Lincoln's first role was in The Battle of Elderbush Gulch (1914), followed by Judith of Bethula (1914), The Birth of a Nation (1915), and Intolerance (1916).

[2] Stellan Windrow, who initially portrayed the title character in 1918's Tarzan of the Apes, went into military service five weeks after filming began.

Lincoln replaced Windrow, although author Edgar Rice Burroughs objected to the choice.

His final work saw him also playing a brief, uncredited role in the 1952 film Carrie, starring Laurence Olivier.

According to Tarzan of the Movies, by Gabe Essoe, Lincoln was quite proud of his work in this film, as he was an admirer of Olivier.