The Walking Dead star Jeffrey Dean Morgan has revealed he was fired by his agent because he had “aged out” shortly before his acting career took off.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan was fired by his agent because he had “aged out” shortly before his acting career took off.
The Walking dead star, 60, has revealed he was in his mid-30s when he was let go by the woman who was in charge of his career because she was convinced he was getting too old to make it in Hollywood – but he went on to book roles in three TV shows, Grey’s Anatomy, Supernatural and Weeds, which gave him the break he needed.
During an appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Jeffrey explained: “I remember being in my mid-30s going: ‘This didn’t work out.’
“And my manager had just fired me right before I got the three shows. I’d been with her forever. And she was like: ‘You’ve aged out, bro. You missed your window.’
“And she got rid of me and [fellow actor] Max Martini at the same time and said the same thing to both of us … I was old. I was, I think 38, maybe.”
His career ended up taking off, but Jeffrey admitted there were plenty of times when he just wanted “to quit”.
He said: ” got Supernatural, Grey’s Anatomy and Weeds all at the same time, like within a week of each other … I’d do a pilot every now and again and [book] guest star spots and movies that people have never heard of that might take me to Comic-Con though.”
He also revealed he was “always side hustling” to help pay his bills, revealing he took on a lot of handyman jobs over the years to make ends meet.
The actor added: “I would build fences or whatever. It usually involved hammers. There was always something to build for somebody …
“The problem was, I was in my mid-30s and I didn’t have an education and I didn’t know what else to do.”
He went on to reveal working in TV ended up changing his life completely, explaining: “I think the first year [of Supernatural] I did eight or nine episodes. Same with Grey’s. I think I did, like, 10 or 11 episodes before I died …
“I walk through Washington Square Park [in New York City], you know, NYU, and and I’ll get stopped by kids that are just watching Grey’s for the first time.
“TV was so different and 30 million people a week were tuning in to watch that show. I went from an unknown nobody to I couldn’t leave my house.”
Jeffrey Dean Morgan fired by agent because of his age
