Walton Goggins Movies and TV Shows: Actor’s Biggest Roles Explained.
From channeling a creepily layered guest in The White Lotus to an unhinged vice principal to an actual Western-tinged ghoul, Walton Goggins proves he can wear just about any badge and still feel like himself.
“Drama, comedy, series, film, small roles, big roles—they’re all steps to the next stage, and I’m thankful every time a door opens and no time I finish the job,” he told GQ, adding with a chuckle, “What can I say, the paycheck just shows up, and I love it and I really.”
The versatile star pressed pause on his signature Southern drawl and hit the Saturday Night Live stage as host on May 10, welcoming Arcade Fire as Musical Guest in a move that felt like the loudest selfie he’s ever taken with himself.
Newcomers may spot Goggins juggling three wildly separate gigs on three big shows right now: lusting for the next big score on The Righteous Gemstones, peeling back the layers on the same day in White Lotus, or reloading in a post-apocalyptic blast in Fallout.
Scroll on to take a breath, check the credits, and see how he cracks every code, one mullet or power suit or post-mortem grin at a time.
Walton Goggins’ acting career began in the late ‘80s.
Growing up in the American South, Walton Goggins took his first acting steps in odds-and-ends roles. His official kick-off came in the late 1980s, after he’d moved from Birmingham, Alabama, to a quieter life in Georgia. That’s when NBC cast him as a local kid in an episode of the crime show In the Heat of the Night. The gig plus a 1990 TV movie, Murder in Mississippi, let him say “I’m a working actor.”
Goggins himself credits a quieter moment: watching his aunt juggle dinner-theater lines and costume changes. “I camped out with her while she ran the show,” he told Vulture. “I’d see these beautiful women throwing on wigs, men swapping ties, all of them transforming in seconds. Every night, people lit up the moment the curtain went up; the energy filled the air. I thought, ‘That’s it. That’s where I want to be. That’s everything.’”
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At 14, instead of a school stage, he’d be landing in a main stage. He asked his mom to drive him to a casting office in Atlanta—no reservation, no warning. “I swear, I walked in and said, ‘I’m new, I’m curious, but I’m all in. I’ve lived things. I feel everything, and with a little help, I can turn all this into something real.’ They blinked, and somehow I didn’t blink back.”
“And she said okay.”
What TV shows has Walton Goggins been in?
Walton Goggins has been dominating television screens, especially with his latest performances that prove he can do it all, from unsettling to hilarious. You’ve probably spotted him as Rick Hatchett in Season 3 of The White Lotus, Cooper Howard, a.k.a.
The Ghoul, in Fallout, Baby Billy Freeman in The Righteous Gemstones, and the unforgettable Lee Russell in Vice Principals. He’s also got a soft spot with fans for his turn as Boyd Crowder in the neo-Western classic Justified alongside Timothy Olyphant and for his wild gig as Venus Van Dam in Sons of Anarchy.
That’s just the start. Goggins has packed his resume with standout stints in The Shield, The Invincible, Deep State, George and Tammy, I’m a Virgo, and even an appearance on Community, keeping his name on everyone’s lips.
What movies has Walton Goggins been in?
According to CNBC,Walton Goggins has racked up over 40 film credits and been in tons of big movies. He brought Sheriff Chris Mannix to life in The Hateful Eight, played Billy Crash in Django Unchained, hit the screen as Stans in Predators, and stepped in as Sonny Burch in Ant-Man and the Wasp.
Beyond those, he turned heads in Lincoln, teamed up with the Maze Runner cast in The Death Cure, helped reboot Tomb Raider, and popped up in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Most recently, he appeared in Dreamin’ Wild and a bunch of other hits.
Goggins has a special memory tied to a 2002 Oscar. He co-starred with Ray McKinnon in the short film The Accountant, which took home the statue for Best Live Action Short. He fondly told Vulture, “The short film and movies we’ve made I’m as proud of as anything I’ve ever done.”
Walton Goggins Balances Comedy and Drama “Equal”.
Ask Walton Goggins how he prepares for wicked laughs or tense silences and he’ll shrug—same method, same focus. “I do dramas and comedies the same way,” he told GQ in early 2024. “The tones change, of course, but every man or woman I play breathes, eats, and struggles for real. I refuse to play a theory of a person; how could I when I’m trying to find the truth in the shine and the scars?”
Walton Goggins Has More “Storytelling” in the Works.
Goggins hasn’t stepped off the stage; he just keeps changing the spotlight. By the end of 2023, he had churned out two-series momentum so fast you can feel the buzz in fan forums. Fast-forward to when tiny Augustus, the little dude in the cargo shorts, is running the same views in Netflix, and Goggins gives you a grin. “I’ll keep telling stories, just at the most low-key pace. Dialed-in. Maybe in shorts, maybe sunrise, maybe snack first. This job never fades; it just shifts lounges.”
In 2025, David Goggins opened up to his buddy Danny McBride about life after the camera stops rolling. They were hanging out after a smash season on “The Righteous Gemstones” and “Vice Principals” when McBride tossed him the big question: “What’s the one thing you haven’t done that you seriously want to cross off the list?”
Goggins paused, like he was about to lace up for a final two-mile sprint. “I’m pretty sure there’s one last chapter waiting for me, and this one’s got less screaming and more stories,” he replied. “Once the boy’s off to college, I want to slim down the noise and set up a mini-base for three or four months a year in Europe—maybe this year it’s a tiny rental on Hydra, the next it’s a bunk on some almost-empty island.
I want to be the guy who brews the coffee, swings into a big swim, starts the afternoon toast at three, clocks out by eight, and later pages through a great book before falling asleep. Oh, and maybe I’ll finally crack a new language. Right now, it’s a dream list, not a plan. Ask me tomorrow, and I might have an extra item or two stuck in that suitcase.”
