‘YOU DON’T WANT ME TO PLAY HIM’: WALTON GOGGINS ON THE ROLE HE TRIED TO TURN DOWN

Walton Goggins has finally stepped fully into the spotlight – but fame, it turns out, casts long and complicated shadows.

Having starred in over 50 films and countless TV shows, Goggins used to be one of those actors audiences recognised but couldn’t quite place. ‘Wasn’t that guy in that thing I liked?’ they’d ask, trying to connect the dots between The Shield, Justified, Vice Principals, or one of a dozen other standout performances.

Now, thanks to his fatal turn in The White Lotus and his portrayal of Fallout’s villainous Bounty Hunter, The Ghoul, people aren’t just recognising Walton, they’re seeking him out. ‘I just never wanted to be known for one thing,’ he tells Metro from his Architectural Digest-famous US home, shrugging off his newfound notoriety. ‘I just keep moving.’

But on the back of this promotion to the A-list has come intense media scrutiny, most notably surrounding his supposed ‘falling out’ with co-star Aimee Lou Wood.

But tabloid headlines aside, it’s worth noting for the uninitiated that he didn’t only recently become a household name because he isn’t memorable – it’s that his characters are so memorable. At 53, Goggins’ oversized smile and haunted, poet’s eyes should make him instantly recognisable; yet, he’s the rare actor who completely disappears into the roles he takes on. 

And when you meet Goggins, it feels evident that he prefers it that way. One gets a sense that he’s not the kind of man who wants to be known intimately by millions of strangers. 

Wearing an expensive-looking cardigan and statement glasses, a piece of striking modern art prominently in the background of our video call, Walton has an air of calculated nonchalance and LA refinement that’s miles away from the frenetic, Southern characters he often plays.

With barely a trace of the Georgia accent he says got him ‘pigeonholed’ in his early career, he takes pains to use my first name repeatedly, and his white-barricade of teeth is on full and frequent display. Still, his charm feels carefully crafted – the media-trained persona of someone more comfortable with a character to hide behind. 

But, as it turns out, if you’re looking for clues about who Walton Goggins really is, his recent roles do contain some hints.

Reflecting on the spiritually troubled, revenge-seeking spa guest he plays in The White Lotus, he says: ‘Rick Hatchett, the person that I’m playing right now, has always been a part of me. It’s probably closer to me than a lot of things in my life, certainly closer to certain aspects of my personality.’

When discussing the kinds of parts he gravitates towards, and how they’re becoming more personal as the years go by, he says: ‘I’ve never tried to dictate the flow of my river, I just take it kind of as it comes.’ 

He continues: ‘You know, every time I go to work, I feel the need to service whatever person I’m playing and wherever they’re from, in a sense.’ 

While this kind of cerebral, self-serious talk would seem pretentious coming from most celebrities, Goggins manages to come off not only as sincere but downright enlightened – for a heartbeat, I’m genuinely tempted to thank him for his service. 

When asked if he considers himself a character actor, he insists that he truly sees no difference between playing an undead, radioactive gunslinger and one-half of an Evangelical Christian song-and-dance duo. At my raised eyebrow, he only doubles down harder. 

‘They’re real people that exist in the world,’ he says of any role. ‘I feel like Lee Russell [his character on Vice Principals], lives in Charleston, South Carolina, for example…if a character is big, it was only because that was what the auteur was setting out to do, and that’s what the story was asking for. And the same thing with, you know.. I guess being a leading man or being small, at the end of the day, they’re the same.’

Eventually, after some prodding and more raised eyebrows about his use of the word ‘auteur,’ he is willing to admit he sees some difference between acting roles, generally. 

‘The opportunities that I wanted in film, I wasn’t going to get. You’re not going to hire me to be 007, that’s never going to happen. You’re not going to hire me to be Bourne Identity. You’re going to hire Matt Damon. But all of those opportunities that I didn’t have in film, I’ve had in television,’ he explains. Still, he insists: ‘But I don’t look at my career or opportunities as leading man vs. characters.’

Walton Goggins stars in The Uninvited – directed by his wife Nadia Conners

‘I’ll just say that Fallout, you know, we’re deep in it right now. And I thought season one was exceptional. I’m not talking about my work, I’m talking about all of the people involved, but this year is something like I’ve never seen, really. How subversive it is, and what it has to say about the world in which we’re living right now, with humour. I’m really proud of it. I just have to get to the end of it.’

For someone whose work feels more like a religion than a job, the future is something to be met with zen-like acceptance. Goggins isn’t too concerned about maintaining the momentum 2025 has brought: ‘I didn’t know where my life was going before Fallout. I didn’t know before White Lotus. And I suppose, at my age, that’s the best place to be: comfortable in the unknown.’”

Walton Goggins may remain something of a mystery, but fans can catch glimpses of the man behind all the masks – one character at a time.

The Uninvited is in cinemas on May 9, click here for more information. 

Instagram: @theuninvitedfilm

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2025-05-09T08:38:16Z