Norman Reedus Says Traumatic On-Set Injury WAY Worse Than Rep Stated!

Norman Reedus is opening up about a "very serious" and "scary" injury that happened while filming the series finale of "The Walking Dead" in March. Reedus, 53, is not new to injuries and even had a near-death experience before but said this head injury was very traumatic. "I've been hit in the face and head a million times," he told Entertainment Weekly. "I've gone through car windows, but that one rung my bell."

The actor has been through his share of injuries. In 2005 as he was leaving an R.E.M. concert at the Berlin Film Festival, he was involved in a very serious car accident. "We drove a few feet and just - BLOOSH! - an 18-wheeler went right through us," Reedus told EW in 2013. "I went out the window into the street unconscious. Woke up upside down with this big German lady wiping glass out of my face." Multiple operations were necessary and Reedus didn't think he was going to ever act again. "My whole head was like a hamburger," he said. "It was just gnarly. I thought, 'I'm never going to be an actor again. This is over.'" This occurred just as he was beginning in the acting industry. It took four months of recovery, and he was then able to get back in front of a camera.

At the time of the on set head injury Reedus experienced on March 11, reports didn't make it sound too serious, but Reedus is now revealing that it was much worse.  The original statement from the actor's publicity rep read, "Norman suffered a concussion on set. He is recovering well and will return to work soon. Thank you to everyone for their concern." Reedus is now opening up saying, "That whole ordeal for me personally was terrifying. I thought I was going to die," he said.

Reedus had to go through a battery of tests and precautions after the injury. "I had a neurologist. I had all sorts of s---. I failed the light test," he recalled. "I had a security guard in the driveway, just in case. I was holding onto the walls walking through the rooms. It was nuts."

To make the situation even more difficult, not only was Reedus worried about his own health, but he was also feeling stress about how his absence from set was impacting production. "You're shooting over a year, and now we're having to postpone some of the shooting because I'm lying in bed," he said. "So the guilt of me not being at work and people are like, 'Are we going to go a week over? Are we going two weeks over?' - that was bothering me."

Reedus recently discussed his emotions about the last day of filming the show he was on for 12 years with PEOPLE. "There were a lot of tears and a lot of speeches. They handed me the mic first, and I was like, 'Uh oh,' because I was nervous. It was super emotional," he said. "I think what I'll miss the most is the people, not just the cast, but the crew. You become very tight with the crew after that long. We've become really good friends and a lot of us still keep in contact."

The final eight episodes of "The Walking Dead" airs beginning Sunday, October 2 at 9 p.m. ET on AMC. The series finale will air on November 20.