The Walking Dead: father of killed off actor rants at show's producers on Facebook
Warning: spoilers for The Walking Dead: season 8, episode 8
Walking Dead actor Chandler Riggs has already expressed disappointment at being killed off the series in the mid-season finale of its eighth season, but someone even more upset at the actor's departure is his real-life dad, who has taken to Facebook to rant at the show's producers for letting his son go.
William Riggs, who runs the popular Walking Dead location tour Chandler Riggs' Dad's Zombie Roadtrip Riggs' Tours, took to social media to slam both the show's American network AMC, and The Walking Dead's showrunner Scott M Gimple for the decision.
"Watching Gimple fire my son two weeks before his 18th birthday after telling him they wanted him for the next three years was disappointing," he wrote on Facebook (via Hollywood Reporter).
"I never trusted Gimple or AMC but Chandler did. I know how much it hurt him. But we do absolutely know how lucky we have been to be a part of it all and appreciate all the love from fans all these years!"
The presumably now-greatly-embarrassed Riggs has portrayed Carl Grimes, son of series lead Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), since he was 11 years old. The episode screened in the US last night revealed that Carl had been concealing a zombie bite for several weeks, leaving his death imminent.
The actor's departure from the series came as a surprise to fans, as the show's comic book source material has depicted Rick training Carl to succeed him as the leader of the survivors. Riggs confirmed his exit from the series today, telling Hollywood Reporter that he was disappointed by his departure, as he had just bought a house near the set.
"It was devastating for me and my family because the show has been such a huge part of my life for so long," he said. "For a few days, we didn't know what to do; I just bought a house in Senoia [near where the show films in Georgia]. That was a big deal that I wouldn't be on anymore."
He did, however, reveal that leaving the show convinced him to move to Los Angeles to try and find other work, rather than attend college.
"It ended up being a great thing because now I get to do all kinds of other stuff that I haven't been able to do in the last eight years," he said.
