2. Andrew Lincoln (Rick Grimes)
In a show so simultaneously gritty and fantastical as The Walking Dead, it would be almost too easy to fall into one extreme or the other, and disbelief can be suspended only so far. Yet one factor that has kept The Walking Dead on the air and critically acclaimed for three full seasons already has to be the performance of Andrew Lincoln. While Rick Grimes may not be everybody's favorite character, Lincoln has been so remarkably consistent in the role that audiences are willing to follow him through the bizarre world of Walkers. Rick is not always particularly practical or a good leader or even altogether completely sane, but Lincoln portrays the ways in which the pressures of leadership weigh upon Rick in everything that he does rather than merely in the big scenes that directly address the problem. His is probably the least abrupt actor of the bunch, and his Season 3 emotional traumas were striking rather than silly. He takes Rick through a series of convincing mental breakdowns, first following Lori's death and then coming on the heels of Daryl's departure. In a refreshing divergence from the typical template for protagonist relationships, Lincoln's best scenes are often opposite other men, especially Joe Bernthal as Shane, Scott Wilson as Hershel, and Norman Reedus as Daryl. His bromance with Daryl actually proved to be one of the most fun undercurrents of the latter half of Season 2 and all of Season 3. With nary an accent slip, the British Andrew Lincoln leads audiences through Walker-infested Georgia with such authority that it's become difficult not to want to follow him.
MVP Moment: Rick sees a blood-covered Maggie holding his newborn daughter and collapses as he realizes what has happened to his wife.