The Walking Dead cosplayer Everyday Grimes talks about becoming Rick Grimes

Not everyone can cosplay the iconic Rick Grimes but David Thomas Inge is quickly becoming known in the fandom due to his striking resemblance to Andrew Lincoln.

Fans of The Walking Dead don’t need any explanation of who Rick Grimes is. But when David Thomas Inge first started getting noticed as Rick Grimes he had no idea who Rick was, or what The Walking Dead was.

Now, even though he’s relatively new to the cosplaying circuit, he’s making waves among the fandom for his startling resemblance to Andrew Lincoln’s depiction of Rick Grimes. Based out of Nashville Everyday Grimes, as he is known in the fandom, has only been cosplaying Rick seriously for about six weeks. He debuted his Rick cosplay at Walker Stalker Nashville and was blown away by the reception he got from the fandom.

At the Senoia Dead Bash just a few weeks later fans and some of the actors from the various communities were stunned by his appearance as the legendary Rick Grimes. He has more con appearances planned throughout the next year, including the mothership: Walker Stalker Atlanta. His road to taking on the persona of Rick really started back in 2010, although people were noticing his strong resemblance to Andrew Lincoln as far back as 2005.

In 2005 a friend who watched the film Love Actually with Andy Lincoln told him that he looked strikingly similar to Andrew. But, David laughed off the comment and never really thought about it again. That is, until 2010 when The Walking Dead debuted and instantly he started being mistaken for Andrew Lincoln.

Who Is Rick Grimes?

When The Walking Dead first aired Inge was living and working in Florida. On a break from work and on his cell phone in front of his work someone driving him by yelled out to him calling him Andrew Lincoln because he looked so much like the star. And that started a wave of recognition. As The Walking Dead grew in popularity coworkers, friends, and strangers on the street or in stores would continually call him Rick Grimes or comment on his similarity to the character. He still had no idea who Rick Grimes was.

Finally he watched the show, to see who this character was that he was constantly being mistaken for. The first episode he watched was “Beside The Dying Fire”, the season 2 finale where the farm was overrun. And he had to admit that he did indeed look very much like Rick Grimes. But, he wasn’t a fan of horror or gore based shows so he didn’t watch the show again until the summer just before season 7.

After moving around a bit from Florida to his native Virginia and finally to Nashville, TN and getting called out as Rick Grimes everywhere he went, including his work, he decided it was time to see who Rick Grimes really was. He and his sister, who now manages his appearances, website and social media, binge watched seasons 1-6 and started regularly watching the show starting in season 7. And when they started regularly watching he discovered that The Walking Dead is, at the core, a story about family and relationships and not just a horror show or gore fest.

Becoming Rick Grimes

While he was getting more comfortable with fans of the show constantly approaching him for photos and mistaking him for Andy Lincoln he had never considered cosplaying Rick and had no idea that cosplaying was even a thing.

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When he stopped in at Walgreens one day the cashier left her register to hunt him down in the store and get a photo with him. And the cashier, who was a cosplayer, told him that he should cosplay Rick and explained what cosplay was. He was flattered by the suggestion but still didn’t think that cosplaying was anything he’d be interested in doing.

But friends and coworkers kept asking him to dress up as Rick Grimes. So he decided that for Halloween in 2017 he would dress as Rick. He had fun doing it but still had no plans to attend cons or take his cosplaying to the next level instead of just a Halloween costume. The constant attention he got for looking like Rick inspired him to hunt down accurate pieces of Rick’s wardrobe including real police gear. He bought tickets for Walker Stalker Nashville and decided he would go as Rick Grimes and just see what happened.

Walker Stalker Nashville

The response of fans at Walker Stalker Nashville opened new doors for David. Fans and even some of the show’s cast like Tom Payne, Chandler Riggs, and Norman Reedus were amazed by how much he looked like Rick when he was in costume. Fans at the con were clamoring for selfies with him. And he loved the positive energy and love from the fandom. He decided that he needed to explore cosplaying more based on the incredible response from fans at WSC Nashville. He attended the Senoia Dead Bash and wowed fans with his Rick cosplay. Now he has even more appearances lined up at WSC Orlando and WSC Atlanta.

The Everyday Grimes

While trying to decide on the perfect name for his cosplaying appearances he tried out a few variations of names associated with Rick Grimes. He settled on The Everyday Grimes because nearly every single day, no matter where he goes, someone calls him Rick Grimes or mistakes him for Andy Lincoln. The two are just about the same age, and the same height, and they look so much alike that it’s easy to see why people constantly mistake Inge for Lincoln.

Cosplaying For A Cause

Based on the fantastic feedback from the fans he decided that he wanted to use his resemblance to the iconic Rick Grimes to give back to the fandom and to help others. He started a website where fans can see photos and buy his signature tee shirts as well as get information on his upcoming appearances. Merchandise sold through the website and at cons pays for his travel and fees to attend cons and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to charity. He feels strongly about cosplaying for a cause and using this opportunity to impact people’s lives in a positive way.

One of his first charitable acts is to donate a portion of his shirt sale profits to a member of TWDFamily fandom Nicole Hurley. Nicole is a disabled mom who has been trying to raise the money to get a reliable car. The Walking Dead fans have rallied to help her and have organized raffles of autographed TWD photos, posters, and merchandise in order to help her meet her goal.

Upcoming Appearances And Projects

Fans who want to meet David and get photos with him can do so at Walker Stalker Orlando and Walker Stalker Atlanta as well as several other cons. You can check his website for a full list of appearances and to get shirts, photos, and other cool stuff.

He is planning some exciting new projects including taking on the huge task of trying to replicate all of Rick Grime’s iconic looks from both The Walking Dead TV show and the comic.

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You can follow him on Instagram @theeverydaygrimes and on Twitter @everydaygrimes. And if you see him out and about ask for a selfie! He loves meeting fans of The Walking Dead and Rick Grimes.

Huge thanks to The Everyday Grimes David Thomas Inge for taking the time to talk to me! Can’t wait to get my own selfie with him at WSC Atlanta. Have you gotten a selfie with Everyday Grimes? Tweet us @UndeadWalkingFS and @SonyaIryna to show us.