. In The Walking Dead, Daryl’s crossbow provides an uncanny aim and doesn’t seem to run out of arrows. NR: It’s used for shooting cockroaches with one eye. You can’t shoot a real arrow at the camera for safety reasons, so you’ve got to pretend that there’s an arrow, then CGI is used afterwards to place a real one there. But I have to act out the process of loading it so I let the camera capture me, as if I really shot something, then I pull it out from the walker, hold the arrow, reload, shoot, then wait till the camera stops rolling before I stop. It’s repetitive so I have to fast, like I’m doing a math equation. It’s not like using an AK47 that’ll sweep the area non-stop; like, if there’s a scene with a walker, you’ve got to stay alert and use the crossbow to shoot it, pull out the arrow quickly to kill a walker nearby, then use a knife to stab another walker before taking back the arrow for a reload. As the crossbow is Daryl Dixon’s trademark, one of the fans even made a Kitty version on a handphone case, and Norman took a picture of himself with it. From then on, he has receieved numerous similar Kitty gifts. NR: I’m not going to wear it (a Kitty shirt). I love Hello Kitty. Reporter: Really? NR: Yeah, really. I have a house full of Kitty, ha, like handphone cases, bags, coffee mugs, and different sizes of it wearing a vest and holding the crossbow. While filming Blade 2 in 2001, the production crew rented a riverside house that left a deep impression on him. NR: We filmed till 4 am and it was the first time I saw the place we were going to stay. The walls looked like some sort of weird, monstrous statue staring at the streets and river, as if it was keeping evil at bay. Once you went up the elevator, you’ll reach the square corridor. Every corner has an opaque glass door and I walked past all of them. I was lying on the bed when the door behind me suddenly opened with an explosive bang. It scared me and I immediately called the realtor to ask him whose house it was. He told me that this belonged to a famous pianist in the area, whose wife had died in the river just beside the house. The cameraman told me to put some offerings and music, so I did. And then nothing else happened. Norman has shown his bravery, liked thrillers and horrors even as a kid, so he should be able to handle any Western zombies. However, after seeing a Chinese zombie jumping menacingly towards him, his expression changed, placing the sunglasses as if he was channeling ‘Daryl’ before facing the zombie. Riding a motorcycle just as Daryl did for a grand entrance to his first Taiwan trip, Norman was enthusiastically shaking his fans’ hands and using his handphone to take pictures of everybody. He is also an artist who paints and carves in his free time, and indulging in photography whenever he is too busy. He has stayed in Japan, England, Spain, and is also a scriptwriter for the films he directs. NR: The first time I created something was when I was hospitalised (in 2005), a car accident in Berlin. Got hit by a truck and my left eye socket had to be secured with titanium. At that time, my face was swollen like a hamburger and I thought I couldn’t act anymore. Reporter: That sounds terrifying. Are you alright now? NR: I was hit by a truck and flew out from the front. But (at the hospital) I think I was hyperactive, couldn’t sit still. The first time he wrote a script was also the scariest point of his life. NR: It was terrifying. Those 2 months in the hospital, waiting for the swelling to go down before surgery, then it was waiting again till another operation to reconstruct the face. Went through lots of processes, but I think that the role of a father is a very, very hard lesson. Norman remains single but is a father. His only son, Mingus, is 13 this year and the mother is Victoria’s Secret’s Helena Christensen. They parted ways in 2003 but maintained familial bonds. NR: I think I’m a father who does things the hard and soft way. He isn’t a mischievous kid who plays around, never. Both of us have nothing to hide from each other. He won’t lie to me and I don’t have to give him a stern questioning. I will try to tell him ‘why’ instead. He’s a very sweet kid who gets along. Honestly, if I want to bribe him by bringing him to a toy store and saying, ‘you can buy anything you want’, my son will just take a small toy and tell me he wants that. He’s really a good kid. His precious son has inherited his parents’ photogenic looks. Norman takes about an hour to return to New York from the set. NR: It’s often like this, luckily there’s TV. At first, he didn’t dare to watch The Walking Dead. Then one day, after I fetched him from school, he’s smiling happily and I ask, “why are you so happy today?” It seems like his seniors are asking him if his dad is TWD’s Daryl, and when he said yes, all of them said that they loved Daryl. From then on, my son became popular with them, so he’s become a huge fan of TWD. Kind of like, oh, my dad’s in TWD but it’s nothing, you know. He’s only 13 and he likes to act cool a little. When asked if his son is intending to become a celebrity, Norman mentions that he won’t limit Mingus. From the roles of a killer and a man who fights tooth and nail for life, to being a father, Norman Reedus’ bright smiles have given us a glimpse of the child within, one who is happiest when sharing his precious treasures.