It wasn’t until I started prepping for my Penguin Bloom interview with Andrew Lincoln that I realized his focus has been almost entirely on The Walking Dead since the start of the show. Since TWD first kicked off on AMC in October of 2010, the only other projects Lincoln has appeared in have been TWD-related, minus the mini-sequel to Love, Actually called Red Nose Day, Actually. Yes, leading a hit series can keep one mighty busy, but we do often see actors capitalize on current success by booking other projects in between seasons. Lincoln chose not to do that.
During our chat for Penguin Bloom, I asked Lincoln why that was the case. As a huge fan of his, I’d like to see him in as much as possible, but I’ve also got deep respect for his reason why loading up his schedule between Walking Dead seasons would have been too much:
“I have a young family and the industry is littered with people that don’t make it as a family. And I spent eight months away from them for a lot of their childhood. It was becoming more unbearable so basically, when I was home, I was playing catch-up as a parent, as a husband and as a father.”
Lincoln also took a moment to highlight another reason why booking other gigs wasn’t a priority; he kept getting offers that were too similar to The Walking Dead:
“And also, unfortunately what you have to do is you have to change people’s perceptions of what you’re able to do as an actor. And so a lot of the scripts I was receiving were great scripts, but they were action and they were horror and I was waiting for the right stories to chime, and then this one came along and I instantly loved it and knew I wanted to be a part of this beautiful story of the Bloom family. And then when Naomi was involved, it just was a no-brainer.”
For anyone out there who’s become a big fan of Lincoln’s via The Walking Dead and hasn’t seen much else, trust me when I tell you that watching TWD and Penguin Bloom will prove his range is endless. The movie is based on the true story of Samantha Bloom (Naomi Watts). While on vacation with her family, Sam suffered a fall that left the lower two-thirds of her body paralyzed. As a very involved mother and passionate athlete, everything about Sam’s life is derailed after the accident and her husband Cameron, played by Lincoln, is often unsure of how best to supporter her. I made this point in my review after catching the film for it’s 2020 Toronto International Film Festival world premiere; Lincoln is exceptional when it comes to finding that balance between Cam being strong for Sam while also struggling to manage his own pain as well.
And perhaps Lincoln’s skills in that department did stem from his experience working on The Walking Dead to a degree. I also asked him how being part of a long-running show is coming in handy on projects like Penguin Bloom even though the material is totally different. Here’s what he said:
“I think I improved as an actor working in America, working at the scale that our show was on and working with really, really fine filmic actors in America. You know, it’s great being trained in the UK, but there’s something about working with really the best on screen that kind of ups your game and the alchemy of the endeavor of trying to get it better. There isn’t a set way of doing it. And that was something that certainly working with this, there’s never a set way of working with children and animals. [Laughs] And so yeah, I think you learn as you go and you grow hopefully as an actor as you get more experience.”
If you couldn’t tell already, I absolutely adore Penguin Bloom and can’t recommend it enough when it arrives on Netflix on Wednesday, January 27th. Be sure to keep an eye out for the rest of our chat with Lincoln and Naomi Watts soon after Penguin Bloom’s release!