Exclusive Interview: The Walking Dead Season 5 Retrospective with Andrew Lincoln

With The Walking Dead Season 5 now wrapped up, I can confidently say that I feel this was the strongest season of the series. With new characters, new threats, and new zombie creations, there was a little something for everyone and it feels like the show has really hit its stride with balancing action and character development. I had a chance to catch up with Andrew Lincoln, following the Season 5 finale, and he talked about working with the new cast, his zombie fight from the finale, his favorite scene from the season, and shaving off his beard:

This season has really been a great journey for readers, seeing the group on the road for most of the season and finding a new home in Alexandria. What has the experience been like for you as an actor, starting out in the first season with a smaller cast and having this massive addition of new actors in Season 5?

Andrew Lincoln: It's been incredible. Scott [Gimple] and the writers have done an astonishing job in crafting really complicated, brilliant story arcs. We have now twenty principle characters, which is unheard of. It's a wonderful thing still having the old guard, the five or six of us from the original DNA of the show, but there's something lovely about new blood coming in and changing the energy. They bring their own enthusiasm and ideas, and it pushes the show forward and reinvents it.

Greg Nicotero and his team really outdid themselves this season with the zombie effects. One of my favorite scenes had to be you pushing the gun through the walker's head in the season finale. Can you talk about shooting that scene?

Andrew Lincoln: It was a puppet with a bucket of blood, so it wasn't your average puppet [laughs]. It was 3:30 in the morning and I had to push the gun through the latex neck into the brain. We needed to simultaneously synchronize my trigger pull with the brain exploding all over my face. We got really lucky with the first take and it worked, otherwise it would have been an hour to reset.

The other one that I witnessed was Tyler James' last day. He was such a tremendous asset to the show and an incredibly impressive young man. The cast they made of him and that gag was truly astonishing. I was watching the monitor and it was one of the most ridiculously most brutal things I've seen. Greg Nicotero mentioned that they had to put some blood smears on the screen to hide it, but they may put the full gag on the Blu-ray. It was unbelievable.

Looking back at your time on set during Season 5, do you have a favorite moment or scene?

Andrew Lincoln: I loved the trough scene and the escape from Terminus. Witnessing that horrendous trough scene and escaping with the AK-47 was such good fun. I'm sorry, but it was awesome and I would do it every single day on set if I had the opportunity and we had the ammo. That was an amazing start to the season. Usually it takes a little while to get into the rhythm, but about half a day into this, we were covered in blood and gun power, and said "It's so good to be back!" [laughs]

Every season, your beard has been growing bigger and bigger. How did it feel to finally shave it off?

Andrew Lincoln: It was wonderful for me, but even better for my wife. In fact, when I was shaving it off, Greg Nicotero filmed it with his camera and sent it directly to my wife, so she could witness the clean shaven me. It was surreal, weird, and unsettling, but perfect for the story arc. It all makes sense with putting the police uniform back on.

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Already missing The Walking Dead? Keep an eye out for regular coverage of the Season 5 Blu-ray release, the comic book series, Season 6, and Fear the Walking Dead. Until then, check out these Season 5 behind-the-scenes photos, featuring Andrew Lincoln: