Walking away from the dead:
Andrew Lincoln explains why he is leaving The Walking Dead.
English actor Andrew Lincoln is emotional – which is understandable given he has confirmed that the upcoming ninth season of the zombie drama The Walking Dead will be his last as Rick Grimes. The Love Actually actor has been a leader on and off screen on the series but as much as he loves the show, a bigger love came first – his children Matilda and Arthur. In one of his final interviews for the show, Lincoln talks about that decision and what we can expect from his final season. Jenny Cooney Carrillo reports.
How long had you been struggling with the decision to leave?
In the end, it was a decision made for me the moment my children became less portable. I knew that I can lock my heart away like any parent can for a sustained period of time, and that I have done. But I can’t stop my children’s hearts from aching and that is the bit that is impossible to ignore. I am still wrestling with it publicly, which is not the way I choose to do it really, and I would have preferred, in a perfect world, this experience ending without any advance knowledge. But in this day and age and internet, that wasn’t meant to be. But I have sweated, breathed and bled The Walking Dead for almost the best part of a decade, so it’s very emotional.
What can you tell us about Rick’s exit?
When they first talked about the manner in which this chapter in the story would finish, I thought it was thrilling. I think one of the greatest and most satisfying parts of the last three weeks of filming
“I will miss everybody that has worked on this show – alive and undead.”
– Andrew Lincoln
was that I think I left it all out on the field. I also think the last two episodes for me were some of my favourite episodes that I ever have filmed.
What can you say about Rick this season?
Rick is thrilled to have Negan behind bars and is relishing the fact that the world that his son, Carl, wished for in the future is actually being realised. Part of how he punishes Negan is going to his cell and explaining how successfully Carl’s vision for the future is becoming a reality. But it’s not an easy peace in that community.
What will you miss the most, and least, about working on the show?
I will miss a Georgia sunrise on my way to work. I will not miss a Georgia sunrise on my way back from work. I will miss my cowboy boots and my stetson and my guns. I will not miss a 4.30am wake-up call. I will not miss the chiggers, the ticks and the snakes but I will miss the pranks and Norman Reedus’ coffee shop in his trailer, open 24/7. I will not miss losing my hard-earned money to him at a game I taught him, backgammon. I will miss everybody that has worked on this show – alive and undead.
Will you move back to London now the show is over for you?
When we lived in London and I got the role, I had to sign for six years and I said to my wife Gael, ‘It’s never going to do more than two years, don’t worry about it’. The deal I made with her was that we would educate the kids close to their grandparents, move out of London to the countryside, so that hasn’t changed and I am still a UK citizen. But my love of this country, America, and working in this country and the people who work in this country, will mean that I will continue working here wherever I live.