There following article is featured with the photo shoot as well. I’m slowly catching up to all the updates I’ve missed. Sorry about that guys!

Over tomato soup on an icy night in New York’s lower east side, actor Norman Reedus is talking about road kill. He spares few details recounting the several dead animals he found along the highway while shooting the zombie thriller TV show The Walking Dead in Georgia. We’re huddled in the back of the narrow restaurant, Bread, which Reedus insists has the best soup in the city. The more graphic his descriptions—details of a moose he saw hit by a car—the harder it is for me to spoon down the chunky red broth.

The depiction sounds like a scene straight out of The Walking Dead, AMC’s original series, in which the Florida-born actor plays the crossbow-wielding, zombie-crushing, squirrel-hunting hothead Daryl Dixon. With the next half of the second season premiering February 12, the hit showhas garnered a cult following almost overnight, as has Reedus’ character, which was penned specifically for him. Daryl is a redneck with an unreliable temper and a tendency to think with his fists, obliterating zombies so effortlessly it could be a sport.

“He was written very angry and just like, ‘Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you,’” Reedus explains of Daryl. In all good fiction, however, our protagonists will be multidimensional and as The Walking Dead has progressed, we’ve seen a more complex Dixon, who comes into his own as a protector to a modest group of apocalypse survivors navigating through an unfamiliar world of flesh-eating freaks. “I’m trying to play him as a virgin who was constantly put down and had to fight for everything, as someone with a huge chip on his shoulder,” he suggests of Daryl’s personality. “In television, you kind of have to plant these little seeds and hope that those trees bear fruit. So I’m constantly trying to look for little moments and make this guy evolve.”

It’s hard to see someone as good looking as Reedus—a former Prada model—as virginal. But for two seasons now, the actor has uncannily channeled this loner zombie combatant, proving to be his most revered and strongest performance to date. In the past, he’s portrayed a hitman and Debbie Harry’s son in Six Ways to Sunday; an introverted artist in Gossip; a cocky convict in 8MM with Nicolas Cage; a chain-smoking weapon maker in Blade II; and last year he even rode a motorcycle next to Lady Gaga in her surreal music video “Judas.” It was his breakout role as the gun slinging Christian vigilante Murphy MacManus in Boondock Saints I and II, however, that put him on the map and earned him a host of ferocious fans.

He insists he doesn’t necessarily gravitate towards violent movies, but those he’s most known for tend to spill a lot of blood—ironic, given his view of mortality. “I have a fear of death. I don’t like the idea of it at all,” Reedus elaborates. “I don’t want to get old and die. My dad died when I was younger. He had a twin brother and I saw him die, too. My mom sold coffins for a little while when I grew up. She called them ‘eternal beds.’”

It was with his mother that Reedus jumped around a lot as a kid, living in places like Spain, England, and Japan before love led him to the West Coast. “I followed a girl that I met in Japan to L.A. But she immediately left me and got married.” He found work at a Harley Davidson shop in Venice, while pursuing a career in studio art, something he’s still passionate about. His acting career began accidentally, when someone at a party suggested he try acting.

Offscreen, Reedus is confidently soft spoken with a slacker drawl, leaning in to talk as if revealing a secret. He’s warm, approachable, and interacts with strangers like they’re old friends. He opens doors, says excuse me and thank you, and leaves generous tips. For the most part, he avoids anything too “Hollywood,” preferring a low profile, despite a five-year marriage with Helena Christensen, which ended in 2003. “We’re very easy with each other,” he says of his relationship with the supermodel, who is the mother of his son, Mingus. Now 12, Mingus is barely able get through The Walking Dead without covering his eyes, but the show has made him popular at school. Some of the older kids recently asked, “Is your dad Daryl Dixon? We love Daryl Dixon!”

Reedus finishes his tomato soup and we’re on to tiramisu, compliments of the house. There’s no more talk of road kill, but instead what’s upcoming. He’s just wrapped Sunlight Jr. where he’s an “asshole” in a love triangle with Matt Dillon and Naomi Watts. He also plans to fit in a horror movie before the third season of The Walking Dead, which begins shooting in April. With all the glorified gore in his onscreen worlds, I wonder what he does for fun, imagining his real life more glamorous than the celibate Daryl Dixon. “Oh, Jesus. I don’t have any fun at all. I really don’t go out that much to be honest. What do I do on a Friday night? I steal tourist’s purses. Break shit. Netflix.com.”

The Walking Dead tells the story of the weeks and months that follow a pandemic zombie apocalypse. County Sheriff Rick Grimes travels with his family and a small group of survivors, constantly in search of a safe and secure home. But the constant pressure of fighting off death on a daily basis takes a heavy toll, sending many to the lowest depths of human cruelty. As Rick struggles to keep his family alive, he will discover that the overwhelming fear of the survivors can be far more dangerous than the mindless walkers roaming the earth.

During the Television Critics Association (TCA) Press Tour, AMC announced that the upcoming third season of The Walking Dead will feature 16, hour long episodes; upping the current release structure by three. The rest of the recent press release can be found below:

“Season two of the critically acclaimed global hit series continues to deliver the strongest telecasts for any drama in basic cable history against Adults 18-49, as well as, top international pay-TV ratings on Fox International Channels’ (FIC) major markets. “The Walking Dead” is based on the comic book series written by Robert Kirkman and published by Image Comics. Glen Mazzara serves as series’ showrunner and executive producer. Kirkman, Gale Anne Hurd, David Alpert and Frank Darabont are executive producers with Greg Nicotero as co-executive producer.

“”The Walking Dead” has received rave reviews from countless critics, both domestic and international, who heralded the series as “above all else, ‘The Walking Dead’ hasn’t lost the most important ingredient in its strangely successful recipe: it’s thrilling” (The Hollywood Reporter), “…with Dead’s riveting cast of characters, the personal dynamics are almost as potent as the gory thrills” (Us Weekly), “‘The Walking Dead’ is a feast. Dig in.” (The Guardian, UK), “It doesn’t even take three minutes to realize that this series is setting standards” (Der Tagesspiegel, Germany).

“”The Walking Dead” secured a 2010 Golden Globe(R) nomination for Best Television Series – Drama and won the 2011 Emmy(R) Award for Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup. The series tells the story of the months and years that follow after a zombie apocalypse. It follows a group of survivors, led by police officer Rick Grimes, who travel in search of a safe and secure home.”

The Walking Dead stars Andrew Lincoln, Jon Bernthal, Sarah Wayne Callies, Laurie Holden, Jeffrey DeMunn, Steven Yeun, Chandler Riggs and Norman Reedus. AMC’s Emmy Award-winning horror drama, based on the acclaimed comic book series by Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard, airs Sunday nights at 9/8c on AMC.

While at the TCA Winter Press Tour, co-stars Melissa McBride, Norman Reedus and Steven Yeun talked about the aftermath of what happened at the barn, how difficult it was to lose a cast member that they thought of as family, that the second half of the season will have a lot more action, the challenge of working in 120 degrees with bugs and zombie guts while wearing the same clothes they’ve had on for three weeks, and how they worry about each script being their last, with the constant danger that their characters are in. Check out what they had to say after the jump, and be aware that there are some spoilers.

[SPOILER WARNING: The following interview may contain spoilers.]

What will the aftermath of that barn scene, and the death of Sophia (Madison Lintz), be?

Norman Reedus: That took a lot of time to shoot. When we come back, we pick up where that left off. It sucked to lose Madison [Lintz]. We really liked her. She was part of our family. We also go in different directions, after that. It’s so devastating. Shane (Jon Bernthal) built that up to a huge point that he tried to make, and it just went horribly wrong. Hershel (Scott Wilson) saw his whole family, who he thought was sick and that he could resurrect, so to speak, massacred in front of his face. Carol (McBride) saw her daughter as a zombie. A lot went down, in so many different directions. It just exploded us off, in all different ways.

Melissa McBride: There will be divisions among the group.

Reedus: There’s a lot to talk about.

Continue to the full interview by clicking here.

“I’m pretty well-versed in crossbow-ness by now, but I’m still figuring out new ways to use it all the time… You can’t not look cool with a crossbow.” — Norman Reedus (Daryl Dixon)

The Walking Dead returns with all-new episodes Sun., Feb. 12 at 9/8c on AMC.

But, following events from Sunday’s midseason finale, Norman Reedus says life in this zombie-filled universe is about to get very dark. Isn’t it already pretty dark, I asked over the phone.

“It’s about to get even darker,” the actor said. “For everybody.”

“Sophia represented this other way of life to Daryl,” Reedus explained, referring to the 12-year old who was revealed to be a walker in the final few moments of the 2011 finale. “She was his hope for a new new beginning. If he could find this little girl, he could put a lot behind him… with that gone, let’s just say Daryl is gonna be really pissed.”

Does her death signal the end of farm life for this cast of survivors?

“I think it’s kaput, yes,” Reedus said.

While The Walking Dead has enjoyed massive ratings, some have criticized the drama for moving too slowly throughout its opening set of season two episodes. Reedus isn’t among them, but he does admit that he prefers action to conversation.

“I’m always moving on set,” Reedus says. “I don’t like to play this character with my two feet in the same spot for very long. I don’t think Daryl is someone who wants to just sit and talk very much. He wants to get out there and do something.”

Fortunately for Reedus and for millions of viewers, there will be plenty of opportunities for just that when season two resumes in February.

“The second half is just crazy,” says the actor. “People are done talking. When we come back, trust me, there’s nothing but fireworks.”

He’s definitely showing more sides of Daryl in Season 2 of the hit series, making the fan favorite both tender and tough. He’s still a loner, but he’s slowly opening up to individuals in the group.

He’s also become a real hero in the face of the zombie apocalypse. While other members of his group are ready to hang up the search for young Sophia, Daryl remains committed to finding Carol’s daughter—most likely because he feels a kinship as the survivor of abuse himself.

“You feel for Daryl,” Reedus told me at the beginning of the season. “He’s just as ferocious as ever, but you understand why he’s not just a nut, he’s not just Merle again.

“He’s a guy that’s just incredibly emotionally and spiritually damaged.”

It’s a standout portrayal by Reedus, one that Andrew Lincoln, who plays Rick Grimes, called “phenomenal.”

“What he’s done with this role is beautiful and bewitching, and really intelligent as well,” Lincoln said in a separate interview. “Norman’s a great, great actor.”

In the two most recent episodes (spoilers if you haven’t seen them), Reedus showed the depth he’s found in Daryl, who last week told Carol a lovely story about the Cherokee Rose and, in Sunday’s “Chupacabra,” went all badass again, pulling an arrow out of his own side to use it to kill a zombie, eating squirrel sushi and making a necklace out of zombie ears.

Read the rest of the article along with the interview here.

The movie revolves around a Florida couple dealing with an unexpected pregnancy while holding minimum wage jobs. The actor will play Naomi Watts’ ex-boyfriend.

Laurie Collyer will be directing with Charlie Corwin and Andrea Roa set to produce. The project starts production in December in Florida.

Sunlight Jr. comes to theaters in 2012 and stars Naomi Watts, Matt Dillon, Norman Reedus. The film is directed by Laurie Collyer.