'The Walking Dead' Actor Chandler Riggs Reflects on His 'Pretty Hard' Departure From the Show

Carl Grimes was a central character on the post-apocalyptic horror series The Walking Dead for eight years before he died midway through the show's eighth season, making a drastic departure from the character's storyline in the eponymous comic book series. Actor Chandler Riggs, who was cast as Carl when he was just 10 years old, recently spoke about his exit from the show during a virtual appearance at Wizard World 2020. As reported by ComicBook.com, while Riggs was taken aback by his character's death, he is still grateful for the time he spent on the AMC drama.

"When I left it, and I feel like it still is, it's like the majority of my memorable life was on that show," the actor said. "So it was just an incredible experience being able to be part of a family like that for so, so long and to grow up on a show that got to where it is now. That just doesn't happen, ever."

"I just feel super, super lucky to be a part of everything Walking Dead," Riggs continued. "I'm happy to have been a part of it, to still be a part of it and have people show up and be excited about it, so it's really, really cool. I thank the fans for keeping me a part of it. It's really cool, and an experience I will always be grateful for."

Although it wasn't the ending that fans wanted for Carl, Riggs is happy with where his career is headed. "Honestly, being on that show, it was just an irreplaceable experience. It was really all I had known, and it was pretty hard leaving because it wasn't as expected as I was hoping," he said. "But regardless, I feel like being off the show now, it's opened up so many more avenues, and I've gotten to play so many other characters that I wasn't used to playing because I had just played one character for eight years."

If you love TWD, read all about the rumored Daryl Dixon movie here!