The Walking Dead Almost Passed On Star Role

By Josh Hill | Feb 4, 2015

Andrew Lincoln is the star of one of the best shows on television in The Walking Dead, but he was almost turned off by the job.

Five seasons into The Walking Dead, the show has become an unrivaled hit for AMC and is a pop culture phenomenon. Proof of this is seen in the fact that it’s not just fans of the comic books or of zombie films that are talking about the show — even Today Show hosts are talking about the series on air and dedicating segments to talking about it.

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Today Show recently had a sit-down with Andrew Lincoln, who plays Rick Grimes on The Walking Dead, and he noted just how close he came to not being in the show at all. This wasn’t because he was going to be passed on, it was because Lincoln wasn’t sure a zombie show was something he wanted to do 18-year into his acting career.

“It was a roll of the dice, this job,” Lincoln told Natalie Morales on the Today Show. “I remember calling up my agent and just saying, ‘Really? I’ve been working for 18 years. And it’s — we’re talking about zombies now?”

Imagine how different The Walking Dead would be without Rick Grimes as we know him today. Could anyone else have played the character the way Andrew Lincoln does? There’s a slew of actors who could play Rick Grimes, but Andrew Lincoln has become the character and it’s difficult to imagine The Walking Dead without him.

Next: 50 Most Shocking Walking Dead Moments Ever

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