AOL Television’s Inside TV has it: AMC’s “The Walking Dead” has found its Rick Grimes. He’ll be played by British actor Andrew Lincoln, best known here as Mark in “Love Actually”.
“Dead” creator and writer Robert Kirkman said:
“Andrew Lincoln, wow — what an amazing find this guy is,” declared Kirkman in a press statement. “Writing Rick Grimes month after month in the comic series, I had no idea he was an actual living breathing human being and yet he is. I couldn’t be more thrilled with how this show is coming together.”
According to the piece, production begins in June with a projected launch during AMC’s annual Fearfest slate of programming in October.
April 6th, 2010 at 2:28 pm
Huh. I think i’m going to have to wait and see on this one.
He’s a good actor, i just never pegged him as Rick Grimes.
I wonder how his American accent is.
April 6th, 2010 at 2:50 pm
yeah, count me in the wait and see camp. he is a decent actor as has been stated so though it seems odd, there’s no need to panic. Ledgers Joker helped rid me of the desire to automatically freak over an unexpected casting choice and this is, IMO, less bizarre than that choice was.
April 6th, 2010 at 6:14 pm
I have yet to see a British actor cast as an American who can’t do our accent. I’m sure he’ll do fine. The reverse seems to be pretty difficult for most American actors, however.
Australians seem to have an easy time doing American accents, too. Heck, when watching L.A. Confidential way back when I didn’t even realize Russell Crowe and Guy Pearce were Australian until I heared them interviewed on TV months later.
April 6th, 2010 at 6:33 pm
Egg!
Lincoln’s a great actor – and I was only saying how I found it odd he wasn’t in more stuff a few weeks back. Hope he nails this – a much, much better choice than Jonny Lee Miller.
April 6th, 2010 at 6:34 pm
I’m just psyched that WALKING DEAD is coming to TV. I recently caught up on the graphic novel collections, now i just want to see how it plays out on the TV. Best of Luck Kirkman- you rock!
April 6th, 2010 at 6:45 pm
I was really hoping Mark Pellegrino (Lost/Dexter/5000 other things) would get it. I think he has been great in everything I’ve seen him in and really fit Rick, but in the end it sounds like Andrew nailed his audition.
April 6th, 2010 at 8:46 pm
I am not worried about his American accent. British Actors always do an ok job. But Rick is from Kentucky (as am I) and it is a certain accent. Not quite southern, not quite Midwestern. I hope he does it well.
April 6th, 2010 at 9:48 pm
The American accent is not particularly difficult. For American actors, the Australian and British ones are prohibitively difficult.
People of Australian origin acting in the US include :
Dominic Purcell
Russell Crowe (although born in New Zealand)
Guy Pearce
Mel Gibson
Nicole Kidman
Cate Blanchett
Alan Dale
Sam Worthington
Sophie Monk
Toni Collette
Also note Hugh Laurie’s (a British actor) portrayal of House.
I’m torn on Lincoln as Grimes. He always struck me as a sort-of grown up Michael Cera, with his previous parts in TV shows such as This Life and Teachers. I hated his plot arc in Love Actually, which is something my wife and I frequently disagree about.
April 7th, 2010 at 12:30 am
Errr Jamie Bamber from Law & Order UK is English.
You may remember him, he was Apollo in Battlestar Galactica
April 7th, 2010 at 2:15 am
And let’s not forget the Jax from Sons Of Anarchy was once a young gay teenager in Queer As Folk.
April 7th, 2010 at 5:40 am
Obviously Nate from Six Feet Under must have been busy.
April 7th, 2010 at 10:33 am
He’ll be fine.
If they didn’t tell us he was English most people wouldn’t know
Happened to Damian Lewis. When he did Band of Brothers no one knew he was English. When he went back to his normal accent after filming everyone was creeped out and thought he was faking it
April 10th, 2010 at 4:05 pm
how about ‘the wire’ ? Dominic west and idris elba.. Band of brothers had a high percentage of brits right through. And in the blue corner Johnny depp in ‘from hell’…or was it dick van dyke..? Bloimey mayoree pawpins..! Just kidding. Theres no points to be scored here on the accent front, he needs to nail the character to win the comic fans over. And it needs the gore and those really shocking moments kept in..i wonder if they dare.
April 11th, 2010 at 7:32 am
“Wow,” declared Kirkman, “I couldn’t be more thrilled with how this show is coming together and the pile of money it’s bringing to me. To be frank I don’t give a damn who they cast, I just want this thing to be on TV screens like right now so I can wallow in the dough.”
January 17th, 2011 at 8:39 pm
How old is Nicole now?