Now coming into its seventh season, The Walking Dead, is one of the most popular shows currently on television. This should come as no surprise, since there are many reasons for the zombie apocalypse striking a chord with viewers. The show is based on an already popular comic book series, the writing is great, and of course, the main characters are more than likable. One of the most beloved characters on the show, though, is the crossbow toting, motorcycle driving, Daryl Dixon, who is played by none other than Norman Reedus.

Although Reedus has been in the business for some time, most people will forever remember him as Daryl from The Walking Dead. Avid fans of the show know a lot about Daryl, but that doesn't necessarily mean they know the man behind the character. Here are 15 things you didn't know about Norman Reedus.

15 Daryl exists solely due to Reedus

Any loyal fan of The Walking Dead knows that the character Daryl Dixon is not found in the comic series. So of course, it was created solely for the TV show. Most sources will tell you that Daryl was created for Norman Reedus after producers were impressed by his audition for Merle, Daryl's older brother in the show. Well, that's partly true. Reedus cleared up any rumors in an interview. He said that he got obsessed with a zombie apocalypse script that came up in 2010, but heard that the part of Merle, which he was interested in, had already been cast. He asked to audition, simply to try and get a guest spot on the show that he so admired. Two different times, he was given Merle's lines to read. The original showrunner, Frank Darabont, liked Reedus so much that he developed the character of Daryl just for him, and of course, the rest is history.

14 He has appeared in seven music videos

According to his IMDB page, Reedus has been acting since the late 1990s. While The Walking Dead is what made him a familiar face in many households, he's not totally unrecognizable. You might not have watched some of the darker films he's acted in, but you may recognize him from MTV of all places. He has appeared in a total of seven music videos. These were for songs by the Goo Goo Dolls, Ugly Kid Joe, R.E.M., Radiohead, Björk, Keith Richards, and most recently, Lady Gaga.

The video to the controversial song "Judas" by Lady Gaga came out in 2011, and featured Reedus playing the part of Judas. Keeping in line with the stereotypical character for Reedus, the character of Judas rides up in a motorcycle gang at the beginning of the video. In an interview with GQ, Reedus said that he did most of the videos before he was established in the business. He thought they were a fun way to help pay the rent.

13 He has worked as a model

If you were surprised to know that Reedus was in a handful of music videos, then you'll be even more surprised to find out that he worked as a model, too. That's not to say that he's not good-looking, because we all know he is, but he just doesn't seem like the modeling type. Not only that, but he did some high-end modeling work for brands like Prada and Lexus. This started when Miuccia Prada saw some photos of him taken by Ellen von Unwerth on the movie set for Six Ways to Sunday. Reedus said he hated modeling. Although it wasn't his forte or something he pursued, he was obviously pretty good at the gig. Reedus has modeled for Prada, Alessandro Dell'Acqua, Durban, Levi's, Lexus, and Morgenthal Fredrics.

12 He played competitive youth tennis

If you can't picture Reedus being a model, then you really will have a hard time picturing him as a competitive tennis player. It happened, though. In his preteen years, Reedus traveled with a coach and played on the youth tennis tour. He even practiced in a group with Andre Agassi who went on to become a great tennis player. Reedus eventually quit of course, saying that he wasn't as talented as someone like Agassi, nor was he driven enough to pursue the sport. Then, he sprained his ankle before too long and decided to give it up. He remembers sitting in a hotel with his ankle in an ice bucket, thinking of how the sport wasn't fun to him. After that incident, he left and didn't look back.

11 He was in a band called Vicious Prick

It's funny how people can hide somewhat embarrassing moments about their lives until they get in the spotlight. Then everything comes out in the open. Like Reedus' stint on the competitive youth tennis team. He doesn't seem as much embarrassed about playing tennis though as he is about his school punk rock band, Vicious Prick. Reedus said the band was terrible and that the coolest thing about it was the logo. According to Reedus, the logo was an anarchy sign turned upside down with a "P" for "Prick" incorporated into the design. As for the music, he said they didn't do much more than cover a few songs by Black Flag. Apparently, the band was mentioned in a short film, Meet Me in Berlin, which fictionalized a part of Reedus' life. Reedus acted in the film as well.

10 He has a film production company

Beyond acting and other random careers Reedus has delved in, he is also an accomplished artist with paintings, photography, and sculptures. He also has put his artistry to work behind the scenes by creating short movies of his own. Reedus even has his own production company called Big Bald Head. Through the website, you can purchase all three short films made by the artist as well as explore his photography and purchase souvenirs of Daryl.

It's evident that Reedus is talented, but why name his company Big Bald Head? He is certainly not bald. He credits the idea for the name to a Laurie Anderson concert he attended as a child with his mother. The singer came onstage wearing a glow-in-the-dark suit, holding a glow-in-the-dark violin, and said, "The sun's coming up like a big bald head." He remembered that line spoken by Anderson in concert, which became not only the inspiration for his company but also the exact title for Reedus' photo book.

9 He has a titanium eye socket

You wouldn't know it just by looking at Reedus, but his left eye socket is made of titanium. This is all due to injuries from a bad car accident in 2005. It happened in Belin after an R.E.M. concert. Reedus was in town to receive a rising star award at the film festival, when Michael Stripe of R.E.M. asked if he wanted to come to the concert there. Reedus went, and Stripe lent Reedus his driver and car to get back to the hotel. Unfortunately, he never made it, because the car was struck by an 18-wheeler. He flew through the window and into the street. Reedus claimed that his face looked so bad that he wouldn't even allow his mom to come visit him for a while. Since he wouldn't let anyone visit, Reedus used his time to plan a short movie, using toy soldiers to set the scenes. In 2007, Reedus acted in Meet Me in Berlin, a short movie that fictionalized his hospital stay following the car wreck. Though based on his experience, he said the dialogue was mostly made up.

Although Reedus recovered and gained back his stellar good looks, he still has a few battle scars. The titanium eye socket may not be noticeable to anyone looking on, but he still feels it. He said that he still gets headaches every time the weather is really hot or really cold from the metal inside this face. If you ever see him poking at his top lip, that's due to a habit that he developed during recovery. His top lip was the first part of his injured face to regain any feeling.

8 His mom was a Playboy Bunny

Perhaps Reedus' dabbling in many different jobs comes from his mom having many careers herself. Reedus admits that his mom got mad at him once for mentioning her Playboy Bunny days in an interview. Marianne Yarber Reedus was obviously pretty as is evidenced by photos of her in her younger days. That doesn't mean she wants Playboy to be her calling card, though. Reedus got a little upset after the interview as well, because he mentioned that Marianne had worn many other hats in addition to bunny ears, but the published dialogue only mentioned the Playboy part.

Almost as interesting as her stint as a Playboy Bunny was that she once sold coffins. Reedus said she referred to them as "eternal beds." She also did a good bit of work with youth too, from teaching in inner cities to running an orphanage. As for teaching, her resume includes kindergarten teacher in Harlem, high school teacher in the Bronx, and heading up a school in Kurdistan.

7 He has a son with fashion model, Helena Christensen

While Reedus is certainly proud of his own mom, he is even prouder of his son. That's right, ladies—he's a father. Not only does he have a son, but he has a son with a supermodel. Helena Christensen is a former Victoria's Secret model and a former beauty queen, having reigned as Miss Denmark in 1986. The two were a couple for four years and had a son named Mingus born in 1999. Reedus said that he has dated other models too, but none as seriously as Helena.

As you can imagine, Mingus, now 15, is a looker like both of his parents. But if you're expecting to see him in show business, don't hold your breath. Reedus said he would support Mingus if he decided to do so, but that Mingus has turned down offers to act, including an offer from Disney. While his parents have been good at shielding him from the media, that doesn't do anything for his social life. Reedus said Mingus can't even create a personal Facebook account for all the fake accounts out there in his name. Poor kid!

6 He was friends with Heath Ledger

Reedus still has a few films in the works and with good reason as to why one of them hasn't yet been made. According to Reedus, Heath Ledger was the only actor who agreed to star in the biographical story of a New York drag queen. It obviously was hard finding someone willing to play a masculine transvestite for I Was A White Slave In Harlem. Unfortunately, Heath of course passed away before the film was ever made. When asked why he didn't just play the part, Reedus said he wanted to direct it. This would be a feature-length film, and he didn't want to try and direct a longer piece for the first time while also acting in it.

Reedus said that Heath and he were friends, but there is actually more talk of Christensen being friends with Heath Ledger than him. So much so, that Christensen found the need to set rumors straight that she and Ledger were just friends and had never dated.

5 He collects weird things

It's not unusual for an actor to keep mementos from jobs he or she has worked, but Reedus takes it to a whole new level. Though that might be expected of someone who admits to owning more than 50 masks. You would expect Reedus to have something like Daryl's arrows in his home arsenal, but not the ponytail of a former cast member. It turns out that Scott Wilson, who played Hershel on The Walking Dead, sent Reedus his ponytail after the character of Hershel was killed off the show. Reedus keeps it in his refrigerator, alongside Andrew Lincoln's beard! Remember when the group made it to Alexandria and they actually had running water and power? Rick does too, because that's when he got to shave his beard. Reedus kept those clippings as a party favor of sorts from filming that episode. Beyond masks and hair, he often keeps gifts received from fans of the show, including oddly enough breast implants.

4 Fans sent him breast implants

While Reedus receives tons of fan mail, including some interesting gifts, none can compare to the intimate weirdness in receiving a woman's breast implant. It came to him in a box with a note that read, "You seemed depressed." Reedus has no idea why the woman thought he was depressed, but he did admit that it cheered him up. Steven Yeun, who plays Glenn, happened to be outside of Reedus' trailer when he opened the breast implant gift. Reedus opened the door and threw it on Yeun. No doubt that cheered him up even more. After throwing the implant at Yeun, Reedus decided to keep it and claims that it makes a great cell phone cradle. Since that package arrived, he has received another breast implant to make a pair. He said that after receiving the second implant, he thinks he should collect them. Then he joked about lying his head on a big pile of breast implants. Sounds like a neat scene idea for The Walking Dead.

3 A fan once bit him

Diehard fans love to send their celebrity crushes gifts, and even more devoted fans dream of one day meeting the stars. But sometimes when a person finally gets a chance to meet someone famous he or she admires, that person can forget how to behave. This was the case for a woman who finally got her chance to meet Norman Reedus at Walker Stalker Con. Reedus explained what happened when he appeared as a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live! It happened while she was taking a picture with Reedus and Michael Rooker, who played the part of Merle, Daryl's older brother. She howled like a wolf and then bit him on the chest before some police officers tackled her and took her away. The lady later apologized to him on social media, stating in her post that she was then banned from the rest of the convention. Possibly more disturbing than the fact that she bit Reedus was the fact that she admitted to pretending he was her husband. Maybe she's the one behind at least one of the breast implants?

2 The Walking Dead made him a vegetarian

Reedus is the first to admit that The Walking Dead is a great gig. He enjoys his coworkers and work environment, even to the point of having a home in the woods in Georgia where he lives during filming season. One thing the show has ruined for him though is his appetite. After watching realistic special effects of body parts slashed and bitten into by walkers, he's become a vegetarian. Maybe that's because the walkers really are eating flesh, even if it is just hams soaked in sauce. Regardless, watching walkers enjoy a blood fest day after day has turned several of the cast and crew into vegetarians. So much so that most of the food now served on set is meatless. While the special effects are very convincing, they obviously weren't bad enough to cause Reedus to turn down the breast implants.

1 He has his own travel show

AMC is not clueless to the fact that many fans of The Walking Dead are also fans of Daryl. And next to his crossbow, Daryl is best known for always driving a motorcycle. This is why it should come as no surprise that AMC would have Reedus star in his own travel show. Ride with Norman Reedus follows the bike enthusiast on the open road as he rides with local bikers and checks out local cultures. Each episode had Reedus riding with a companion, whether it's someone he knows personally or someone with a common interest in bikes.

This show is perfect for Reedus as he has always loved bikes. Before acting, he worked in a bike shop, and he actually requested that his character ride a motorcycle in the show. While fans of Reedus and fans of motorcycles alike seem excited about the show, we can’t help but worry a little bit. Of course, the creation of the show could be seen as a way to capitalize on Reedus fans and feed their appetite for wanting more "Daryl," but this could also signify the end of Daryl and serve as a way of pacifying fans after the character has ended. Who knows?

Sources: whatculture.com, designntrend.com, imdb.com, gq.com, reedusfamily.tumblr.com, bigbaldhead.com, ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com, comicbook.com, cinemablend.com, vulture.com, people.com, celebuzz.com, stupidcelebrities.net, amc.com