Jeffrey Dean Morgan pays emotional tribute to Walking Dead co-star Chandler Riggs

Jeffrey Dean Morgan has paid an emotional tribute to his Walking Dead co-star, Chandler Riggs.

The Walking Dead‘s biggest ever goodbye finally took place this week, as long-term star Riggs left the show. Riggs’s character Carl suffered a fatal bite by a walker last season, which was revealed in the show finale. Riggs has played Carl for eight years, from the tender age of ten.

The departure is a turn away from The Walking Dead comics, where Carl remains alive and a vital part of the story.

Morgan, who plays bad guy Negan in the drama, posted an emotional tribute to Riggs on his Instagram – expressing his regret that the show only scratched the surface with Negan and Carl’s relationship.

Writing on Instagram, he said: “@chandlerriggs5 man…. what a pleasure. Not only getting to work with you… but, getting to know you. You, my friend, are an incredible young man.

“Well before joining this cast I was a fan… a fan that loved watching you grow up in front of a camera. From the moment you first put on the way too large sheriffs hat as a boy… to the end, the hat so befitting of the man Carl had become. Wiser and more compassionate than all of us. You held all of our hearts.

“Honestly… a huge reason I wanted so badly to join this band of misfits… was because I was such a fan of the Negan Carl relationship in the comics… that storyline was one of my favorites, as I know it was one of yours. I’ll forever be dissaponted we only scratched the surface of what could have been.”

In the comics, Negan and Carl shared a complex bond that continued even after the defeat of Negan.