Jeffrey Dean Morgan, known for his roles in "Supernatural" and "Grey's Anatomy," has revealed that a challenging experience on "Star Trek: Enterprise" nearly prompted him to abandon his acting career.
Morgan portrayed a Xindi alien named Damron on the science fiction series. The role required extensive prosthetics, which led to significant discomfort and claustrophobia for the actor. He described the experience as something he wanted to forget, recalling that he would wake up sweating about it years later.
"I hated it so much," Morgan stated during an appearance on Josh Horowitz's "Happy Sad Confused" podcast. "I was like, 'That's it. I've got to do something else.'"
The actor said he would spend up to 14 hours a day in the prosthetics and found it difficult to eat while wearing them. This period coincided with a difficult phase in his career, where he was taking on various side jobs to make ends meet, describing how he would build fences and do other work "usually involved hammers."
Despite his desire to quit, Morgan also expressed uncertainty about what else he would do, as he lacked a formal education and a clear backup career path. His manager at the time even told him he had "aged out" of Hollywood.
However, his career trajectory shifted dramatically around the age of 38. Within a similar timeframe, he secured breakthrough roles on "Supernatural," "Grey's Anatomy," and "Weeds." Morgan continues to work in the industry, currently starring as Negan in AMC's "The Walking Dead: Dead City."