Despite its massive popularity, spanning more than 10 seasons, Andrew Lincoln has literally never seen an episode of his own show, The Walking Dead.
Lincoln, 46, famously said in a 2017 interview that, ‘I’m choosing to ignore the whole thing. I don’t watch the show at all. I am allergic to my own face.’
While the actor left the series as Rick Grimes towards the beginning of Season 9, he will return in a Walking Dead film trilogy, though, according to Walking Dead chief content officer Scott Gimple, Lincoln has still not watched the show.
Never seen: Despite its massive popularity, spanning more than 10 seasons, Andrew Lincoln has literally never seen an episode of his own show, The Walking Dead
Ignore: Lincoln, 46, famously said in a 2017 interview that, ‘I’m choosing to ignore the whole thing. I don’t watch the show at all. I am allergic to my own face’
‘No, he has not watched it,’ Gimple said at a virtual Comic-Con panel for upcoming The Walking Dead: World Beyond spin-off series.
‘I will say, one time I was doing a DVD commentary with him on an episode he wasn’t in, ‘The Grove.’ Five minutes into it, I was like, “You’re not watching this, are you?” He’s like, “No, no I’m not,”‘ Gimple added.
Lincoln also told Entertainment Weekly in 2013 that the ‘original reason’ he doesn’t like watching is because, ‘I don’t actually enjoy looking at myself.’
Not seen: ‘No, he has not watched it,’ Gimple said at a virtual Comic-Con panel for upcoming The Walking Dead: World Beyond spin-off series
Original reason: Lincoln also told Entertainment Weekly in 2013 that the ‘original reason’ he doesn’t like watching is because, ‘I don’t actually enjoy looking at myself’
He added that watching his own work, ‘defeats the object of what I want to do as an actor, which is to try and be in the role and not be self-conscious.’
The actor added that ‘the fun bit’ is actually working on the show, adding, ‘I love that. That’s the exciting thing for me.’
Lincoln’s Rick Grimes, a former Georgia sheriff before the zombie invasion, has been the centerpiece of the show since it debuted in 2010.
Centerpiece: Lincoln’s Rick Grimes, a former Georgia sheriff before the zombie invasion, has been the centerpiece of the show since it debuted in 2010
The actor had originally planned on leaving the show after Season 8, though his exit didn’t come until the fifth episode of Season 9, when Grimes was taken by a mysterious group.
It was revealed in a November 2018 episode of the after-show Talking Dead that Lincoln’s Grimes will return in a trilogy of Walking Dead films.
Gimple added in an interview with ComicBook.com that Lincoln is ‘itching’ to get back to the Walking Dead universe with the film trilogy for Universal Pictures.
Taken: The actor had originally planned on leaving the show after Season 8, though his exit didn’t come until the fifth episode of Season 9, when Grimes was taken by a mysterious group
‘And I got to tell you, he’s itching to get back, too. We all are,’ Gimple said, though there is no word when the films will start production
‘He throws around the football with the rest of us. He’s very, very interested in this thing,’ Gimple said, adding he’s ‘super involved’ in the project.
The Walking Dead producers also revealed at Comic-Con that the original Season 10 finale, which was delayed for months due to COVID-19, will air October 4, and that the season will be extended by six extra episodes to air in early 2021, though Season 11 will not air in its traditional October slot due to the pandemic.
Itching: ‘And I got to tell you, he’s itching to get back, too. We all are,’ Gimple said, though there is no word when the films will start production