(Sebastian Kim/GQ)

" The Walking Dead" star Norman Reedus has made a career out of playing bad guys and misfits, and he likes it that way.

"Even with photography and artwork, I've really liked having grotesque things and finding beauty in them," he told the October issue of GQ magazine. "I've always been a fan of horror films, and I like aggressive music, and I like aggressive people - they all kind of were interesting to me. I mean, I really don't see myself ever being, or wanting to be, in some sort of light romantic comedy about nothing."

That's why he turned down the role of playing Jennifer Love Hewitt's love interest in the 2001 movie "Heartbreakers," Reedus said.

His agent at the time told Reedus, "They like you for this part, and it's a Jennifer Love Hewitt movie,'" he recalled for the magazine. "And I'm like, 'Well, what do I do?' And they're, 'You're her boyfriend,' And I go, 'Well, do I rape her? Do I kill her? What do I do?' And they go, 'You're her sweet boyfriend.' And I was like, 'No! Absolutely not!'"

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The 45-year-old actor said his interest in playing darker characters stems from a childhood of feeling socially awkward but not necessarily being bothered by it.

"I like feeling like I don't fit in, and I've always liked feeling like I don't fit in, and I'm perfectly cool with it," Reedus said.

Perhaps, but Reedus, who has a 14-year-old son, Mingus, with his ex, model Helena Christensen, seems to have found the perfect fit with "The Walking Dead" playing outsider Daryl Dixon.

"I really matured a lot in my mind and became a happier person in this job, because I really like this job, and I like the people I work with, and I like the environment I work in," he told GQ. "And you know, the cuts on my forehead, and the bruises, and the black eyes, it doesn't matter; it's awesome."