Walton Goggins

Walton Sanders Goggins Jr. is an American actor born on November 10, 1971, in Birmingham, Alabama, to Janet Long and Walton Goggins Sr. Raised in Lithia Springs, Georgia, he graduated from Lithia Springs High School and attended Georgia Southern University for one year. He descends from the Irish high king Niall of the Nine Hostages. After suffering childhood dental injuries, he wore a removable dental bridge during high school. At nineteen, he moved to Los Angeles, taking acting classes and auditioning while working at LA Fitness and in valet parking.

After early roles in Georgia, Goggins met Ray McKinnon during the filming of Murder in Mississippi. He achieved prominent television exposure playing Shane Vendrell on FX's drama series The Shield from 2002 to 2008. Goggins also co-founded the production company Ginny Mule Pictures. Under this banner, he co-produced and starred in the Academy Award-winning short film The Accountant, produced features such as Chrystal, Randy and the Mob, and That Evening Sun, and helped create the television series Rectify.

Goggins earned widespread recognition for playing Boyd Crowder on the FX drama series Justified from 2010 to 2015. Although the character was initially scripted to die in the pilot, positive test audience reactions led to Goggins joining the main cast. He also played a recurring role in Sons of Anarchy as Venus Van Dam. His later television credits include the HBO comedy Vice Principals, the sitcom The Unicorn, and guest roles on shows like The Big Bang Theory.

In feature films, Goggins has performed in a wide variety of roles. His film credits include Predators, Cowboys & Aliens, Django Unchained, and The Hateful Eight, as well as Maze Runner: The Death Cure, Tomb Raider, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Fatman, and the 2024 film The Luckiest Man in America.

Goggins has continued to take on major roles across streaming and television. He began starring in the comedy series The Righteous Gemstones in 2019 and joined the voice cast of the animated series Invincible in 2021. He also contributed voice work to the podcast Deep Cover: The Drug Wars. His subsequent projects include the miniseries I'm a Virgo, portraying Cooper Howard / The Ghoul in the 2024 drama series Fallout, and joining the third season cast of the anthology series The White Lotus in 2025.

For his television roles, Goggins received Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for Justified and The White Lotus, as well as Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Fallout. Beyond acting in narrative productions, he has appeared in commercial advertising for Walmart, Ram Truck, and GoDaddy. In 2025, he featured in a Super Bowl commercial promoting his self-designed active eyewear line, having previously received commercial acting advice from Samuel L. Jackson.

In his personal life, Goggins married Leanne Knight in 2001; the couple remained married until her death in November 2004. In August 2011, he married filmmaker Nadia Conners, and they have one son born that same year.