The Walking Dead Actress Celebrates 10-Year Anniversary of Filming First Episode With Andrew Lincoln

Addy Miller, who played the little girl zombie named 'Summer' in the first episode of The Walking [...]

By Cameron Bonomolo

Addy Miller, who played the little girl zombie named "Summer" in the first episode of The Walking Dead, celebrated the tenth anniversary of filming the episode by sharing a throwback photo with Rick Grimes actor Andrew Lincoln. The little girl walker is the first zombie shown in the opening minutes of the Frank Darabont-directed premiere episode, "Days Gone Bye," inspired by the first issue of creator Robert Kirkman's comic book. Rick, who was comatose at the start of the initial outbreak that caused the freshly dead to reanimate as flesh-hungry zombies, is forced to shoot the girl when he realizes she's one of the undead.

"I am beyond lucky and thankful for everything this show has brought me," Miller wrote on Twitter, where the now 20-year-old actress praised the Walking Dead family and "the community built around this show."

Photos show Miller posed with Lincoln and then-showrunner Darabont, who developed the television show. Miller returned to The Walking Dead as a similar-looking walker in the show's 100th episode aired in 2017.

"I had to audition for my role on The Walking Dead, just like other cast members," Miller told Blast Zone in 2013. "I remember the audition because the script I got was so cut down to just one part of my scene and they wouldn't tell me anything about the show. About 10 days later I found out I got the part!"

After attending "zombie school," Miller learned her brief scene would open the episode, taking place after Rick realized the world had "gone bye" during the time he was hospitalized by a criminal's bullet.

"I found out at my final fitting with [makeup artist] Greg Nicotero that I would be the opening scene. I did not know this before; I guess I just didn't think about where I was in the show," Miller recalled. "I was very excited and am so thankful that Mr. Darabont decided to put me there!"

On working with Lincoln, the actress said the show's then-leading man was "amazing."

"He actually came up to me and introduced himself and said, 'I want to get to know you before I have to shoot you,' or something like that," she said. "We all laughed and then we went into the air conditioning to talk."

The Walking Dead will air its Nicotero-directed Season 10 finale as a special episode on AMC later this year. For all things TWD, follow the author @CameronBonomolo on Twitter.

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