Frank Darabont Originally Wanted Another Actor to Play the Iconic TWD Role of Rick Grimes

Over its 12-year run, The Walking Dead brought in some great characters, played by some seriously talented actors. Some of these actors just seemed like they were born to play those roles on the show,

Rick Grimes, the beloved protagonist of The Walking Dead, has become synonymous with actor Andrew Lincoln, who flawlessly nailed the role. However, a surprising revelation from the show's early development days tells us that this iconic character could have had a different face altogether.

You may know that Jon Bernthal, the talented actor who portrayed Shane in the first two seasons of TWD, later became the Punisher for Marvel’s TV shows on Netflix. However, it was Thomas Jane who first portrayed the Punisher on screen in the 2004 eponymous movie.

The original showrunner of The Walking Dead, Frank Darabont, who was at the helm of the show during its initial stages, had his sights set on Thomas Jane for the lead role.

Jane had previously worked with Darabont in The Mist, starring some of the TWD actors like Jeffrey DeMunn (Dale), Laurie Holden (Andrea), and Melissa McBride (Carol).

Interestingly, the decision to cast Jane as Rick Grimes was made when Darabont was pitching the show to HBO. However, HBO decided not to move forward with the project.

By the time AMC picked up The Walking Dead, Jane had already committed to another HBO series, Hung, which ran from 2009 to 2011. This commitment made him unavailable for The Walking Dead, leading to the casting of Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes.

In retrospect, it's hard to imagine anyone other than Lincoln in the role of Rick Grimes. His portrayal of the character has been widely acclaimed, and he has become a household name because of it. However, the "what if" scenario involving Thomas Jane adds an interesting twist to the show's history.

It's fascinating to think about how different The Walking Dead could have been with Jane at the forefront. Would Jane’s interpretation of Rick Grimes have changed the trajectory of the show? We'll never know for sure, but it's a fun piece of trivia for fans of the series to ponder.

Source: ScreenCrush