Walton Goggins | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Goggins in 2024 | |
| Born | Walton Sanders Goggins Jr. (1971-11-10)November 10, 1971 (age 54) Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 1 |
Walton Sanders Goggins Jr. (born November 10, 1971)[1] is an American actor. He has starred in various television series, includingThe Shield (2002–2008),Justified (2010–2015),Vice Principals (2016–2017),The Righteous Gemstones (2019–2025),Invincible (2021–present),Fallout (2024–present), andThe White Lotus (2025).[2] He was nominated for thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series forJustified andThe White Lotus, and for thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series forFallout.
Goggins starred in and co-produced theAcademy Award–winning short filmThe Accountant (2001).[3] He has also featured in feature films, such asPredators (2010),Lincoln,Django Unchained (both 2012),The Hateful Eight (2015),Maze Runner: The Death Cure,Tomb Raider, andAnt-Man and the Wasp (all 2018).
Goggins was born inBirmingham, Alabama, the son of Janet Long and Walton Sanders Goggins Sr.[1] He was raised inLithia Springs,Georgia, a suburb ofAtlanta, graduated fromLithia Springs High School and attendedGeorgia Southern University for a year.[3]
Goggins moved toLos Angeles at nineteen, working atLA Fitness and a valet parking business while taking acting classes and auditioning.[3] After starring in a few roles in Georgia, he metRay McKinnon while filmingMurder in Mississippi.[4]
Goggins playedShane Vendrell in theFXdrama seriesThe Shield. He formed the production companyGinny Mule Pictures, which produced four films:The Accountant (a short film which won anAcademy Award for Live Action Short Film),Chrystal (Sundance Dramatic Competition),Randy and the Mob, andThat Evening Sun (which won theSouth by Southwest Special Jury Prize). They later created the drama seriesRectify.[5] Goggins was set to play the lead andAMC had bought the pilot script, written by McKinnon, a role which went toAden Young, when the series later went toSundance TV.[6]
Goggins had a major supporting role as a deadly death row inmate being hunted by thetitular antagonists in the filmPredators. He played Boyd Crowder in the pilot episode for theFX drama seriesJustified. Before Goggins was cast, Boyd was intended to die in the pilot episode, butGraham Yost kept the character when the character scored highly with test audiences. Goggins joined the main cast for the second season in May 2010.[7] He was nominated for aPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his role onJustified.[8] In 2011, he appeared in "Code of the West", a commercial forRam Truck's "Guts & Glory" campaign. He appeared inCowboys & Aliens as Hunt, a bandit formerly in the employ of the protagonist. He played a sadistic overseer and slave fighting trainer in the western filmDjango Unchained.[9]
.jpg)
Goggins played a transgender sex worker in theFX drama seriesSons of Anarchy. He previously worked with the show's creator,Kurt Sutter, when the latter was a writer and executive producer onThe Shield. The name "Venus Van Dam" is a play on the undercover name "Cletus Van Damme" used byThe Shield character Shane Vendrell.[10] He played Chris Mannix inThe Hateful Eight and Lee Russell in theHBOdark comedy seriesVice Principals.[3][11]The New York Times critic Mike Hale wrote, "Walton Goggins makes a habit of being the best thing about the television shows he's in."[12]
In 2018, Goggins played Lawrence inMaze Runner: The Death Cure, Mathias Vogel inTomb Raider, and Sonny Burch inAnt-Man and the Wasp. That same year, he made a guest appearance in theCBSsitcomThe Big Bang Theory as a jealous husband. In 2019, he played the lead character in the CBSsitcomThe Unicorn and starred in the comedy seriesThe Righteous Gemstones, alongsideVice Principals costarDanny McBride. In 2020, Goggins voiced part of the true crime podcastDeep Cover: The Drug Wars.[13]
.jpg)
Goggins was cast as Jay Whittle / The Hero in theAmazon Prime Video comedy miniseriesI'm a Virgo. In 2024, he playedCooper Howard /The Ghoul in theAmazon Prime Video drama seriesFallout, andPeter Tomarken inThe Luckiest Man in America, based on anactual incident involving a contestant on the Tomarken-hosted game showPress Your Luck.
The actor designed a series of active eyewear which he promoted in a co-branded commercial withGoDaddy that aired duringSuper Bowl LIX in 2025.[14] This was his first appearance in a Super Bowl commercial.[15]
Goggins joined the ensemble cast forthe third season of the anthology seriesThe White Lotus.[16]
Goggins lost his front teeth in a childhood baseball accident when hit by a ball.[17]
In 2001, Goggins married Leanne Knight. Although estranged, they remained married until she died from suicide on November 12, 2004.[18][19] Goggins married filmmaker Nadia Conners in August 2011 and they have a son together.[20]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989–1992 | In the Heat of the Night | Football Teammate / Darrell / Robbie Jeffries / Garth Warkins | 4 episodes |
| 1990 | Murder in Mississippi | Lyle | Television film |
| 1992 | Beverly Hills, 90210 | Mike Muchin | Episode: "The Pit and the Pendulum" |
| Stay the Night | Wayne Seagrove | Television film | |
| 1993 | I'll Fly Away | Langley | Episode: "What's in a Name?" |
| Queen | Young Man #1 | Episode: "Part I" | |
| Renegade | Lance McBride | Episode: "Wheel Man" | |
| 1995 | JAG | Communications Officer | Episode: "Desert Son" |
| 1996 | High Tide | Bad Guy / Treasure Hunter | Episode: "A Three Hour Tour" |
| Pacific Blue | Harv | Episode: "Captive Audience" | |
| Humanoids from the Deep | Rod | Television film | |
| The Sentinel | Mick | Episode: "True Crime" | |
| The Cherokee Kid | Jim Bob / Carver Gang | Television film | |
| 1998 | NYPD Blue | Terry | Episode: "Honeymoon at Viagra Falls" |
| 2000 | Beyond the Prairie: The True Story of Laura Ingalls Wilder | Almanzo Wilder | Television film |
| 2001 | Murder, She Wrote: The Last Free Man | Billy Weber | Television film |
| 2002 | Beyond the Prairie, Part 2: The True Story of Laura Ingalls Wilder | Almanzo Wilder | Television film |
| 2002–2008 | The Shield | Shane Vendrell | 87 episodes |
| 2004 | Hawaii | Agent Davis | Episode: "Lost and Found" |
| 2007 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Marlon Frost | Episode: "Empty Eyes" |
| 2009 | Criminal Minds | John Cooley | Episode: "Demonology" |
| CSI: Miami | Sean Echols | Episode: "Dissolved" | |
| 2010–2015 | Justified | Boyd Crowder | 74 episodes |
| 2012 | Unsupervised | Bruce Lindsay | Voice; episode: "The Magic of Science" |
| 2012–2014 | Sons of Anarchy | Venus Van Dam | 6 episodes |
| 2014 | Community | Mr. Stone | Episode: "Cooperative Polygraphy" |
| 2016–2017 | Vice Principals | Lee Russell | 18 episodes |
| 2017 | American Dad! | Enoch | Voice; episode: "A Nice Night for a Drive" |
| 2017–2018 | Six | Richard "Rip" Taggart | 11 episodes |
| 2018 | L.A. Confidential | Detective Jack Vincennes | Unaired pilot |
| 2018 | The Big Bang Theory | Oliver | Episode: "The Separation Triangulation" |
| 2019 | Deep State | Nathan Miller | 8 episodes; also executive producer |
| 2019–2025 | The Righteous Gemstones | Baby Billy Freeman | 24 episodes |
| 2019–2021 | The Unicorn | Wade Felton | 31 episodes; also producer |
| 2021 | Squidbillies | Bubba | Voice; episode: "Let'er R.I.P." |
| 2021–present | Invincible | Cecil Stedman | Voice; 21 episodes |
| 2022 | The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey | Dr. Rubin | Miniseries; 5 episodes |
| 2022–2023 | George & Tammy | Earl "Peanutt" Montgomery | Miniseries; 6 episodes |
| 2023 | I'm a Virgo | Jay Whittle / The Hero | 5 episodes |
| Justified: City Primeval | Boyd Crowder | Episode: "The Question" | |
| 2024–present | Fallout | The Ghoul / Cooper Howard | 8 episodes |
| 2024 | What If...? | Sonny Burch | Voice; episode: "What If... 1872?" |
| 2025 | The White Lotus | Rick Hatchett | 8 episodes |
| 2025 | Saturday Night Live | Himself (host) | Episode: "Walton Goggins/Arcade Fire" |
| Year | Title | Voice role |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom | Border World Pilot |
| 2007 | The Shield | Det. Shane Vendrell |
| 2017 | Prey | Aaron Ingram |
| 2025 | Fallout 76 | The Ghoul |
