TWD's Josh McDermitt Knows He Resembles Danny McBride (& Wants To Play His Brother)
Like most actors, Josh McDermitt pulls his inspiration from many different places. The man best known for playing the inept but loyal Eugene Porter on AMC's "The Walking Dead" openly said that he used his own brother as the basis for the character, particularly his flat, monotone voice. But though the survivor with the Tennessee top hat is, without a doubt McDermitt's best-known role, he has many other acting credits to his name.
It may come as a surprise to some that most of them are on the more comedic end of the spectrum too. In fact, one of McDermitt's first television appearances was in 2006 on "Last Comic Standing." He also was part of the main cast of the short-lived TV Land sitcom "Retired at 35." So when Redditor u/Junibao told McDermitt during his AMA that he bears a resemblance to the comedic actor, writer, and producer Danny McBride, it should probably come as no surprise that McDermitt said he'd heard it before.
"Especially when I had the mullet," wrote McDermitt. "And a lot of people say I should play his brother. I would absolutely love to. I think Danny McBride is hilarious." No word on what McBride might think of that idea. Or McDermitt's actual brother, for that matter.
He says he's also been compared to Philip Seymour Hoffman
One interesting wrinkle in this, however, is that Josh McDermitt's resemblance to Danny McBride is not always so evident. Not only does McDermitt not normally have a mullet, he often wears it blond. This means that, normally, he looks like an entirely different fellow celebrity. "I never really got that comparison when my hair was blond," he wrote. "When it was blond, I would get compared to Philip Seymour Hoffman (RIP)."
Indeed, in a video for IMDb that saw McDermitt interviewed alongside his "TWD" co-star Norman Reedus, you can clearly see what he looks like with his naturally blond hair. It's quite different, and it's difficult to deny the resemblance to the late, great Hoffman.
Still, we do have to wonder if there's room for a dark-haired McDermitt in a future episode of McBride's "The Righteous Gemstones." If not as Jesse Gemstone's brother (the core of Gemstone offspring has been pretty much solidified by now), then perhaps some other forgotten or neglected relative looking to latch onto the dysfunctional megachurch family's ill-gotten fortune? It's probably a bit late for him to show up in Season 3, but that wouldn't necessarily prohibit him from showing up in future seasons.