Chandler Riggs

Early life

Riggs was born on June 27, 1999, in Atlanta, Georgia, to Gina Ann (née Carlton) and William Riggs. Riggs studied tap dancing for several years with So You Think You Can Dance finalist Zack Everhart.

Career

Beginnings

Riggs began acting at age four. His early work included stage productions of The Wizard of Oz, where he played a Munchkin in his theater debut, and Oklahoma with Theater of the Stars at Atlanta's Fox Theatre. At age five, he starred in the indie horror film Jesus H. Zombie. At age nine in 2009, he was cast in his first two feature film roles in Get Low as Tom and in the television film The Wronged Man as seven-year-old Ryan Gregory. The latter film, which aired on Lifetime in 2010, saw Riggs acting opposite Julia Ormond as her son.

''The Walking Dead''

In 2010 at age 10, Riggs was cast as Carl Grimes, his biggest role to date, on the AMC horror-drama television series The Walking Dead, which is based on the eponymous comic book series. Riggs had previously worked with the series' executive producer Gale Anne Hurd on The Wronged Man. The series follows Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), the father of Riggs' character Carl, as he and his group of family, friends, and strangers fight to survive in a violent apocalyptic world populated with zombies and the few surviving humans, some of whom are even more dangerous than the zombies themselves. Proving to be a ratings success, the series became the #1 show in all of television among adults 18-49.

Riggs and the other main cast members of The Walking Dead won the 2012 Satellite Award for Best Cast in a Television Series. For his performance in the series as Carl, Riggs was nominated for the Saturn Award for [[Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor in a Television Series| Best Performance by a Younger Actor in a Television Series]] five consecutive times and won the award three times in 2014, 2016, and 2018. In 2014, Riggs also won a Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a TV Series - Leading Young Actor after previously being nominated for the award in 2012 and 2013. Along with several of his co-stars, Riggs lent his voice to a special episode of Robot Chicken titled "The Robot Chicken Walking Dead Special: Look Who’s Walking" in 2017, reprising his role as Carl.

In late 2017, Riggs was let go from The Walking Dead when, in a drastic departure from the comic book source material, his character was controversially killed off midway through the series' eighth season. Riggs' 77th and final episode of the series aired on February 10, 2018.

Further projects

In 2023, Riggs voiced Superman in the animated film Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, and in 2024, portrayed Peter Parker in the fan film The Spider.

In 2024, Riggs starred in the independent film Breakup Season, marking his first time as a romantic lead, alongside actress Samantha Isler. For his work in the film, Riggs won 2 acting awards at the Waco Independent Film Festival and the Mentone Film Festival.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Awards and nominations

References

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References

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2. "Chandler Riggs: Biography".
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6. Dean, Charles. (November 4, 2017). "19 Humiliating Roles Walking Dead Actors Do NOT Want You To See".
7. "The Wronged Man (TV)".
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10. Smith, Tara C.. (October 23, 2013). "Disaster Breeds Disaster".
11. Bibel, Sara. (March 30, 2015). "'The Walking Dead' Season 5 Finale is Highest Rated Finale in Series History, Garnering 15.8 Million Viewers". TV by the Numbers.
12. Kilday, Gregg. (December 3, 2012). "Satellite Awards Nominates 10 Films for Best Motion Picture".
13. O'Dell, Johnny. (June 28, 2018). "The Walking Dead Wins Best Horror TV Show at The 2018 Saturn Awards".
14. Dwilson, Stephanie Dube. (February 25, 2018). "Chandler Riggs' Eclipse Band: Learn All About His Musical Career".
15. Lovett, Jamie. (September 26, 2017). "'The Robot Chicken Walking Dead Special' Details Revealed".
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18. Caulfield, AJ. (June 25, 2018). "The Walking Dead: Chandler Riggs shocked at Andrew Lincoln's decision to exit series".
19. Venable, Nick. (January 23, 2019). "Walking Dead Vet Chandler Riggs Joined The Cast Of A Big Network TV Show".
20. Davis, Brandon. (December 5, 2017). "'The Walking Dead's Chandler Riggs Releases First Song Under Eclipse Name".
21. Davis, Brandon. (January 3, 2018). "'The Walking Dead's Chandler Riggs Releases A New Song".
22. N'Duka, Amanda. (December 8, 2017). "Bruce Dern, Owen Teague, Valorie Curry & More Join Crime Thriller 'Inherit The Viper'".
23. Digioia, Anthony. (December 15, 2019). "First Look at "INHERIT THE VIPER" Starring Josh Hartnett".
24. "Inherit the Viper - Zurich Film Festival".
25. Jutton, Lee. (May 7, 2019). "Tribeca Film Festival 2019 Review: ONLY".
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28. Squires, John. (April 26, 2024). "‘The Spider’ – Short Film Starring Chandler Riggs Imagines Spider-Man as a Body Horror Nightmare".
29. Ballmann, Avery. "Chandler Riggs Visits Waco Film Festival".
30. admin. (2025-02-01). "COME LEARN MORE ABOUT MENTONE'S HISTORY!".
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35. "Keep Watching Movie review".
36. Couch, Aaron. (December 15, 2022). "'Justice League x RWBY' Movie Unveils Voice Cast (Exclusive)".
37. "Chandler Riggs (visual voices guide)".
38. Grobar, Matt. (February 7, 2023). "‘The Walking Dead’s Chandler Riggs, Samantha Isler Board H. Nelson Tracey’s Dramedy ’Breakup Season’".
39. Prock, David. (July 8, 2024). "‘Breakup Season’ Starring Tulsa's Own Samantha Isler, Chandler Riggs To Premiere At Circle Cinema Film Fest".
40. Squires, John. (April 26, 2024). "‘The Spider’ – Short Film Starring Chandler Riggs Imagines Spider-Man as a Body Horror Nightmare".
41. Thompson, Jaden. (October 18, 2023). "‘Hacked,’ Horror-Comedy Starring ‘Walking Dead’s’ Chandler Riggs, Set to Begin Production (EXCLUSIVE)".
42. Ntim, Zac. (April 3, 2024). "NHL Hall of Famer Phil Esposito And ‘The Walking Dead’s Katelyn Nacon Join Indie Horror Comedy ‘Hacked: A Double Entendre of Rage Fueled Karma’".
43. Grobar, Matt. (August 13, 2025). "Deacon Phillippe, Chandler Riggs, Thomas Murphy Molony & Forrest Weber To Topline Indie Sci-Fi Pic ‘Brother Save Us’ From Jesse Behrenwald".
44. Wiseman, Andreas. (December 15, 2025). "‘The Walking Dead’ Star Chandler Riggs Among Cast For Horror ‘The Last Time’; ‘Avatar’ Creature Designer Neville Page Aboard".
45. (November 22, 2022). "El cameo de Chandler Riggs en el final de 'The Walking Dead'".
46. Ross, Dalton. (November 20, 2022). "Chandler Riggs on his Walking Dead finale cameo you didn't see".
47. "33rd Annual Young Artist Awards".
48. McNary, Dave. (March 15, 2018). "‘Black Panther,’ ‘Walking Dead’ Rule Saturn Awards Nominations".
49. Fall, Cristine. (November 18, 2010). "Q&A - Chandler Riggs (Carl Grimes)". [[AMC (TV channel).
50. Vick, Megan. (March 1, 2019). "A Million Little Things Boss and Chandler Riggs Explain That 'Insane' Barbara Morgan Twist".
51. Bonomolo, Cameron. (February 15, 2019). "First Look at ‘The Walking Dead’s Chandler Riggs in His New Show".