Chandler Riggs talks about his final THE WALKING DEAD cameo you probably missed

Actor Chandler Riggs he will always be known as the young son of Rick Grimes from the series The walking dead. The actor started the series from the beginning and lasted eight seasons on the show before his untimely passing which was one of the most heartbreaking deaths for the fans. While his character wasn’t able to make it to this week’s finale as his character Carl Grimes, he actually returned as a background character that you probably didn’t even notice.

The actor was in town during the last few filming dates and decided he wanted to visit his old friends on set and see the show on its last day. He told EW about the experience, explaining how it came about:

Well, I heard they were shooting the last episode and I thought, “I feel like I should be there. It would be great to see all the old crew and old cast and new cast that are all there.” And basically, I felt like I just had to be there for that. So I texted executive producer Denise Huth and said, “Hey, can you let me know on the last day of shooting? I’d love to be there for that. I’ll be in Georgia and it would be great to come.” And so she sent me the dates, and I made the trip to Senoia, Georgia.

He continued:

And apparently Denise hadn’t told anyone I was coming, and I hadn’t realized it. [Laughs] So I showed up and Denise said to the rest of the cast, “So I told you guys I had a surprise for you on the last day. Here it is!” And I’m like, “Hey, you guys!” And it was so healthy.

When asked about the day, he explained:

I showed up early when they started shooting because I had nothing else to do that day. So I thought, “Well, I’ll come down and be there for the whole day.” And so, I was just hanging out in the Video Village.

He wasn’t going to be in a scene, but the show’s director and longtime effects creator Greg Nicotero told him to jump in!

It was for one of their long shots, and they were like, “Let’s let it in. Here!” I was just in this t-shirt and jeans that I went down in. They took a hat from the closet. It was like Father Gabriel’s hat! And they gave me a hoe and said, “You’re part of the background for one of the last shots.” And they just threw me back there, and I just hoed the ground in the background. [Laughs] It was very funny. It was just a quick thing before the rest of the day’s shooting, so that was pretty cool.

Norman Reduswho plays Daryl on the series, said of Riggs’ return:

“It was great. They’re trying to hide it in the scene, and I kept trying to move my head like I was looking at it to get the audience’s attention to ‘Hey, Chandler’s over there!’ Which I don’t think anyone really wanted me to do, but I thought it was fun, so I kept trying.”

I haven’t reached the final season yet, so I haven’t seen the finale, but I’m glad to know that I have to look out for Riggs when I watch! I think it’s great that he got to be a part of it. I’m sure it made the feeling on set even more special that day.

Have you seen the ending? Have you noticed Riggs in the background?