Golf with The Governor

David Morrissey, Walking Dead

The last time I saw David Morrissey he was beating a man around the head with a 5-iron and throwing him to his death. So as we stood side-by-side at Centurion Golf Club, I couldn’t help but feel a little trepidation as the Walking Dead’s “Governor” pulled the same club from his bag. Fortunately the only thing the Liverpudlian actor, director and producer was hitting this time was range balls ahead of our match at Britain’s newest course.

“Filming that scene was a lot of fun. A lot of people ask what club I used,” he laughs. “I had another good scene in season three where I was driving balls off a truck roof at zombies in the street.”

Shot in Atlanta, Georgia, the post-apocalyptic zombie drama first hit our screens in 2010, with Morrissey joining the fray as the sadistic ruler of Woodbury in 2012. With the show attracting up to 20 million viewers and regularly beating American Football in the ratings, it has ensured the RADA-trained star is now as recognisable Stateside as he is in Britain.

“It’s like nothing I’ve done before – I even have my own action figure!

“At Comic-Con (San Diego convention celebrating graphic novels, sci-fi and horror) I was booed by 10,000 people – I felt like Liam Gallagher. I was absolutely delighted, because it showed I was doing my job well.”

No surprise there. Morrissey is renowned for his research and attention to detail, never more so than in one of his more-celebrated roles – portraying Gordon Brown in 2004’s The Deal, a part which saw him gain two-stone and dye and perm his hair.

And while playing the Governor required a less dramatic physical change, it did require a southern-American accent – something Morrissey and co-star, fellow Brit and old friend Andrew Lincoln, maintained everywhere, bar the golf course.

“Golf is a big part of the show because so many of the cast and crew like it. Andrew (who plays lead character Rick Grimes) is especially good, but he practises a lot. We had a weekly fourball with Scott Wilson (Hershel) and Darrell Pritchett (special effects) and it was our down time,” Morrissey tells TG.

“The first time I played out there I hit a ball into the rough and Andrew said ‘be careful of the snakes’. I laughed and then realised he wasn’t joking. It’s very different and Andrew’s always coming up with a new format with some seemingly impossible mathematical equation… ultimately Andrew wins the money,” smiles the towering 49-year-old.

But as fans of The Walking Dead now know, series four’s brutal mid-season finale halved that weekly fourball with Morrissey’s Governor producing another impressive swing (this time with a sword) to decapitate Scott’s character Hershel, before being stabbed and shot himself.

“We did an eight-day shoot per episode and got the script for the next episode at lunchtime on the fourth day, so I didn’t really know until I read that. I was really upset because I’ve loved the show and I’m a genuine fan – but my final episode was superbly written and directed.”

While Lincoln’s winnings may be down for now, the fourball could be reunited with Morrissey waiting to hear if Line of Sight, an American pilot in which he stars as a transport crash investigator and plane crash survivor, will become a full series.

David Morrissey, Walking Dead

In the meantime the father-of-three remains a man in demand, producing and starring in a new Manchester-based BBC drama, The Driver, and promoting The 7.39, a two-part BBC drama revolving around two commuters’ illicit affair. And while it’s a role that will inevitably win Morrissey and his co-stars (Sheridan Smith, Olivia Colman, Sean Maguire) plenty of acclaim, it’s unlikely to keep him “cool” with 18-year-old son Albie.

“The Walking Dead was a show that he watched so when I called and said I’d been offered the part he was pretty impressed.

“But as an actor you can’t worry about being cool or embarrassed. The best stuff I’ve ever done is where I’ve thought ‘this could be absolutely terrible or absolutely brilliant’. You have to take risks – the safe middle ground is a really boring place to live.”

That attitude is clear on the golf course too as David, two-down and playing the 3rd, attempts a Seve-esque lob shot over the trees from an almost impossible position, only to see his ball clip the final branch and drop back. “I didn’t say the risks always pay off,” he laughs.

Of course, being an actor in demand means you’re doing something very right, but it’s not ideal for improving your golf and the State of Play and Blackpool star’s career choice ultimately caused the 20-handicapper to give up the game for two decades.

“My uncle was a policeman in Liverpool and he played golf all the time. He was a member at West Derby Golf Club so I used to caddy for him and then we’d play at Allerton Golf Course, where he lived and I loved it – couldn’t get enough of it. And then Dennis Mason, my best mate at school, and his dad were both great golfers so I used to play regularly with them.

“But once I became interested in acting I dropped everything else (Morrissey’s big break came in Channel 4’s One Summer in 1983). It was only when I became more secure in myself and my work and felt I didn’t have to chase it as much that I started playing again. I still love it.”

And spending six months of the year across the pond has increased that love even further.

“For me I don’t follow any of the American sports, so the sport I’m aware of and follow when I’m out there is golf. Golf Channel is always on so, other than watching the English football, golf is my relaxation. And, strangely enough, I have more time for it when I’m out there.

“Once I leave the set there are no phones ringing with me being asked to do this or attend that – I’m not being tugged about – so I have more time to play golf.”

That time has clearly paid dividends with matters tied through six holes. It’s been a solid display, especially in the wintery conditions as Morrissey admits America has made him a fair-weather golfer.

“It feels like an easier game when the sun shines!,” he jokes. “But seriously, I have to change my game when I go there. Here, my brother is a member of West Lancs on the north-west coast and I play with him a lot. On those sort of courses I play a lot of 7-iron bump and runs – you just can’t do that in the States. The grass around the greens just holds the ball, so you have to play target golf.

“Off the tee I have one shot and I trust it, but my short game is terrible, so having to adjust it from country to country is especially hard! I’m also a golfer who thinks he can hit the ball a lot further than I really can and play shots that I really shouldn’t be playing – and then I struggle to forget the bad shots!”

David Morrissey, Walking Dead

But Morrissey is no longer hitting bad shots as his tap-in birdie on the par-4 7th and TG’s double-bogey at the par-4 8th sees the lead change hands. Talk turns back to acting and Morrissey’s appearance in another huge sci-fi show, Doctor Who.

In the 2008 Christmas special Morrissey’s character thought he was the Doctor, a plot line that was used to tease fans, and Morrissey’s own family in the weeks leading up to its airing. “Russell (T Davies, writer) called to tell me David (Tennant) was planning to leave and that my episode would be called the Next Doctor. We’d filmed it in the February and obviously I knew I wasn’t going to be the next Time Lord, but that’s how it was spun – I wasn’t even allowed to tell my wife (novelist Esther Freud) or the kids. They kept asking if we were going to have to move.”

Looking back it was a period that helped Morrissey prepare for The Walking Dead’s popularity. “I was on the cover of the Christmas Radio Times and fans were constantly stopping me. It’s incredible the demographic of the audiences. I’ve been recognised as The Governor by everyone from teens to aging city gents.”

But that recognition still hasn’t helped David achieve his ultimate golfing dream – playing Augusta National. “I’ve played East Lake, which was fantastic, but Augusta is the dream. It’s mad because when I drive to the Walking Dead set I see the sign to Augusta and Andrew and I have been desperately trying to get in… so if anyone’s listening,” he laughs.

By the time we reach the 14th tee our match is all-square again and, with Morrissey turning 50 in 2014, talk turns to the future.

“For me it’s going to be about not doing every job that comes my way, it’s about choosing the right jobs or projects and enjoying them.

“Acting and golf have their similarities – not only the focus and dedication, but the longevity. I watched a lot of the Senior Tour and had the pleasure of playing Sunningdale with Roger Chapman, before he won his two Majors and he was enjoying golf more than ever. I love how relaxed the senior players are, how they’ve adapted their games, still want to compete, but how they’re clearly having fun.”

As a man who’s spent his career making incredible drama, it’s little surprise that Morrissey’s match with TG is following suit – he’s one-up with three to play as he tells us: “I did a film called Centurion a few years ago – it was going well… then I died at the end.” An eight, five and nightmare in 18’s rough leads to a two-down defeat – and proof that life can imitate art.