Exclusive: Andrew Lincoln Talks Negan, Walkers & His Playlist for THE WALKING DEAD Season 7

2017/02/10 23:41:44 +00:00 | Jonathan James

We've seen Rick Grimes and his group kicked around by Negan and The Saviors for the first part of Season 7, but things are starting to change in the second half. The Walking Dead returns on Sunday with an episode that's sure to keep fans talking, and I caught up with Andrew Lincoln ahead of the premiere to discuss the new episode, his Rick Grimes playlist for Season 7, working with Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and his excitement for the upcoming 100th episode.

At the beginning of Season 7, it was difficult because you lost working with Steven [Yeun] and Michael [Cudlitz] as friends and actors. And to make matters worse, as Rick Grimes you don't get to fight back. How was it going into the first half of Season 7 playing the part of being submissive to Negan?

Andrew Lincoln: It really was unusual. That's the challenge, to play a guy that has been so used to fighting. Ever since you saw him wake up in the hospital, he's fought his way through this landscape. And then, for the first time he's met somebody who's omnipotent, and is humiliating him and emasculating him, and you have to suck it up.

It is really unpleasant and weird and uncomfortable. But that's a part of who he is, and he's doing it for a reason. He knew that if he did offer any rebellion or opposition to Negan, it could have ended up with the whole community being destroyed.

That makes sense. He was, basically, at that point broken, and knew that he'd potentially risk all the people he loved by not playing along.

Andrew Lincoln: Exactly. But it was not fun. It wasn't really any fun at all. And thankfully, the second half of the season, Rick's got his gun back and he's got his thoughts back. In spite of having nothing, not even a rival army yet, you see a man on a mission again and also the fight back inside of him, which is so much fun to play after eight episodes of being suffocated.

Obviously Negan's the big presence on the show at the start of Season 7, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan does such a great job with that character. Has it been fun playing back and forth with him? He started the season as the more dominant force, but it looks like we’ll start to see Rick go toe to toe with Negan.

Andrew Lincoln: I can't wait, man. It's been so much fun having Jeffrey doing the show. He's such a terrific presence, and he's brought so much to the character of Negan. But it was very much one-way traffic in the first eight [episodes] because of the broken stuff, because if I offer any opposition, there will be trouble. But certainly what you will see throughout these eight [episodes] is proactive, getting to carry possibly a more balanced scene.

I had a chance to see the new episode ahead of time, and it really is excellent. I know fans are going to love it. And it seems like Scott Gimple, Greg Nicotero, and the whole creative team always come up with new ways to throw walkers at you guys. Is it as much fun for you each episode as it is for us to watch it?

Andrew Lincoln: Oh man, are you kidding me? When we did that sequence, I laughed. I had the same reaction. I couldn't wait… [Spoilers Omitted. Check back Sunday night for additional details!] It's like no other job I've ever been in or ever will be in again. It's those sorts of days that make all the humiliation, the Negan embarrassment and emasculation, worth it.

I think our readers are going to get a real kick out of this episode, so I can't wait for them to see it.

Andrew Lincoln: Oh good, man. It was an amazing scene. You know, this back eight, that's the beginning of a very different flavored back eight. There's a lot more verve and a lot more energy, because the rebellion is beginning.

We usually talk about you doing some kind of research leading up to the new season to try to get into the mindset. Were there any books that you read leading into Season 7 to get into the mindset of this broken-down Rick Grimes, and then, of course, coming together with everyone in this back half?

Andrew Lincoln: I need music a lot, and I'm fortunate that, in essence, the music triggers that I used, I still had and I could carry that over into the cliffhanger, and it was a continuation of the same scene. A lot of that was about just trying to place myself back into exactly where we were when we filmed season 6. Fortunately it worked. We got back there.

I have been very solitary in this season. In the first eight, certainly I was very quiet and subdued. I didn't really engage a lot when I was on set, because there was a new kid in town.

More importantly, towards the back eight, I really start to rediscover the man again, and also differently. I'm much more restrained and more the politician and having to be that now. I'm a much more open, self-knowledgeable leader. There are a couple scenes in the back eight where he's able to lead himself a bit better than before. He's not having to be impulsive.

It's difficult in a sense. I read a lot of books around war. There's a book that I read, it's called The Junior Officers’ Reading Club, and it's a brilliant book about Afghanistan and Iraq. It's also funny and odd and very, very moving. It's about living in chaos, and endurance, which I found very interesting.

Talking about how music's a big part of you getting ready, what was on your Rick Grimes playlist for Season 7? What are some of the songs or bands that you went back to, to get into the mode you needed to be in?

Andrew Lincoln: I've been listening to a lot of Radiohead and also I really enjoyed Blackstar, [David Bowie’s] very last album. I thought it was incredible, and I listened to “Blackstar” the song itself quite a lot in the first episode and second episode that I was in, just because it kind of works. I just think of it as an inspiration. It's an incredibly powerful album written by a guy who was dying, and it’s youthful and brilliant and inspirational.

I realize that the Season 8 premiere will be episode 100, which is really amazing considering that it seems like there's no end in sight and the show continues to get better and better. At this point, are you taking time off right now, or are you getting right back into it? Do you know what’s coming up?

Andrew Lincoln: I'm still in a decompression chamber at the moment. I've unplugged for a couple of months. But I've begun my running through the fields with my dog to get myself fit and certainly will need a nice mellow-out at the end of this season. Fighting fit, that's Season 8.

We know where the comic books are headed and it's not always a match, but it seems like the TV series is definitely preparing for All Out War, so I think everyone's excited to see that.

Andrew Lincoln: I will say that I've never seen a crew or cast more ready to return to shooting then I have at the end of this season.

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The Walking Dead Mid-Season Premiere airs this Sunday, February 12th at 9:00pm ET on AMC. Stay tuned to Daily Dead for more coverage of The Walking Dead in the coming months, and in case you missed it, check out our previous coverage: