In Character: Walton Goggins

I love noticing an actor early on, and tracking the steady rise of their career. So describes my fascination with Walton Goggins, who first caught my eye as a racist cop on The Shield, and has steadily developed an excellent career ever since. Following his star making turn on The Shield, it would’ve been easy for Goggins to be typecast as a bigoted country bumpkin, but thankfully, he’s managed to create unique, new characters, while cleverly never turning his back on the persona that made him famous. No matter the role, there’s a fierce honesty that Goggins brings to his characters that I find immensely appealing.

Five Essential Roles
The Accountant (2001)

Tommy O’Dell

This Oscar winner for Best Live Action Short is about the O’Dell brothers (Goggins and Eddie King) who hire a wise crackin’, heavy drinkin’ accountant (excellent character actor Ray McKinnon) to help them save their farm from bankruptcy. They soon learn that this accountant’s methods are a tad unorthodox. Within minutes of reviewing their books, the accountant proposes they chop off David O’Dell’s legs, in order to collect insurance money. When that doesn’t pan out, the accountant suggests that they kill David’s cheating wife and cash in her life insurance. With each passing idea, it becomes increasingly hilarious to watch Goggins and King attempt to react to the insane ideas of their newfound business partner. The Accountant is a sort of hillbilly farce that embraces its silliness from frame one; watching it is a perfect way to spend 35 minutes.

That Evening Sun (2009)

Paul

What I like most about Paul is that he’s just a guy. He’s not a racist guy, he’s not a corrupt guy, he’s just a guy. A guy trying to keep his life in order by distancing himself from his father. Early in That Evening Sun, Abner (Hal Holbrook) springs from an old folks home and returns to his farm, which, unbeknownst to him, is being rented out by friends of Abner’s son, Paul. When Abner demands that Paul throw them out, Paul insists that his old man return to his nursing home and leave everyone alone.

What slowly develops is a tense relationship of father and son. We meet Abner as a miserable old son of a bitch, but through Paul’s patient monologues, we learn that Abner has pretty much always been that way. For lack of a better term, Paul is one of the most “normal” characters Goggins has ever played. But don’t mistake normal for boring. Goggins gives Paul a reserved depth that is quietly appealing.

Justified (2010-2014)

Boyd Crowder

Perhaps the finest compliment one can give Goggins’ work in Justified is that his character, Boyd Crowder, was dead. After delivering a wondrously evil performance in the show’s pilot episode, Boyd was shot in the chest, and written off as dead by the show’s writers. But then something happened. The show’s creator, Graham Yost, liked Goggins’ portrayal of Boyd so much that he couldn’t let the character go. So in the interim between filming the pilot episode and finishing the rest of Season 1, Yost decided to bring Boyd back to life, of which any fan of the show is forever grateful.

Over the course of the Justified’s five seasons, Boyd’s narrative arc has been one of the most entertaining aspects of the show. From deadly, racist drug dealer to a born again man of the good book to police informant to, currently, deadly-than-ever villain. Essentially, there has been no shortage of enjoyment from watching Goggins flesh Boyd out.

Django Unchained (2012)

Billy Crash

Who can forget Django bound by his feet, hanging upside down as Billy Crash cups his balls and prepares to chop them off?

One of the things that makes Quentin Tarantino’s films so great is that you have no idea where they’re going to go. There’s literally nothing off limits for Tarantino, so the first time I saw Django Unchained, I sat utterly horrified, praying that Billy Crash wouldn’t rob Django on his manhood. And, it must be said, much of the horror of this scene is conveyed in Goggins’ performance. There’s no hesitation in Billy’s movements, no reluctance in the act he’s about to commit. In fact, he actually seems eager to do it. It’s a terrifying moment, made effective by the command of Goggins’ performance.

Sons of Anarchy (2012-2013)

Venus Van Dam

So, if that screenshot is an indication, Goggins’ brief but memorable work in Sons of Anarchy is truly unlike anything the actor has ever done. In the middle of Season 5, with no warning whatsoever, Goggins hilariously showed up as a transgender escort, sporting assless pants, tight leather and a huge rack, excited to help the titular Sons blackmail a public official. In this initial appearance, Goggins delivers what has to be the most comically fearless performance of his career. I couldn’t believe my eyes the first time I saw it; Goggins simply owns the absurdity of the moment.

But then something interesting happened. Midway through Season 6, Venus came back for two episodes and added an unexpected depth to her (his…?) plight. I won’t spoil the reason for Venus’ return, but few actors could’ve transformed such a purposefully shocking character into something far more poignant.

The Best of the Best

The Shield (2002-2008)

Shane Vendrell

Shane Vendrell is one of the most tortured, ruthless, unforgiving, and, above all, utterly fascinating television characters of my lifetime. The way The Shield was set up, it was always bound to be Michael Chiklis’ show (and for good reason, as Chiklis was flawless through the show’s entire run). But there was something about the vile Goggins equipped Shane with that I found mesmerizing. Here was an uneducated, racist L.A. cop who only did things to benefit himself. Shane wasn’t an antihero, he had no redemptive qualities like Chiklis’ character – he was a truly disgusting figure that Goggins inhabited courageously.

And then everything changed.

When Shane’s new love interest, Mara (played exquisitely by Michele Hicks), was introduced in Season 3, Shane slowly changed from a morally bankrupt street cop to a man of purpose. When he became a husband and a father, Shane suddenly had something to lose. Which isn’t it say that he altered his corrupt ways overnight, but he was given a much-needed layer of depth that subsequently made him more human.

The tricky part about TV is that, more often than not, as a show progresses, it tends to get weaker. Storylines are recycled, characters battle the same problems; the show becomes stale, the performances become stilted. Walton Goggins’ work on The Shield is one of the rare instances of a performance getting drastically better as the show went on. With each passing season, Shane became more man than monster, resulting in a devastating character conclusion that I will certainly never forget.

Other Notable Roles

In Predators

The Next Karate Kid (1994)

Switchback (1997)

The Apostle (1997)

Major League: Back to the Minors (1998)

Red Dirt (2000)

The Bourne Identity (2002)

House of 1000 Corpses (2003)

Chrystal (2004)

Randy and the Mob (2007)

Miracle at St. Anna (2008)

Predators (2010)

Cowboys & Aliens (2011)

Straw Dogs (2011)

Lincoln (2012)

G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013)

Machete Kills (2013)
Community (2014)