Eve Myles has said that The Walking Dead star Andrew Lincoln is “without doubt the best leading man” she has ever worked with.
The Guest actor stars alongside Lincoln in the forthcoming ITV thriller Coldwater, which follows Lincoln’s character John as he moves his family to Scotland after a violent altercation in a London playground.
The 47-year-old said Lincoln’s generosity, kindness, knowledge and talent is “ridiculous” and “quite frankly shouldn’t be allowed”.
“He’s a joy,” Myles said. “He’s leading from the front. He’s got energy that my goodness, if we could just put into a jar and sell, we’d be millionaires.”
Coldwater sees Lincoln’s character befriend his new next-door neighbour in the Scottish rural village, only to quickly realise he’s harbouring horrifying secrets when an unsettling series of events unfold.
Ewen Bremner (Trainspotting) takes on the role of John’s neighbour, Tommy. Meanwhile, Myles plays Tommy’s wife, the local vicar, Rebecca. Indira Varma (Obsession) stars John’s wife, Fiona.
Lincoln’s turn in Coldwater marks his return to British screens for the first time since 2010, when he starred in the Sky series Strike Back opposite Richard Armitage.
The same year, Lincoln took on the lead role of Rick Grimes in the longstanding AMC franchise The Walking Dead, which has kept him occupied since.
Lincoln began his acting career on British TV with roles in the BBC drama This Life and the Channel 4 sitcom Teachers, before starring as Mark in Richard Curtis’s Christmas romcom Love Actually in 2003.
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The actor initially turned down the role of John in Coldwater twice because he was “quite scared” to play someone so “unpleasant and weak and emasculated”.
Lincoln then had a “lovely chat” with the show’s writer David Ireland (The Lovers, Ulster American) and completely changed his mind.
“I couldn’t walk away from it,” he said. “I thought, this is going to be frightening, it’s going to be difficult to thread the needle and I think I’ll probably learn something by doing this part and grow a bit.”
Coldwater premieres on ITV1 and ITVX on Sunday 14 September.
