Norman Reedus was born in Hollywood, Florida, to Marianne (Yarber), a teacher, and Norman Reedus. He is of Italian (from his paternal grandmother), English, Scottish, and Irish descent.
Norman's first film was in 1997 the Guillermo del Toro horror thriller film Mimic, where he played the character Jeremy. He has also played roles in the films Floating, Six Ways to Sunday, Deuces Wild, Blade II, Gossip, 8mm, American Gangster, Hero Wanted and Moscow Chill. In 2005 he had a bit-part in the Christian Alvart German film Antibodies as a German Polizist (policeman). In 2008 he starred in the film Red Canyon.
Norman is perhaps best known for playing the role of Murphy MacManus in the 1999 movie The Boondock Saints opposite Sean Patrick Flanery and Willem Dafoe. He also starred opposite Flanery in the sequel 2009 The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day. Reedus at the 2012 Comic-Con in San Diego.
As of 2010 he stars as Daryl Dixon in the AMC television series The Walking Dead. The character was not originally in the comic book series of the same name, but was created specifically for Reedus after his audition for the character of Merle Dixon. The Walking Dead comic creator Robert Kirkman has stated he feels "absolutely blessed [Reedus] has honored the show with his presence, and the way he has come in and taken over that role and defined Daryl Dixon. A lot of Norman's portrayal of the character in the first season inspired all the writers to do what we did with him in the second season. We love writing him and end up doing cool stuff with him."
