Jeffrey Dean Morgan Jeffrey Dean Morgan is the American actor who played the Xindi - Reptilian Damron in the episode ; the character makeup process required for the role nearly convinced him to quit acting altogether . He is perhaps best known for his recurring roles on the television series " Weeds " ( 2005 ) , " Grey ' s Anatomy " ( 2006 - 07 ) , " Supernatural " ( 2005 - 08 ) , " Magic City " ( 2012 - 13 ) , " The Walking Dead " ( 2016 - present ) , and for his portrayal of The Comedian in the 2009 film " Watchmen " . Early life and career . Morgan was born in Seattle , Washington and grew up in nearby Kirkland . He desired a career as a basketball player but a knee injury he sustained while playing the sport in college made this impossible . He began acting after helping a friend move to Los Angeles and deciding to remain himself . He made his film debut with a lead role in the 1991 independent action thriller " Uncaged " with Henry Brown . He then appeared in the 1995 film " Dillinger and Capone " , which starred fellow " Star Trek " alumni F . Murray Abraham , Jeffrey Combs , Catherine Hicks , Clint Howard , Bert Remsen , and Time Winters . Morgan also co - starred with Meg Foster in the film " Undercover Heat " . Morgan made his episodic television debut in a 1995 episode of " JAG " with Christopher Darga , followed by a 1996 episode of " Sliders " , the hit science fiction series on which John Rhys - Davies was a regular . Morgan was then cast in the lead role of virologist Edward Marcase on UPN ' s science fiction drama series " The Burning Zone " , which ran during the 1996 - 97 television season . His co - stars on this series included James Black and Michael Harris . Morgan left the series after the first eleven episodes due to creative differences , and the circumstances of his departure temporarily stalled his career . 1997 - 2004 . After leaving " The Burning Zone " , Morgan starred in the 1997 independent film " Legal Deceit " with Phil Morris and then had a role in the 1999 film " Road Kill " . He returned to television in 2000 with a guest appearance on the CBS action drama series " Walker , Texas Ranger " with fellow " Enterprise " guest actor Clay Wilcox , followed shortly thereafter with an episode of NBC ' s " ER " with Michelle Bonilla , James Cromwell , Lily Mariye , Michael McGrady , Marcello Tubert , and Amy Wheaton . Morgan has since appeared on such television shows as " The Practice " ( with Bill Smitrovich ) , " Angel " ( with Keith Szarabajka ) , " The Division " ( with Tracey Walter ) , " CSI : Crime Scene Investigation " ( with David Andrews , Rudolf Martin , and Scott Alan Smith ) , " Monk " ( with Frank Collison ) , and " The O . C . " ( with Melinda Clarke and Alan Dale ) . He also had a brief recurring role on " JAG " in 2002 , working with Corbin Bernsen , Steven Culp , Kris Iyer , Scott Lawrence , Zoe McLellan , and Jennifer Savidge . In addition , Morgan co - starred with Gina Philips and Kellie Waymire in the 2003 short film " Something More " . He also starred with Philips , as well as Diedrich Bader , in the 2004 horror - comedy film " Dead & Breakfast " . 2005 - present . Recurring TV roles . During his short time as Judah Botwin on " Weeds " , Morgan worked alongside guest stars Michelle Krusiec and Andy Milder . In his three years playing the mysterious John Winchester on " Supernatural " , Morgan co - starred with fellow " Star Trek " performers Jim Beaver , Julian Christopher , Colby Paul , and Jerry Rector . Several of Morgan ' s " Supernatural " episodes were directed by Kim Manners , who was an executive producer on the series . Morgan played heart transplant patient Denny Duquette on the hit medical drama " Grey ' s Anatomy " during the show ' s second and third seasons . On this series , Morgan acted with fellow " Trek " alumni Andrew Borba , John Cho , Shannon Cochran , Ann Cusack , Albert Hall , Mark Harelik , Stephen Lee , John Prosky , and Cress Williams . More recently , he starred in the Starz original show " Magic City " , which ran for two seasons and was cancelled in 2013 . The series also featured his co - star Leland Orser . In its seventh and final season , Morgan joined the cast of the CBS legal drama " The Good Wife " ( co - starring Zach Grenier ) . Morgan portrayed private investigator Jason Crouse , who engages in an affair with the series ' title character . Morgan also has a prominent recurring role as Negan in the hit AMC thriller " The Walking Dead " . Feature films . Morgan had a supporting role in the mystery thriller " Chasing Ghosts " , as did Patrick Kilpatrick , Mark Rolston , Sean Whalen , and Tom Wright . He then appeared in the independent drama " Live ! " , along with Jessica Collins , Michelle Krusiec , Karen Landry , and Todd Stashwick . He also co - starred with Teri Garr in " Kabluey " , an acclaimed comedy which premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival in 2007 . Since then , Morgan has been working on higher - profile films . He had a supporting role in the 2007 romantic drama " P . S . I Love You " , along with James Marsters . He also played the second male lead in the romantic comedy " The Accidental Husband " . Morgan ' s most high - profile role to date is that of The Comedian ( aka Edward Blake ) in 2009 ' s " Watchmen " , based on the acclaimed comic books ( and later graphic novel ) published by DC Comics . Matt Frewer and Stephen McHattie also appeared in this film ; Morgan shared a scene with Frewer , who played The Comedian ' s arch - nemesis , Moloch the Mystic . The film was edited by William Hoy , who previously worked on . Before Morgan was cast , the film ' s producers were pushing actor Ron Perlman for the role of The Comedian . Later in 2009 , Morgan was seen in in Ang Lee ' s biographical drama " Taking Woodstock " . Morgan has several movies which have or will open in 2010 , including two in which he acts alongside a cast member from 2009 ' s . The first was the comic book - based action thriller " The Losers " , in which he co - starred with actress Zoë Saldana . Later this year , he will be seen opposite Chris Hemsworth ( George Kirk ) in the remake of the 1984 film " Red Dawn " . This latter film will also feature DS9 guest star Brett Cullen . He also had a small role in the film " Shanghai " which starred John Cusack , Chow Yun - Fat , and Gong Li . He played the character Conner , who is seen mostly in flashbacks as he is killed early in the movie . The character is pivotal as it sets the action for the rest of the film . Morgan also filmed a role for the upcoming mystery film " All Good Things " , which stars Kirsten Dunst and Frank Langella . According to forum and Twitter messages from those who claim to have seen a screening of " All Good Things " , however , Morgan ' s role was cut from the film . There has been no official confirmation of his deletion from the film , but " All Good Things " is no longer listed on his Internet Movie Database profile . Personal life . Morgan was married sometime prior to 1993 , but this marriage ended in divorce . He later had a short romance with his " Weeds " co - star Mary - Louise Parker . They began dating in December 2006 but split up in June 2007 , although they later reconciled . They announced their engagement in February 2008 , but they broke it off two months later .