'Walking Dead's' Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Norman Reedus bond over motorcycle rides

This story contains minor spoilers from Sunday's episode of AMC's The Walking Dead. Read the recap here.

What’s a little cruelty between brothers?

On Sunday's episode of The Walking Dead, Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s villainous Negan does his brutal best to break Norman Reedus’s Daryl, locking him naked in a cell, having a lieutenant feed him dog-food sandwiches and using physical and psychological pressure to try to bludgeon his spirit.

In real life, however, it’s the opposite, as the actors have formed a deep bond in a very short time. “With (Norman), I found the brother I never had,” Morgan tells USA TODAY. “We’re thick as thieves.”

Morgan was a bit apprehensive arriving on the close-knit Atlanta set last fall for the sixth-season finale, knowing that Negan's debut meant the demise of two long-running characters, Glenn and Abraham, and the actors who played them, Steven Yeun and Michael Cudlitz.

“As it turned out, Andy (Lincoln, who plays Rick Grimes) and Norman and the rest of the cast accepted me immediately,” he says.

The bond is especially strong with Reedus, who like Daryl, loves riding his motorcycle. Morgan shares that affinity.

“Norman and I go for long motorcycle rides,” Morgan says. “This year, we drove to Nashville and took all these mountain roads. We just take off and go for these beautiful rides. That’s how we both unwind. Now, I’ve found a guy that does exactly the same thing I do and loves all the same things I love."

Morgan was aware of the intense devotion of the Dead fan base and says fans have been “nothing but awesome.” However, the rides with Reedus, who may be the show’s most popular actor, have underlined the love fans have for the AMC drama and those who are part of it.

“We stop at a gas station in the middle of nowhere and, within five minutes, 100 cars pull up because somebody gets on the phone. He has got a heart as big as a room and he will stop and talk and sign and take pictures with everyone. So, now it gets to the point where we stop him and I’m like, ‘Don’t even take your helmet off, because we’ll never get out of here.’ ”

Norman “is just the greatest guy. I feel like that about all the cast,” Morgan says (although we’re guessing Negan doesn't share his sentiments). “Unfortunately, they don’t all ride. But we’ll get them there.”