List of The Walking Dead (TV series) characters


The following is a list of characters from The Walking Dead television series based on the eponymous comic book series. Although some characters appear in both the television and comic series, the continuity of the television series is not shared with the original comic book series.

Cast

Legend

Main cast

Recurring cast

Main characters

Rick Grimes

Rick Grimes, portrayed by Andrew Lincoln, is a former sheriff's deputy from a small Georgia town. He is an everyman—smart, calm, just, a sharpshooter, and a good friend, husband and father—but flawed. Rick is a natural leader, someone his fellow survivors will turn to in a crisis, confident in his guidance, even when he at times doubts himself. His overwhelming need to do the right thing and protect those who cannot protect themselves may pull him away from his family, causing cracks of tension within his marriage with Lori and his relationship with his son, Carl. Frustrated about leading his group and keeping them safe, Rick gradually changes into a darker person.
Eventually, he breaks down once again, following the deaths of Glenn and Abraham, and the overshadowing presence of Negan—the series' central antagonist in season six and seven. Throughout season seven, Rick slowly regains his footing and then starts preparing for an all-out war against Negan and the Saviors. However, before the war is over, Carl dies when a walker bites him with his last wish being for his father to find a way to forgive Negan and even join forces with him so that a large, strong community can live in peace, safe from walkers. Rick is then torn between his desire for revenge and his son's final wish for reconciliation. At the end of season eight, Rick manages to find a middle ground by almost, but not quite killing Negan and deciding to keep him locked inside a prison cell in Alexandria, thus ending the war.
When Rick and the communities decide to build a bridge the following season, chaos erupts with the rebellious, remaining Saviors and conflict with members of Rick's group who believe Negan should die in retribution for brutally murdering Glenn and Abraham. In the midst of the conflict, Rick is critically wounded, the bridge is blown up, and Rick is presumed dead. However, unbeknownst to Michonne, Daryl, and the rest of the community, a nearly dead Rick is discovered by Jadis, who arranges him to be taken off in a helicopter with her to an unknown destination. In the series finale, Judith reveals to Daryl and Carol the truth about Michonne's departure in search of Rick, who is still alive.

Shane

Shane Walsh, portrayed by Jon Bernthal, is a former sheriff's deputy from a small Georgia town. He was Rick's partner in the sheriff's department and his best friend since high school.
After the walkers begin to take over, Shane goes to visit Rick in the hospital, where he has lain in a coma since being shot. He cannot save Rick, but he blocks the hospital door with a gurney and hopes Rick will die quietly of natural causes. Until Rick's recovery and reappearance, Shane led the group of Atlanta survivors and was Lori's lover. His fixation on Lori becomes very obsessive and deranged, though he tries to acclimate to the reality of Rick as leader of the group and Lori's rightful husband. Additionally, Shane shows a ruthless side, allowing Otis to be killed by walkers so that he can escape. Rick eventually confronts him for all his atrocities, but even so he forgives him. Later, Shane formulates a plan to kill Rick but fails. Rick ends his life with a knife in the chest and Carl then ends his reanimation.

Lori Grimes

Lori Grimes, portrayed by Sarah Wayne Callies, is Rick's wife, and Carl and Judith's mother. In the first season, Lori believes that Rick has died in the hospital from a gunshot wound, while the walkers are taking over, creating chaos and forcing Lori and Carl to run, under the protection of Shane. A few episodes later, they find out Rick is alive. When Rick reunites with Lori, this attracts the harassment of Shane who gradually becomes more and more hostile even when he knows that she is expecting a child of his. Eventually, Rick manages to learn about this event afterwards.
From their escape from Hershel's farm to their endeavor to take up residence at a prison, Lori becomes increasingly estranged from Rick and Carl, which she blames on herself; she becomes worried about her baby's survival. In "Killer Within", when she goes into labor during an unexpected walker attack, Lori convinces Maggie to give her a C-section, despite the fact that it will prove fatal for her. Lori then dies giving birth and Carl is forced to shoot her to prevent reanimation; this breaks Rick into an emotional state.

Andrea

Andrea, portrayed by Laurie Holden, is a former civil rights attorney who is extremely protective of her younger sister Amy. Following Amy's death, she considers suicide, but decides to remain with the group.
With the others, they find a farm owned by Hershel Greene. At the farm, she continued to confide and seek comfort in Dale, and gains survivalist skills through Shane. After escaping Hershel's overrun farm, she is rescued by Michonne and is brought by Merle to Woodbury, where she begins a romantic relationship with The Governor.
She is eventually caught in the crossfire between Rick and The Governor, and attempts to mend relations, but later turns on The Governor after learning that he intends to attack the prison. Afterwards, Andrea leaves Woodbury and reaches the prison perimeter, but is secretly followed and tackled by The Governor, who then returns her to Woodbury. She is then locked in his torture chamber, gagged and bound to a dental chair, with an undead Milton. However, before she is able to free herself, the reanimated Milton bites her. After the failed attempt to attack the prison by The Governor, a nearly dead Andrea is found by Rick, Daryl, Michonne, and Tyreese where she makes amends before taking her own life with Michonne by her side.

Dale

Dale Horvath, portrayed by Jeffrey DeMunn, is an older man and former car salesman. His age, calm affect, worldly experience, and RV provide the nucleus around that the small group of survivors has formed. In addition to being wise and the respected elder of the group, Dale is rather feisty and not afraid to speak his mind or call others out for their mistakes in judgment. At the CDC, he manages to talk Andrea out of a suicide attempt by putting himself at risk, as well; however, Andrea acts cold towards Dale afterward.
Eventually, Dale becomes wary of Shane, after witnessing that the latter contemplated assassinating Rick beforehand as well as guessing that Shane killed Otis while retrieving medical supplies for Carl. He later worries that the group is losing its humanity when they decide to kill Randall in order to avoid any risks he might have posed. Dale argues for sparing his life, leading to the execution being postponed. That night, Dale is disemboweled by a walker that was unintentionally lured by Carl earlier that day; he begins to slowly suffer to death. Since his injuries are beyond treatment, Daryl mercy kills Dale. His death causes the group to reevaluate their unity and allow Randall to live; nevertheless, Shane kills Randall in secret.

Glenn Rhee

Glenn Rhee, portrayed by Steven Yeun, is a former pizza delivery boy from Atlanta who knows every shortcut in Atlanta. Glenn saves Rick's life at the beginning of the outbreak and helps him find his wife Lori and son Carl. As time goes by, Glenn becomes a very important member of the Hershel-inspired group as well as a supply courier in his experience of knowing the streets. While at the farm, he meets Hershel's daughter Maggie; the two fall in love and marry eventually with Hershel's blessing.
Together, they manage to pass many hard tests as they travel northward, eventually arriving at the Alexandria Safe-Zone. When Maggie experiences complications in her pregnancy, Glenn, along with Aaron, Abraham, Carl, Daryl, Eugene, Maggie, Michonne, Rick, Rosita and Sasha, drive to the Hilltop Colony for medical assistance. However, at the nightfall, the group is surrounded by a large group of Saviors at a clearing and forced to kneel before their leader Negan.
As punishment for a previous raid on a Savior outpost led by Rick, Negan's wrath lands on Abraham and Daryl's reaction to Abraham's death causes Negan to additionally bludgeon Glenn to death with his barbed wired baseball bat he calls "Lucille", traumatizing the surviving members of Rick's group. Glenn's remains are then taken by Maggie and Sasha to the Hilltop, where he and Abraham are buried together.

Carl Grimes

Carl Grimes, portrayed by Chandler Riggs, is Rick and Lori's son and Judith's older brother. His innocence diminishes as he begins to discover and experience the brutality in the world. While approaching a deer in the woods, he is accidentally shot by Hershel's friend Otis; Hershel manages to save Carl's life. In later episodes set at the prison, Carl witnesses his mother's death during childbirth and assumes the responsibility for putting a bullet in her brain to halt reanimation.
Carl's emotional equilibrium is stabilized upon arrival at the Alexandria Safe-Zone. He begins to form friendships with the original residents there and Enid, a young girl who narrowly escaped walkers after they killed her parents. When a walking swarm invades the community, Carl accidentally receives a shot in the right eye, but manages to recover and adapts in the moral balance until the arrival of Negan. Before the war against the Saviors, Carl hatches a daring plan to infiltrate the Sanctuary and kill Negan; however, they end up forming an interesting relationship as Negan tries his best to bond with the youngling.
Negan is hugely impressed with Carl's determination, and frequently makes comparisons between Carl and Rick. Nonetheless, Negan never hesitates to endanger Carl's life, first by ordering Rick to amputate his arm; however, just as Rick is about to go through with it, Negan stops him, believing Rick to now be submissive. The next time Negan endangers Carl's life is when he prepares to strike and kill Carl with Lucille during the Saviors' first assault on Alexandria; however, soldiers from the Hilltop Colony and the Kingdom stop this act by their surprise attack on the Saviors causing a battle to ensue.
Later, Carl meets Siddiq and helps him repel a walker attack in the woods, but is bitten on the torso by a walker. Some days later, during the Saviors' second attack on Alexandria, Carl reveals the secret to his father and Michonne that he was bitten. He gives his father a stack of letters that he wrote to the group and commits suicide to prevent his reanimation.