Walking Dead: this line that an actor in the series refused to utter

Since his departure from the series during the mid-season 9 finale, Tom Payne has several times in the past expressed his disappointment with the turn taken by his character Jesus (real name, Paul Monroe) in The Walking Dead.

Recently invited by the convention Fandemic Tour in Atlanta (where the series is actually filming), the British actor thus returned to the conditions of his departure, reiterating his disappointment. “Since we don’t get the scripts in advance, I read the comic book to prepare for the role. I was really excited to shoot all that cool stuff, especially during the final battle. But nothing none of that was done on the show.”

Disappointed that his character has been relegated to the background, despite intense preparation for martial arts, Tom Payne has also revealed that he categorically refused to utter a line yet present in the scenario of the eighth season finale. This momentous moment saw Rick and Maggie turn their backs, after the sheriff’s decision to spare Negan despite his bloody crimes.

Season 8 thus ended with a hostile statement from Maggie, marking a break with Rick Grimes’ group in Alexandria. An approach supported by Daryl, and which should also have included Jesus among its members. What Tom Payne did not accept, judging that this scene would go against the evolution of the character in this season.

They wanted me to say ‘yes’ when Jesus spent the whole season sparing Negan and avoiding the fight […] I simply refused to do so. I didn’t say the line as it was written.

Did this decision precipitate the death of Jesus the following season? Still, Tom Payne is not the only actor in The Walking Dead to have refused to utter a line written by the scriptwriters of the show; a few months ago, Jeffrey Dean Morgan had indeed confessed to having sought to modify – in vain – a despicable line uttered by Negan against Glenn, one of his victims in season 7 …