"I turned into a little schoolboy' - The Walking Dead star Michael James Shaw recalls Mercer's first meeting with Negan (Exclusive)

Fans who tuned into The Walking Dead season 11 episode 17, which was the first episode of the final block, witnessed the first meeting of two mighty forces.

Mercer, the general of the Commonwealth Army, met Negan, the erstwhile villain-turned-hero, in what was one of the most captivating scenes of the show in some time. As powerful as the moment was with the two alpha males asserting their dominant presence, Michael James Shaw asserts he was 'sh**ting a brick 'the entire time'.

This stems from the fact that The Walking Dead star, Shaw, has been a huge fan of Jeffrey Dean Morgan, the man who has immortalized Negan for the longest time now. He even dressed up as his legendary character - The Comedian (Watchmen) one Halloween.

Fans can continue to watch new episodes of The Walking Dead Sundays on AMC until the series concludes. Read on for the SK Pop Exclusive with Michael James Shaw.

---

Michael James Shaw admits that working with The Walking Dead legend Jeffrey Dean Morgan was a 'fanboy' moment

Negan was first introduced as a villain in season 6 of The Walking Dead, but his trademark charm and Jeffrey Dean Morgan's affability quickly endeared him to a pretty significant section of the fanbase.

It wasn't surprising then that Negan started batting for the good guys. Shaw recalls how his first scene with Morgan was:

"Man, working with Negan. I was sh*tting a brick the whole time. I turned into a little schoolboy, that whole process, getting to that scene day."

When Negan appeared in The Commonwealth in The Walking Dead season 11 episode 17, it set a certain chain of events into motion that culminated in a gripping final few moments:

"I love Jeffrey Dean Morgan and his body of work. I even went as The Comedian one Halloween. Yeah, so it was a fanboy moment for me working with Jeffrey. But also kinda cool to see like Laila was saying, these characters are ignorant of each other, you know."

Shaw also referred to Negan's transformative arc during the scene. Fans may never be able to forgive him for ridding the world of Glenn (Steven Yeun) and Abraham (Michael Cudlitz), but the show has taken steps to paint him in a brand new light:

"So, to go in with knowing nothing, you know and figuring it out from there, it was kinda fun to negate the history of Negan and see who he is right now, you know."

Which character from The Walking Dead does Michael feel a kinship with?

We asked Shaw which character from the universe he felt the strongest connection with, apart from his own. The good general picked Jerry (Cooper Andrews).

"I really envy Jerry’s apocalyptic life. He seems like he’s always having a good time. Enjoying his experience in the world regardless of what’s happening around him. I could use a little bit of that."

Mercer is an integral component of the final block of eight episodes. How he influences the conclusion of this landmark series remains to be seen.