The Walking Dead actors and producers reveal the props they stole from the set

01 of 22

Give them some props!

The Walking Dead - Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan; Lauren Cohan; Josh McDermitt
Josh Stringer/AMC; Jace Downs/AMC (2)

The cast and producers of The Walking Dead liberated some famous props and mementos from the set before the show finished filming. Here's what they nabbed.

02 of 22

Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Negan)

The Walking Dead
Jeffrey Dean Morgan on 'The Walking Dead'. Josh Stringer/AMC

It's a constant battle with [director] Greg Nicotero. He always seems to get the props. I have a bat from a couple seasons ago, so I have Lucille. Lucille is in a glass case in my office. I took care of her. And Negan really didn't have anything other than Lucille. That was the big prop for him.

I still want the original leather jacket. And then I asked Greg for my Whisperers zombie mask that I don't have. He told me that there are two, and that I could get one of them. So I'm calling him out now. Greg, I'm waiting on my zombie mask! I told my daughter I was going to get my zombie mask. And she's like, "No, Dad, you don't need that."

But you know what I would've liked? I would've liked taking something from other characters. Give me Daryl's crossbow or something. That would've been cool to steal, but he's also really way on top of that s---. I think his props disappeared a month before we finished filming and they were like, "We got to make him a new one. We don't know what happened!" And he's giggling. We all know where it is.

03 of 22

Norman Reedus (Daryl Dixon)

The Walking Dead
Norman Reedus on 'The Walking Dead'. Josh Stringer/AMC

I walked out with my whole costume. I literally drove home in my outfit, and to be honest, I didn't really even mean to. I was so busy hugging people and saying goodbye that I literally just walked right into my car and drove off afterwards.

I have a vest from every season and I have a crossbow from almost every season. If crossbows weren't so big, and I didn't live in Manhattan with limited storage, I would've had one from every season. I have the original crossbow, with the wooden arrows. And two of the arrows are broken because Rick was following me in his Hyundai back in the day and my crossbow fell and he drove over two of the arrows. So I have the original two broken arrows that he drove over.

And I still have Andy's beard in a bag and I still have Scott Wilson's pointy tail in a bag. I have all that. I didn't take my bike, though. The bikes are staying here. What am I going to do? Put the bike in my car and drive off with it?

04 of 22

Melissa McBride (Carol Peletier)

TWD_710_GP_0826_0120-RT
Gene Page/AMC

I have a thing that I took a long time ago, which was Sophia's hair tie that had the little pink bubble on it. There were also some wardrobe pieces that were kind of fun that came from my wardrobe, that they did a copy of, and I got some of the multiples back. And props gave me Carol's knuckle knife. She had multiples of those, but they gave me one. I love having that. Then I got the back of the cast chair. That was very sweet. I didn't really take anything that wasn't given to me, I have to say that.

05 of 22

Paola Lázaro (Princess)

The Walking Dead
Jace Downs/AMC

I definitely have my big old pink jacket, which I have called my sofa for a while because it's like wearing a big old sofa; it's cozy and comforting. I also have my original goggles that I used almost every time during my time on the show. I'm not going to share how I got the goggles because it's confidential information. No, I'm just playing with you, those goggles were promised to me and I have kept them safe and bring them with me to every comic convention, just like my big old pink sofa jacket.

06 of 22

Josh McDermitt (Eugene Porter)

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Gene Page/AMC

Well, I got the mullet. Tiffony Simpson, who did my hair for years, I had told her I was going to steal the mullet. I said, "You're going to have to look the other way," and she was kind of trying to get me to not do it. She's like, "You don't have to steal that. Don't do it." And then on the last day she said, "Hey, Taylor Knight wants to talk to you." Taylor Knight was our hair department head, and I thought Taylor just wanted to say goodbye because she cut my hair to the mullet the first day on set.

She handed me a gift, and in a box was the mullet. Tiffony had arranged that for me. She went and told Taylor, "He's going to steal that, so if you don't want him stealing other stuff, you better just give it to him." Because I would've taken Ezekiel's wig, I would've taken everything, man! Honestly, that's the only thing I took.

07 of 22

Angel Theory (Kelly)

Angel Theory in The Walking Dead
Chuck Zlotnick/AMC

The mementos I left with are:

My chair name tag, because that's the tag I've had from the beginning and I couldn't leave it behind, so now I have it framed.

Kelly's slingshot and pouch. That's Kelly's and Connie's first real weapon that they are known for (slingshot sisters). I had mints/candy in the small pouch since season 9 that I never took out, which I always found funny because I always felt like Kelly would have a little stash of candy or snacks that she would have on her to bring her little moments of joy.

Kelly's necklace. This was a replica of an Angel necklace that my mom gifted me for one of my birthdays that I completely loved and never took off, and when I got to wardrobe fittings in the beginning they explained that I can't have known jewelry on for legal reasons, but I told them that my necklace and earring (the cross) had significant meaning to me and I would like to keep it because it made me feel close to home. The wardrobe stylist understood how much it meant to me, so they surprised me and got replicas that looked very similar so it could be a part of Kelly's look as well!

08 of 22

Cailey Fleming (Judith Grimes)

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Gene Page/AMC

Whenever the last day came around, I knew that I had to take some iconic pieces of Judith home with me! I kept the first and last pair of boots I ever wore. Fun fact: The original boots that I wore on my first day still have mud on them! It is also really cool to see how much I grew from season 9 to season 11. I also kept the iconic Grimes hat, which is probably my favorite thing that I got to keep. There is such an amazing story behind it, and I'm so glad that I get to be reminded of those memories whenever I look at it!

09 of 22

Okea Eme-Akwari (Elijah)

Okea Eme-Akwari as Elijah- The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 20
Eli Ade/AMC

I have so many different mementos I kept from my time on the show. Everything from Polaroids of the cast and crew, to a cool rock I found on location one day. But without a doubt the thing I'm happiest to have is Elijah's mask. From day one, I knew that would be the thing I'd be most attached to if there was going to be anything at all. I spent a lot of time thinking about what the mask means to Elijah and I guess a lot of that sentiment stuck with me. I probably spent half the season dropping "hints" to the props department about how cool it would be to keep it after I wrapped on the season, and on my last day I asked one of our EPs if I could take it with me. Luckily, they said yes! I love that thing.

10 of 22

Lauren Ridloff (Connie)

Lauren Ridloff on The Walking Dead
Jace Downs/AMC

I'm so mad about this. I wanted to take some things from wardrobe and they were like, "No, you can't take anything." And I thought, "Okay." I definitely listened, and apparently, I'm the only one who didn't break the rules. "You're not supposed to take stuff!" And I was the only one who didn't. But I do have a slingshot from season 9. I'm glad I have that memento. They gave me an extra one to bring home to practice and train, so I do have that.

11 of 22

Nadia Hilker (Magna)

Nadia Hilker on The Walking Dead
Josh Stringer/AMC

I'm calling myself lucky that I got to keep most of my weapons, Magna's boots, and her wardrobe I wore on my last day filming. All of these items I will hand on to my grandchildren, including a sheet of Magna's tattoos, which helped me the most to get into character.

12 of 22

Josh Hamilton (Lance Hornsby)

The Walking Dead
Josh Stringer/AMC

I kept my coin — my President Milton Commonwealth coin that in the show I say that my dad gave to me, and the coin that I flipped. So I did keep that. It's actually right on my desk somewhere now, beneath all the pencils.

13 of 22

Lauren Cohan (Maggie Rhee)

Lauren Cohan as Maggie in The Walking Dead Season 11
Lauren Cohan's Maggie in 'The Walking Dead'. Josh Stringer/AMC

Oh, I took it all! [Laughs] No, I just got my boots and my chair. A lot of Maggie's wardrobe actually came up here to our studio in New Jersey [for filming on Dead City]. I also got some of my favorite photos ever on the last day. I have an amazing photo of me and Norman [Reedus] on his electric bicycle.

14 of 22

Ross Marquand (Aaron)

Ross Marquand in The Walking Dead

I was able to get a few little trinkets from set, and one of the ones that I was most happy to take home was my kukri knife that I had from about season 8 onwards. I had requested this knife when Angela [Kang] asked what kind of weapons we'd be wanting moving forward, and this was the knife that meant a lot to me because I did a film in Nepal about 10 years ago and was introduced to this blade and learned the backstory of how the Nepalese fighters who used it were these peaceful warriors. And I fell in love with their story and I thought that was kind of perfect for Aaron. So that's why I requested the kukri, because it was very indicative of who Aaron was.

15 of 22

Cassady McClincy (Lydia)

Cassady McClincy in The Walking Dead
Gene Page/AMC

I've taken many things from set over the years. My favorite memento is a now-shriveled up daisy flower crown that my friend Ellie made me on one of those long, hot summer days. I've also collected cool rocks and broken glass (that I embarrassingly thought was some kind of crystal) from all the different woods we've filmed in.

16 of 22

Eleanor Matsuura (Yumiko Okumura)

Eleanor Matsuura in The Walking Dead
Gene Page/AMC

I don't have anything! I'm pretty sure I wasn't allowed to keep my bow and arrow, and it would have been kinda hard to sneak that off set — it's massive! I do have a cool memento from last season, a blood-stained T-shirt that has "Save Alpha" on it. Everyone wore them on Sam Morton's last day on season 10. I really treasure that.

17 of 22

Laila Robins (Pamela Milton)

Laila Robins in The Walking Dead
Josh Stringer/AMC

I did NOT take any props from the set. I didn't know that was possible and certainly wouldn't have taken anything without permission. Many of my scenes were in my office. There was a rather nice ink well, but Pamela never really wrote with a quill. Must have been Dad's — a keepsake from when her father was Governor. It's fun to endow all the props around you... give them a history.

18 of 22

Margot Bingham (Max)

Margot Bingham on The Walking Dead
Jace Downs/AMC

Well, Max didn't exactly have a weapon. To me, she was more known for her style. That was something that The Walking Dead Universe had never really seen before: heels, makeup, matching suit sets. She had her signature glasses. But I already have glasses IRL! We did, however, as a cast and crew, receive this amazing poster from the camera department.

I was so humbled that they gave me one. I think so highly of our whole crew and they really kick ass every single day. So I took that poster, brought it around everywhere with me the last few weeks on set before wrap, got as many people to sign it and leave a little message. I'm actually just getting around to reading them now. I wanted it to be a reminder and something that brought me comfort when I was missing my TWD fam.

19 of 22

Michael James Shaw (Mercer)

The Walking Dead
Michael James Shaw on 'The Walking Dead'. Josh Stringer/AMC

Nope, but I wish I could have gotten the axes.

20 of 22

Scott M. Gimple (chief content officer)

Scott Gimple
Scott M. Gimple and Jeffrey Dean Morgan on 'The Walking Dead'. Gene Page/AMC

I screwed up during the making of the entirety of the series by constantly working and not being smart enough to grab certain things. Greg Nicotero would occasionally have mercy on me and be like, "Dude, what are you doing? Take this." But I have a few things. I have a full Terminus sign with the map and the metal. I have Morgan's staffs from "Here's Not Here," and Griselda Gunderson, which was Mika's doll.

Hanging in The Walking Dead offices, I have the "No Parking" sign that Maggie used to cut a walker's head off, and a Negan bat, which I hide away. Those are the big ones, but I should have gone much further. I have a bunch of stuff from Fear. I have a bunch of stuff from World Beyond. I wish I had been a little smarter about Tales because there's a few things that I would love... like a life size Terry Crews. That would be kind of cool, with the helmet on.

21 of 22

Angela Kang (showrunner)

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Angela Kang, Scott M. Gimple, and Michael Satrazemis on 'The Walking Dead'. Gene Page/AMC

I don't think I have anything. I really don't. It was so busy. We were doing rewrites until the very end, and it was just so hectic. And I said to my line producer, "I don't even have any props or anything from the show. I've written things that have been created and turned into action figure toys and I don't have anything. There's random people who've been to our sets, and editors and other people have things, but I don't have anything." He's like, "Well, think about what you want and tell me what you want. And depending on what it is, we'll try to get it for you." And I was like, "Okay." And I never did it.

There have been so many episodes. I should have grabbed something. I did get my chair back. And I have a piece of the wall of Alexandria. That wasn't specific to me, but there were pieces of it that were cut up at one point and I have a piece of that. So I do have some mementos.

22 of 22

Greg Nicotero (director, executive producer)

Behind the scenes at The Walking Dead
Gene Page/AMC

I made up camera slates. I made, like, 25 of them, and it was the final season and it was a great color piece of artwork with walkers on it. I used the slates in every scene and then I would gift a slate to the actors when they wrapped. So when each actor wrapped, I gave them a slate that was their last shot on the series, the shot number that they had done. I'm like, "Here's the last shot." That was something that I really wanted to do.

In terms of bigger stuff, it's hard to say, because this big giant truck went back to L.A. of everything that we were storing in Georgia for 12 years. There was a dead deer from season 2 that Dale finds in the field when Dale gets killed. That was still there. Rick's eaten horse from season 1 — we would reuse all those animals over and over again. All that stuff was in this big giant warehouse in Atlanta. So that all came back to L.A.

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