This season of "The Walking Dead" is going to be huge, but the biggest part will definitely be star Andrew Lincoln's beard, as MTV News found out when we visited the Atlanta-based set of the show earlier this year.

"What can I tell you?" Lincoln said when asked about Rick's progression in season five. "I've been growing my beard. I decided this season we're gonna need a bigger beard. It's all about the beard this season. I'm just waiting for them to tell me to stop growing it."

Okay, so not the most spoilery thing an actor has ever said - and believe us, there were plenty of juicy spoilers for the upcoming season on display that we can't divulge at this time. But the busy actor - Lincoln is in most of the scenes that were being shot while we visited on set - still thinks that this will be the best season so far.

"It's been incredible," Lincoln said on filming the newest set of episodes. "I think the returning episode is one of the strongest we've ever had. When we all read it, we just thought it had everything."

Having seen the season premiere, "No Sanctuary," we agree that the episode has everything you'd want from the show. But beyond the action-filled opener, it seems like things won't let up from there.

"It's been brutal, my voice is going - which is a good sign," Lincoln continued. "It means I'm obviously doing something right. It's the most ambitious season we've ever attempted. If we'd started the show with these two episodes, I don't think we'd be here today. But we've earned those two episodes after the four and a half years of the story we've been telling. I'm really, really excited to see how the world reacts to it."

Lincoln will see how they'll react on Sunday (October 12). Head back to MTV News over the next few days for plenty more from our exclusive set visit to "The Walking Dead."