American-born actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan has appeared in numerous renowned movies and TV shows, playing instantly recognizable and diverse roles, including Negan in The Walking Dead and The Comedian in Zack Snyder's 2009 R-rated superhero classic Watchmen. Starting his career in 1991 with Uncaged, Morgan has predominantly spent most of his career on TV, with shows such as Grey's Anatomy, Supernatural, and of course, like previously mentioned, The Walking Dead.
Update June 20, 2023: In honor of the premiere of The Walking Dead: Dead City, this list has been updated with even more great performances from Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
More recently, it's been announced that Morgan will reunite with Supernatural writer Eric Kripke, as well as fellow star Jensen Ackles to star in the upcoming 4th season of The Boys. Between his epic stints on TV, Morgan has appeared in more than 25 movies, including Rampage, Taking Woodstock, and most recently, The Fall. Morgan proves his acting range in his vast filmography, allowing his charisma to shine through in all of his roles while also occasionally hiding that underneath a wholly dark, terrifying, and intimidating performance. Here are Jeffrey Dean Morgan's best performances.
8 The Possession (2012)
2012's The Possession is a good horror movie in its own right, with an interesting story and effective scares, as well as some infamously haunting behind-the-scenes stories. However, Jeffrey Dean Morgan's powerful and charismatic performance as a devoted father who will go to the ends of the earth to help save his possessed daughter helped elevate the run-of-the-mill horror film. Without him, The Possession could have quite easily been forgotten in the weeds of better horror movies of the time.
7 P.S I Love You (2007)
P.S I Love You, for the most part, is a fairly emotional and heartbreaking journey, which has very few moments of hope and joy, centering on the grief-stricken widow Holly who is left a cassette tape by her late husband containing meaningful messages and attempts to begin her life anew. During this journey, Holly meets William, Jeffrey Dean Morgan's character, who is inherently charming and endearing, and provides a much-needed and welcomed sense of happiness and hope to Hilary Swank's main protagonist. Sure, the film may have been slammed by critics upon release, but Morgan's performance helped P.S. I Love You become a celebrated rom-com classic.
6 The Losers (2010)
The Losers is stacked with an all-star cast that includes the likes of future MCU superheroes Zoe Saldaña, Idris Elba, and Chris Evans. In an ensemble as talented as the one in The Losers, it's fairly difficult for anyone to really stand out, but not for Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who still managed to steal the show as the laid-back special forces colonel and leader of the team Clay.
The 2010 comic book adaptation The Losers certainly isn't perfect, but it is a lot of fun, which is mostly thanks to Morgan's hilarious and charismatic performance for which he is now known, as well as his infectious chemistry with the rest of the film's cast.
5 The Salvation (2014)
Before captivating the world with his villainous portrayal of the bat-wielding Negan in The Walking Dead, Morgan embraced his wicked side when he starred as the main antagonist in the 2014 Danish Western The Salvation, facing off against Mads Mikkelsen in the gripping film. After taking revenge against the man who brutally murdered his wife and son, a Danish settler attempting to emigrate to America becomes the target of the stranger's cold-blooded brother (Morgan), who is determined to hunt him down.
Morgan shines in his role as the cruel gang leader and vengeance-fueled Delarue, with his performance being singled out as one of the white-knuckle Western's finest attributes; The Observer wrote, "Best reason to see The Salvation: its chief varmint, played with ornery glint and bristling whiskers by Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who has the sleepy-eyed malignity of vintage western heavy Jack Elam."
4 Grey's Anatomy (2006-2009)
Jeffrey Dean Morgan captured the hearts of audiences everywhere with his phenomenal role as Denny Duquette in the long-running ABC medical drama Grey's Anatomy, in which he appeared as the charming heart transplant patient who caught the eye of surgical intern Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl). Fans of the enduring series couldn't get enough of the pair's endearing romance and playful banter, and Morgan's effortless chemistry with Heigl quickly established the star-crossed lovers as one of the greatest couples to emerge from the show.
Devoted viewers were left emotionally shattered when Denny died following complications from his controversial heart transplant, with many feeling Izzie was robbed of her happy ending. Morgan would make a highly-anticipated but extremely questionable return to the drama for the fifth season, appearing as a ghost that only Izzie can see. The role became one of Morgan's most distinguishable, and he too was devastated by his character's death, revealing on the YouTube series Hot Ones:
"Grey’s Anatomy I knew was something special. That’s the one time that I saw my death coming and I was trying everything I could do to get out of that death...That character, Denny, and that love story with Izzie kind of took the world by storm. I knew how f---ing lucky I was to be there.”
3 Supernatural (2005-2010)
As the father of both Dean and Sam Winchester, John provides for many important, engaging, and emotional storylines that are only accentuated by Jeffrey Dean Morgan's endearing and iconic performance. For most, Supernatural was the first interaction that audiences ever had with Jeffrey Dean Morgan, long before his terrifying turn as Negan, which will be covered later. Morgan made a lasting impression as the headstrong and determined father, seeking revenge for his wife's death, who raised his two sons into the exceptionally gifted monster hunters they are today. That alone makes John Winchester memorable, but with Jeffrey Dean Morgan in the role, it's pure TV gold.
Morgan appeared mostly throughout the first season before his heartbreaking demise at the start of the second season, when sacrificing himself for his sons. Thankfully, this wasn't the last fans saw of John Winchester and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, as the actor made an exciting appearance in the show's huge 300th milestone episode for its 14th season in 2019.
2 Watchmen (2009)
Jeffrey Dean Morgan absolutely nails the role of The Comedian in a worthy adaptation that brilliantly brings the comic book character to life. The cigar-smoking "hero" is a character that comes with many flaws; however, Morgan's fantastic and compelling performance manages to make Eddie Blake a sympathetic character.
Whether you believe Zack Snyder's 2009 superhero film Watchmenis an epic and flawless superhero adaptation or an inconsistent mess, the one thing we can all agree on is Jeffrey Dean Morgan's truly captivating performance as The Comedian.
1 The Walking Dead (2010-2022)
The Walking Dead had seen some pretty terrifying and twisted villains, from The Governor, The Terminus Group, The Whisperers, and of course, the series' Walkers. But no villain is as memorable nor as ruthless as the leader of the Saviors, Negan. Equipped with Lucille, his iconic baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire, Negan made an unforgettably tense and shocking entrance into the show, capturing all our favorite characters before brutally beating Glenn and Abraham to death.
Nonetheless, Negan is one of the series' best villains, mostly for his ruthless nature, disregard for others, playful mannerisms, and just for being one of TV's most deranged and haunting villains. Morgan only makes Negan a more memorable villain, delivering jaw-dropping speeches in a way only Jeffrey Dean Morgan could pull off.
Sure, Negan is most known for being the ruthless villain of the show; however, since then, he has had quite an emotional redemption arc that now puts Negan as one of the best protagonists of the show. Again, this wouldn't be possible without the fantastic range that Morgan shows, going from a ruthless, terrifying antagonist to an emotional, regretful, and compassionate hero. This transformation may not forgive Negan for his horrific actions but nonetheless provide Morgan a great medium to portray his simply impeccable and underrated acting chops. The character was so popular he spun off into the series Walking Dead: Dead City.
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