Andrew Lincoln makes uncertainty engaging without smoothing away the awkwardness. We value the stamina of his long-running work as Rick Grimes, but his conversational ease in an ensemble is the better reason to seek him out.
Fi1m perspective
In This Life (1996), Andrew Lincoln's Egg is part of a group whose conversations we want to keep overhearing. Alongside Jason Hughes as Warren and Amita Dhiri as Milly, he makes dialogue that has several jobs to do sound like something said without preparation. We warmed to Egg because Lincoln helped make those friendships feel familiar, without insisting that every observation be noticed. This is the Lincoln we rate most highly: an actor who can be engaging without making everyone else wait for his moment.
The mixture of charm and ineptitude also suited Simon Casey in Teachers (2001). These ordinary, uncertain men give Lincoln something to do beyond being agreeable, because their shortcomings remain visible. He also directed two episodes of the programme's third series.
Love Actually (2003) gives him Mark, but gives us a less satisfying evening. Richard Curtis has assembled a cast we are happy to spend Christmas with, then left too many of their stories short of space. Bill Nighy and Emma Thompson make their scenes matter, though the film's repeated demands for festive feeling become tiring. Lincoln's presence is no reason to overlook those weaknesses, or to make this the first stop in his work.
The large change came with Rick Grimes in The Walking Dead (2010), the role that brought him international prominence. The hesitant everyman became a leader under pressure, with a sustained physical and emotional workload across a long-running series. Lincoln's strength here is keeping the shift from idealism towards harder decisions within one recognisable man. His return in The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live (2024) extended that commitment to a single character.
The opening of This Life is a little over-arranged, and Daniela Nardini and Jack Davenport are central to its appeal. The pleasure comes from believing that these people have lives together, and Lincoln helps make that possible. Start there, and give the group time to settle.
Biography
Andrew Lincoln is an English actor, born Andrew James Clutterbuck in London on 14 September 1973. He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.
His early major roles were as Egg in the BBC drama This Life (1996–1997), Simon Casey in the Channel 4 sitcom Teachers (2001–2003), Mark in the film Love Actually (2003) and Dr Robert Bridge in the ITV series Afterlife (2005–2006).
Lincoln gained international recognition for portraying Rick Grimes in the AMC series The Walking Dead (2010–2018) and reprised the role in the 2024 spin-off The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live. He won the Saturn Award for Best Actor on Television in 2015 and 2017.
