‘The Walking Dead’ Finds Lead in Andrew Lincoln

Robert Kirkman’s astoundingly engaging zombie comic series The Walking Dead shambles its way closer to production as at TV series for AMC with some casting news. Jon Bernthal previously was cast as Shane, a police officer and partner of the main character, Rick Grimes. Now Grimes himself has been cast and will be played by Andrew Lincoln. Lincoln is a British actor who previously has appeared in Love Actually, as well as a number of TV productions including Teachers, 2009’s Wuthering Heights, and this year’s Strike Back. In the Walking Dead comic book, his character, Rick Grimes, is a small town police officer who wakes up from a coma to find the world overrun with the living dead.

Frank Darabont is writing, directing, and producing the pilot episode, which starts shooting in June.