Walton Gogginshas become more famous than ever in the last couple of years, but none of it would’ve been possible without his early roles inThe ShieldandJustified.Goggins has been working professionally as an actorsince the late 1980s, and he’s been a beloved character actor since he landed his first starring role in the early 2000s.
Over the past few years, Goggins has gone from a respected and recognizable actor to a world-renowned star. Recent roles likepost-apocalyptic gunslinger The Ghoul inFalloutand brooding curmudgeon Rick Hatchett inThe White Lotusseason 3 have brought Goggins to the attention of a much wider audience and turned him into a TV superstar.
But this overnight success has been decades in the making. Goggins has consistently given scene-stealing supporting turns in shows likeSons of AnarchyandThe Righteous Gemstones. He gave an unforgettable performance as slippery would-be sheriff Chris Mannix inQuentin Tarantino’sThe Hateful Eight, holding his own opposite legends of the silver screen like Samuel L. Jackson and Kurt Russell.
And going back even further than that, there are two early TV roles in particular that paved the way for Goggins to become the star that he is today. In two ofGoggins’ most underrated performances, he played a corrupt detective in one of the darkest cop shows ever made, and the overarching villain in a classic neo-western action series.
The Shield & Justified Made Walton Goggins A TV Legend
Goggins has enjoyed consistent work in the TV business over the past couple of decades, and he’s delivered consistently great performances. But he might not be so heavily sought-after by today’s casting directors if he hadn’t landed two key roles that would demonstrate his impressive range, his effortless on-screen charisma, and his ability to make any character sympathetic.
In 2002, Goggins scored his breakout role when he was cast as Detective Shane Vendrell inShawn Ryan’s gritty police proceduralThe Shield. In an age of rampant police brutality and corruption, Ryan felt that the traditional procedural formula was no longer relevant and came off as disingenuous, so he created a show that reflected the moral ambiguity of modern law enforcement.
Shane is the right-hand man of the show’s lead antihero, Vic Mackey, played by Michael Chiklis. Goggins shared fantastic chemistry with Chiklis that really sold their long-time friendship, and he gave a nuanced portrayal of an unlikable character. Shane is a crooked cop with bigoted views, and Goggins didn’t shy away from leaning into the character’s worst qualities.
Two years afterThe Shieldwent off the air, Goggins was cast in another FX action series, and gave a totally different, but even more iconic performance. Goggins was cast as Boyd Crowder, the arch-nemesis ofTimothy Olypant’s Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givensin the neo-western seriesJustified, based on the Elmore Leonard short story “Fire in the Hole.”
In its first season,Justifiedwas a case-of-the-week procedural, so Boyd didn’t have a huge role. But when the writers figured out what was working, they retooled it into a more serialized drama and made Boyd the overarching villain of the entire series. Goggins’ unique hero-villain chemistry with Olyphant carriedJustified’s original six-season run.
How The Shield & Justified Shaped Goggins' Career
The iconic early roles of any actor end up defining their on-screen persona for their entire career, because it defines how casting directors see them and the kinds of projects they’ll be offered in the future. Goggins’ roles inThe ShieldandJustifiedshaped his career and solidified his image.
Playing an erratic corrupt cop and a flamboyant western villain ensured that Goggins would mostly play wild, loose-cannon characters for the rest of his career. In subsequent projects, he would play an unscrupulous billionaire superhero, a hitman hunting down Santa Claus, and a psychiatric patient who believes he’s Jesus Christ.
How Goggins' The Shield & Justified Roles Compare
There are a lot of similarities between Goggins’ characters inThe ShieldandJustified, but there are plenty of differences, too. Neither Shane nor Boyd is a particularly good guy, but Boyd wears his villainy on his sleeve and openly embraces his life of crime, while Shane hides behind the facade of a badge and a blue uniform.
Shane is a much more nuanced character than Boyd. Boyd is a straightforward mustache-twirling villain with a delightfully campy demeanor and a lot of verbose, stylish, Tarantino-esque dialogue — he’s a lot of fun — but Shane is written to be more like a real person: conflicted and contradictory, with both glaring flaws and redeeming qualities.
Why Fans Of Goggins Need To Watch Both Iconic Shows
EveryWalton Gogginsfan needs to check out bothThe ShieldandJustified, because they introduced the world to what Goggins could do. All his popular recent work can be traced back to those two performances. The confident, charismatic swagger of The Ghoul can be traced back to Boyd, and the nuanced bitterness and compelling unlikability of Rick can be traced back to Shane.
