When The Walking Dead premiered in 2010, it quickly became many viewers’ favorite zombie series. It has gained a cult following of dedicated fans who religiously watch every episode, from the original 11-season series to several of its spin-off series. However, if you were to look at all the viewers who watch it regularly, you wouldn’t find Andrew Lincoln among them.
Lincoln played the series’ lead character, gritty zombie killer Rick Grimes, for nine seasons. He is very dedicated to his character and takes his role as an actor very seriously, so he will not watch the series. In 2013, he told Entertainment Weekly: “I don’t really like looking at myself.” According to him, when he observes himself, he picks up features of his performance that he likes or dislikes, which, according to him, negates the whole point of being an actor. “I just want to leave myself alone as much as I can,” he said. “It breaks the spell, it breaks the magic somewhat.” In a 2017 interview with TV Insider to announce the show’s eighth season, Lincoln confirmed that he still hadn’t seen a single episode of the hit AMC series.
Another actor in the Walking Dead universe who doesn’t want to see himself on screen is Frank Dillane, the actor who played Nick Clark in Fear the Walking Dead. Contrary to Lincoln’s dogma, Dillane told Entertainment Weekly that he would probably benefit from going back to reviewing and critiquing his work, but he has a bad habit of never engaging in this practice. “I don’t really want to watch it,” he said, “but I think as an actor I’m getting to the age where it’s time to start really watching and analyzing and thinking, ‘Okay, well, that’s not it.’ doesn’t work” or “Yes, it worked.”