Jeffrey Dean Morgan says he has auditioned "zero times" since playing Denny Duquette in 'Grey's Anatomy'

Washington DC [US], June 16 : Actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan is best known for playing Negan, the unpredictable, foul-mouthed, bat-wielding showman of the apocalypse in 'The Walking Dead' universe, reported People.

"That show honestly gave me a career. I was doing that, Weeds and Supernatural simultaneously... I've auditioned zero times since playing Denny Duquette," said Morgan.

Jeffrey won over fans 19 years ago on the ABC medical drama as the dreamy heart transplant patient who appears in seasons 2 and 3 and who proposes to Katherine Heigl's Dr. Izzie Stevens on his deathbed. Morgan credits the breakthrough performance with launching his career in his 40s after years of failed pilots and guest star spots, reported People.

"I'd been kicking around Hollywood for a long time, but nobody certainly knew who I was," said Morgan. "My whole career launched out of that character."

"P.S. I Love You I got because of that show," Morgan said while discussing his role in the 2007 rom-com opposite Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler.

"Director Zack Snyder told me that he cast me in Watchmen because he saw me as Denny. How you watch Denny and go, 'Well, that's the nihilistic comedian right there,' is beyond me," Morgan shared of his 2009 comic-book film character.

In 2015, Morgan revealed at PasCon that he was offered the coveted role of The Walking Dead villain, a part he was all too eager to accept despite initially receiving very few details.

However, Morgan recently decided to step outside of his comfort zone and become the TV host for NBC's competition series Destination X.

"I'm still not actually completely sure how the hell this happened," he said, adding, "I am not like a typical host. I'm not Ryan Seacrest who I love, and I think he's excellent at his job but that's not me. I'm a bit on the crass side, and I've got a very sarcastic sense of humour, and I didn't picture it, reported People.

Producers knew they had their man, but Morgan needed more convincing. "It was my wife [Hilarie Burton Morgan] who said, 'You know what?' She came from this world. She came from the world of hosting," he said, referring to her gig on MTV's Total Request Live in the early 2000s. "She said in a very nice way, but much more diplomatic than I'm going to make it seem now 'You're not getting any younger. You've got this thing about you that it would be fun for you to be able to share that with the world, and you may have an opportunity to do that [by] hosting a show like this.'"

Based on a Belgian competition series, the reality show follows players travelling across Europe on a blacked-out bus and attempting to find their location each week through various challenges. The contestant whose guess is farthest from their destination gets the boot.

"I spent a month and a half in Europe being a weird, fun host, and it was great," Morgan says. "I had so much fun being the ringmaster of the circus."

He added, "It's an opportunity to do something new, and I sort of relish in that still, at the ripe old age of whatever I may be," he says. "I had a great time. It was really fun, reported People.

Destination X airs Tuesdays on NBC. Episodes stream the next day on Peacock.

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