I’m from Woodstock. It’s a suburban town. All the kids go to public schools, and everybody’s so nice.

At the Cobb Playhouse, my mom and dad were in a community theater show called "Guys and Dolls." And they’d have to bring me to rehearsals a lot. I kept on saying, “I want to be onstage! I want to be onstage!” And the next show they were doing there was "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," and I was in that. I was in the kids choir. After that I did a ton of church plays.

Photograph courtesy of Chandler Riggs

After a while, I got an agent. I did a couple of plays at the Fox Theatre. I did a couple of commercials, and then I was in three movies. Of course, it was all extra stuff. But that’s kind of where I started getting into film.

Every time I landed a role, we would go to this hibachi Japanese restaurant in Woodstock. It’s called Kani House. It’s a little tradition. Then I changed it to Golden Corral, because I love ribs.

When I’m crying [on film], I think of my dog. His name is Vinny. He’s a miniature Italian greyhound. I just think of me coming home, and him lying on the ground, not breathing. He’s thirteen now. So he’s old.

I miss a lot of my friends, you know? I don’t get to see them at public school, because now I’m homeschooled. I was about to go to middle school, and then I got pulled out [when I won "The Walking Dead" role].

In Woodstock I ride my bike over to my friend’s house. It’s just so safe, and it’s quiet. Not much happens there. You get, maybe, a wreck a year.

—As told to Amanda Heckert

Chandler Riggs, twelve, plays Carl Grimes on AMC’s Georgia-filmed The Walking Dead and appeared alongside Robert Duvall in Get Low. His acting skills include tap dancing and a British accent.