The Walking Dead: Andrew Lincoln Pays Tribute to Late Co-Star Scott Wilson

The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live feels like a full circle moment not just for fans, but also for its stars Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira. The pair, who first started working together when Gurira joined The Walking Dead in its second season, will reunite onscreen for the series, which pits them against a power-mad general played by Terry O’Quinn. The series is being received pretty warmly so far by critics, with a 92% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes. 

What it means for the future of the franchise is anyone’s guess, but while speaking with ComicBook.com’s Brandon Davis, Lincoln said he wished he could share the show with some of the people they have lost along the way. That includes Scott Wilson, who played Hershel Greene on the show.

“I wish we could share it with Scott Wilson. That’s my guy,” Lincoln told ComicBook.com, before had and Gurira named a number of crew members who had also passed away. “Those guys with a sort of heart and soul in the spirit of this show and I thought about them a lot actually during this last year. So, yeah, this one’s for them.”

Garfield and Gurira also shouted out Deej, Purvis, and Chuck. We were unable to clarify which Chuck the pair were talking about, but have reached out for confirmation and will update this story if possible. 

“Deej” was David Galbraith, who was the show’s focus puller since the pilot. According to executive producer Greg Nicotero, Deej was “a character,” and at one point had wanted to get cast as The Governor. Michael Purvis, whom Nicotero described as “another colorful and charismatic guy,” worked in transportation — primarily as a motorcycle wrangler — from 2015 until it ended. Purvis passed away in August 2023 at 52.

Wilson passed away in 2018, after his character had already died on the show, but that had not stopped him from returning in flashbacks, a Robot Chicken parody, and all the other creative ways that The Walking Dead would periodically find to revisit fan-favorite characters after they had been written out of the series for good.

Wilson was a huge part of the early years of The Walking Dead not just because of his character, but because of the role he played behind the scenes and at conventions. He was beloved by his fellow cast members, and made a big impression on fans at events like Walker Stalker Con.

“I think because I didn’t know my dad as much as I would like to, when I find guys that I really respect of that age, I stick to them,” Norman Reedus recently told Jon Bernthal on his Real Ones podcast. “I did it with Kris Kristofferson….I just love them. Scott was so open and so honest. The last time I saw Scott, we were all at his house and we were watching his In Cold Blood audition. He’s sitting there next to me and he can’t speak very well. We’re sitting there watching, the room’s totally quiet, and I looked over at him and he looked over at me, and I go ‘you’re such a fucking asshole,’ and he just starts laughing.”