Stars Who Left 'The Walking Dead': Where Are They Now?
Quite the journey. Over the course of The Walking Dead‘s 11 seasons, many stars have come and gone. While some have had shocking deaths — we’re still not over Glenn or Carl’s demises — other actors chose to leave the series.
Andrew Lincoln, who portrayed hero police officer Rick Grimes on the AMC drama from its 2010 debut, announced that he would be leaving the show in 2018 during season 9, leaving fans shocked and curious about how he would exit the zombie series.
“I love this show. It means everything to me. I love the people that make this show. I promise not to cry, I’ve done enough crying on screen,” he said at Comic-Con ahead of his final season. “I suppose what I wanted to say is that my relationship with Mr. Grimes is far from over. And a sort of large part of me will always be a machete-wielding, Stetson-wearing, zombie-slaying sheriff deputy from London, England.”
A source shared with Us Weekly at the time that the actor really wanted to do more movies, as well as spend more time at home. After his final episode, however, it was revealed that he definitely isn’t done with the Walking Dead universe. Instead, AMC is planning multiple Walking Dead films centered around the character Rick Grimes, and Lincoln is set to reprise his role.
Of course, not everyone is so lucky. Chandler Riggs exited the show in 2018 after appearing in the first eight seasons as Rick’s son Carl Grimes. It was not his choice to leave the show and didn’t plan to, but the character was killed off after being bitten by a zombie while saving another member of the town.
“I was planning on going to college until I found out,” Riggs told The Hollywood Reporter in 2017. “I found out when I was doing rehearsals for episode six back in June. It was quite the shocker for me, Andy and everyone because I don’t think anyone saw it coming. It’s definitely not a bad thing because it has been awesome being on the show, but now I get to go and do a lot of other stuff that I haven’t gotten to do before.”
Danai Gurira, who played fan favorite Michonne, exited the show after season 10. Unlike Carl, though, Michonne wasn’t killed off — she went on a mission to find Rick, who she (correctly) believes is still alive. Whether that means she returns in the movies remains to be seen, but fans are certainly hopeful.
Keep scrolling to find out what other stars have been up to since leaving The Walking Dead:
Lincoln's Rick Grimes led the show for seasons 1 through 9. He exited in 2018 to focus on his family but is set to reprise the role in multiple Walking Dead films. The Love Actually star has two children with wife Gael Anderson. AMC; Shutterstock
The Scottish actress’ 2019 departure from the AMC series wasn’t the end for her character, Anne — it was only the beginning. McIntosh returned to The Walking Dead universe in 2021 for the final season of the TWD spinoff, World Beyond, and is set to star alongside Lincoln in the untitled Walking Dead movie. She also appeared in Lodge 49 and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Jackson Lee Davis/AMC; David Fisher/Shutterstock
The Macalester grad left the series midway through season 10 after seven years of wielding swords as Michonne. During her run on the show, she joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Black Panther character Okoye, a role she's expected to reprise in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. AMC; MediaPunch/Shutterstock
After the brutal reckoning of penultimate episode of season 10, fans said goodbye to a handful of main characters, including Lintz’s Henry. Since leaving the show in 2019, he joined the cast of the Disney+ series Ms. Marvel. Jackson Lee Davis/AMC; Rob Latour/Shutterstock
His fan-favorite character, Siddiq, was killed off in season 10, but Nash can be seen in the short film Coin-Op. Jace Downs/AMC; Matt Baron/Shutterstock
His character, Beta, was murdered by Daryl in the season 10 finale in 2020. The Sons of Anarchy alum has since gone on to appear on the TV shows Paradise City, S.W.A.T. and the Mysterious Benedict Society. Jace Downs/AMC; Matt Baron/Shutterstock
James played Morgan, the first survivor Rick encountered after waking from his coma in season 1. He left The Walking Dead in 2018 after season 8, then joined season 4 of Fear the Walking Dead as the same character. AMC; Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock
Wilson, who played beloved farmer Hershel Greene, left the show in season 4 after his character was decapitated by the Governor. He reprised the role once in season 9 as part of a dream sequence experienced by Rick. Wilson later appeared in Bosch, The OA and Damien. He died of leukemia in 2018, shortly after filming his season 9 cameo. AMC; Chris Putnam/Shutterstock
The Grace Under Fire alum played Tammy Rose Sutton on TWD until her character met her demise in 2019. She has since appeared on The Morning Show. Jackson Lee Davis/AMC; Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
The Homeland actor’s character, Gage, was a casualty of the 11th and final season of the post-apocalyptic series. He starred in the 2021 Christmas comedy High Holiday alongside Tom Arnold, Jennifer Tilly and the late Cloris Leachman. Josh Stringer/AMC; Evan Agostini/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
The Oscar nominee played the unforgettable villain Alpha, who was murdered by Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) in season 10. The Harlots alum has since appeared in the TV movie I Am Kirsty and will appear in Darren Aronofsky's upcoming film The Whale. AMC; Nils Jorgensen/Shutterstock
Ogg played Negan associate Simon, who was eventually killed by Negan in season 8 for disobeying his orders. He has since appeared in Snowpiercer, Better Call Saul and Westworld. AMC; Charles Sykes/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
The She's the Man star appeared in seasons 5 and 6 as Jessie Anderson, who had a brief romantic relationship with Rick before getting eaten by a walker. She went on to star as Sophie in This Is Us and as Melinda in Virgin River. AMC; Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
The Wire alum played Bob Stookey, a survivor who met his untimely end in season 5 after getting bitten by a walker. He's since appeared in many TV series including Graceland, The Good Wife and The Deuce and in Regina King's film One Night in Miami. AMC; Andrew H. Walker/Shutterstock
The veteran Broadway actress starred as Deanna Monroe, who was the leader of Alexandria before her season 6 death by walker attack. She went on to play Rebecca Bunch's mom in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and voiced Aunt Z in Star Wars Resistance. AMC; Gregory Pace/Shutterstock
DeMunn portrayed Dale Horvath for two seasons from 2010 to 2012. He chose to exit the show — so his character was killed — and DeMunn went on to star in Mob City and later Billions. Gene Page/AMC
After his character Shane Walsh was killed at the end of season 2 — a planned exit that he knew about when signing on for the show — he went on to star in Mob City and later landed the lead in The Punisher. On the movie front, he has starred in The Wolf of Wall Street, Fury, Baby Driver and Ford v Ferrari. Bernthal has been married to Erin Angle since 2010 and they have three children. AMC; Shutterstock
In one of the most gruesome deaths, Callies' Lori Grimes died while giving birth during season 3. She went on to star in many TV shows including Prison Break, The Long Road Home, Colony and Council of Dads. AMC; Shutterstock
Rooker portrayed Daryl's brother, Merle Dixon, and one of the biggest villains in the series, but exited the show in season 3. He has since become part of the Avengers universe, portraying Yondu Udonta in both Guardians of the Galaxy movies. He also starred in True Detective, The Dark Tower and is set to appear in F9 and The Suicide Squad in 2021. AMC; Shutterstock
Holden's character, Andrea Harrison, was killed in the season 3 finale, shocking fans since the character was still alive in the comics. The actress then landed a recurring role in seasons 5 and 6 of The Americans and made cameos in Major Crimes, Chicago Fire and Dumb and Dumber To. AMC; Shutterstock
The English actor starred in dozens of films, TV shows and stage productions before landing the role of The Governor on the AMC series in 2012. He portrayed the villain for three seasons before being killed off. Shortly after, he joined the cast of Extant, then starred in The Missing and later, in Brittania. AMC; Shutterstock
After growing up on The Walking Dead, Riggs' character Carl Grimes died after being bitten by a zombie in season 8. He landed his first post-Walking Dead TV role in ABC's A Million Little Things. AMC; Shutterstock
After portraying Beth Greene on The Walking Dead from 2011 to 2015, Kinney joined the casts of Masters of Sex, The Flash and Arrow. In 2015, she went on her first tour after dropping her album called This Is War. She released another album, Oh Jonathan, in 2018. Kinney briefly dated American Idol alum Paul McDonald from 2017 to 2020. AMC; Shutterstock
From 2012 to 2015, Coleman portrayed Tyreese Williams on the AMC hit, but was killed off during season 5. Shortly after his exit, he landed a role on The Expanse, followed by a part in History Channel's Roots and later joined Fox's The Orville. AMC; Shutterstock
Cudlitz's Abraham was one of the many deaths during the season 7 premiere. In 2018, the actor led the short-lived ABC sitcom, The Kids Are Alright. AMC; Shutterstock
Yeun's Glenn was another shocking season 7 premiere death. The actor has landed multiple roles since this exit, including in the movies Okja, Mayhem, Troll Hunters and Burning. He also appeared in CBS All Access' reboot of The Twilight Zone. Additionally, he does a lot of voice work for both film and TV. Yeun married Joana Pak in December 2016, and they have two children together. AMC; Shutterstock
After appearing in 45 episodes of The Walking Dead, Martin-Green's Sasha was killed during the season 7 finale. Shortly after, she landed a role in CBS All Access' Star Trek: Discovery. She shares two children with husband Kenric Green. AMC; Shutterstock
After appearing on four seasons as Jesus, Payne's character was killed during season 9. Shortly after, he landed the lead role on Fox's Prodigal Son. He got engaged to singer Jennifer Åkerman in 2018. AMC; Shutterstock
Best known as Enid on The Walking Dead, Nacon's character died during season 9. She went on to land a lead role in season 2 of Light as a Feather on Hulu. AMC; Shutterstock
Masterson played Tara on the drama from season 4 to season 9. After her exit, she starred in the short film, Naysaye. The New York native has one daughter with boyfriend Brick Stowell. AMC; Shutterstock
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