SAN DIEGO, CA — Andrew Lincoln will be leaving “The Walking Dead” after the upcoming ninth season.
“I love this show. It means everything to me. I love the people who make this show,” Lincoln, who plays the show’s lead character Rick Grimes, said during “The Walking Dead” panel on Friday at San Diego Comic-Con.
With tears in his eyes, he thanked the crowd and legions of fans for making the show “the most extraordinary, amazing, beautiful experience” of his career.
“I don’t want this to turn into an Oscar acceptance speech or an obituary,” Lincoln continued. “As you see in the trailer, we are deeply deeply proud of the work we’ve done this season … my relationship with Rick Grimes is far from over.”
When asked what’s next for Lincoln, the actor said he’s going to take a break and go home to London, England.
“You know, these guys here and everybody back in Atlanta [where the show films] are the greatest surrogate family I could have wished for but, I do have a real family and it is time for me to go home.”
And while he always has “one eye” on scripts, Lincoln says he really doesn’t know what’s next in terms of his career, but he is going to sleep for the next three months.
The ninth season of “The Walking Dead” premieres on AMC on Oct. 7.