Norman Reedus Says He's 'Not Very Ass Kicker-ish'

The Walking Dead actor admits he's "a complete wimp" off-screen

Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty

Give Daryl Dixon a walker and he can take him down with one shot.

But off-screen, Norman Reedus finally met his match – against a new mattress.

“I chopped the tip of my finger off the other day and I cried like a baby. I’m a complete wimp,” the Walking Dead star told PEOPLE as he picked up the biggest ass-kicker award at Spike TV’s Guys Choice Awards Saturday.

“That’s not very ass kicker-ish, is it?” he jokes of the tough time he had taking the plastic off his bed. “Listen, you can give a crossbow to anybody and they look bad ass.”

Despite Dixon’s loyal, no-nonsense character, Reedus, 45, admits he’s not quite as impressive in real life.

“I’ve gotten stitches on the show and real black eyes. I’m more of a klutz, to be honest,” he says.

Following the season four cliffhanger, fans are anxiously anticipating the show’s return in the fall. But not everyone has stayed loyal throughout the hiatus – including Reedus’s 14-year-old son Mingus.

“I went through his closet with him recently. We were downsizing and thinking what we could get rid of,” he says. “He made a huge pile of Daryl Dixon clothes. And I was like, ‘Really? You’re going to throw them away?’ He said, ‘Yeah, I’m my own guy now.’ ”

Although he may no longer be channeling his dad’s character, Mingus is still showing plenty of interest in the hit show. “He wants to be a director now. He watches the show and dissects it – he tells me what I should have done,” Reedus shares.

But the proud father still manages to get in the last laugh. “He has an amp and guitar next to his bed. So I wake him up with crazy loud feedback. I jam out and he looks at me like ‘Oh God, Dad, put it down. Not again,’ ” he jokes, adding he’s the “coolest kid I’ve ever met.”

The Guys Choice Awards air Wednesday at 9 p.m. on Spike TV.

• Reporting by MATTHEW COLE WEISS