Walton Goggins: I was doing a movie, Predators, and we had already left Hawaii when the show started, so I was able to fly back and forth and just be in town long enough to do a scene here or there. So that’s why, in season one, Boyd was just in every two episodes or one episode, and just kind of had a scene. So I was able to pop in and out.

At the time, I was actually under a contract to star in a show that my partner and I sold to AMC called Rectify, and that prevented me from signing on as a regular early on. Then we got the word, maybe episode nine of Justified, that Rectify wasn’t going to go full with AMC. [Justified] laid out the invitation to me, and I gratefully accepted it, because I was having so much fun. And as it turns out, my partner is doing Rectify for Sundance.

AVC: What was that experience like, to be so liked for season one, but also to be limited in how much you could be in it?

WG: It was so unexpected. I had no expectations for this experience, beyond the love of the word and the people I was working with. I didn’t think about it, because I didn’t have skin in the game. I didn’t have a stake in its longevity early on. The only thing I thought about, really, was getting to work with Tim [Olyphant, as Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens] every day and loving it, and [writer-producer] Graham [Yost]. These scripts would come down, and we’d have conversations about them. To have access to work is one thing for an actor; to have access to good work is another thing, and this was good work. I came back in earnest around episode nine, and that’s when Boyd really took off—nine, 10, 11, 12, 13—those last four or five episodes was really when I was available, I was here. And Raylan and Boyd could begin their dance in earnest.

AVC: Especially in season two and three, you’re kind of in your own shadow-show within the show, where you’re doing your own thing and have your own plot. Can that be a little isolating, to be outside of the main storylines?

WG: Well, I think it is. I think those storylines run tandem. I think the same thing with The Shield, with all the different characters, from CC [CCH Pounder] to myself to… Every one of us would have our own story. And yet the strike team would have the procedural, or CC and Jay [Karnes] would have the procedural.

In this show, you have a crime on some level; it’s kind of solved every week. It’s not as clear-cut as The Shield, but that’s not why people watch this show. People watch this show to see the development of the characters. In my world, I feel like I’m participating in the ongoing story, and that’s something people really want to see. It’s not when Raylan is taking down a bad guy that people are interested in Raylan. It’s when he’s dealing with his ex-wife, or when he’s dealing with Boyd or Mags Bennett or Neal McDonough, because you know he’s going to get to deal with them again next week.

So I don’t know. In some ways, I quite liked being the satellite storyline, because I think that it’s in some ways purer. It’s not diluted with the need to have a beginning, a middle, and an end. But it is ongoing in the beginning, middle, and end. It can last over 13 episodes. In some ways, I feel like we’re not even in the middle yet, and we’ve been going on now for 39 episodes, so far.

You can check out the interview in full over at AVClub.com

Gallery Link:
- Season 3 > Screen Captures > 3×03 – Harlan Roulette

Gallery Link:
- Season 3 > Screen Captures > 3×02 – Cut Ties

WALTON GOGGINS: Yeah, they had to find a criminal element that would interface with Raylan on one side of the law and me on the other side of the law. It’s tough. It took two actors to make up for Margo. I think I learned, early on, back on The Shield, the recipe for longevity is not trying to outdo yourself from the year before. It’s just a matter of being authentic and doing the best you can, and you hope that people watch it and like it. For us, we know where our bread is buttered, and we live by the written word of the critic. That’s how shows build a critical mass on cable. So, we hope that the critics like it.

Where is Boyd Crowder at this season, in his journey?

GOGGINS: Boyd is a very thoughtful guy. He’s a thinker, and he’s a very patient guy. He’s trying to lay the foundation for a criminal empire that is sustainable, and not rush into one direction or another, but build it block by block. If you look at it, Boyd’s crew is not that deep and not that strong. Cousin Johnny is in a wheelchair. He’s a bad-ass, but he’s in a wheelchair. Arlo is really cool, but he’s a lion in winter for sure. And I’ve got my beautiful girlfriend, Ava. It’s a matter of taking the loyalty of this family and this group of people, and building on that. It’s interesting.

Do you think that Boyd’s rise to criminal kingpin was always inevitable, or is he just seeing an opening and taking advantage of it?

GOGGINS: I don’t know. In Season 2, Boyd was about really coming to terms with who he is, as a human being. Prior to that, he was a guy who lived in the extremes, wherever the pendulum swung. If he was a coffee drinker, he was going to drink seven cups of coffee a day. But, after Season 2, he’s become a man of balance. For him, this season, it’s different because he’s different. He sees things differently. There’s no way he could have done what he’s setting out to do this season, in Season 1 or in Season 2, because he just wanted to be left alone. Now, he not only sees an opening, but he’s really being honest about who he is and there’s no other option for him. This is his life, but he’s accepted that this is his life. And now that he’s accepted it, he’s going to do it smartly.

Do you think he could have done this without Ava and her support?

GOGGINS: No, I don’t. She grounds him. Ironically, one thing that will be Boyd’s savior is his capacity to love another human being. It’s the first time in his life where he’s looked outward, instead of inward, for answers. He has someone to lean on, and I don’t think he’s ever put that kind of trust in another person. Now, Ava and Boyd have more in common then just their last name. They also have bullet wounds in common. That’s a true love story. Ava is Boyd’s pillar and, as the season goes on, I think you’ll see that Boyd is also Ava’s pillar. They’re there for one another. It’s interesting that, with all the different storylines and characters in this show, these two people would find love. It’s the most normal, domestic relationship. We read, we sit and talk outside, we take walks, we kill people.

You’ve said that you think Raylan and Boyd ultimately like each other, but Timothy Olyphant said that he thinks Raylan and Boyd ultimately hate each other. Do you think that difference of opinion is part of why the dynamic between your characters is so great?

GOGGINS: I think so. Tim and I have never even talked about it, in that way, but yeah, I think that’s a big part of that, along with insane mutual respect for each other. Tim has a real capacity to understand and to remind me that we’re in the world of Elmore [Leonard]. Where I tend to go to drama, he tends to go to comedy. Where I think that we are friends, he thinks that we are enemies. It’s just very interesting.

Will things between them change a lot more this season, especially with the road Boyd is going down now?

GOGGINS: Yeah. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. For me, I’m keeping my friend close. For him, he’s keeping his enemy closer. They have such a complex relationship, that every time we get together, it’s different than any other time we’ve ever done it before. Hopefully, that won’t stop. I don’t think it will stop. If you have someone in a town like this that, at the end of the day, you can lean on, then you’re ahead of the game. I think that, underneath all of it, Raylan knows that he can lean on Boyd. There’s a line that Boyd wouldn’t cross. And, Boyd knows the same thing about Raylan. It’s like, “You may arrest me, but you’re going to arrest me in the right way. You may kill me, but you’re going to kill me in the right way.” That we know, and there’s a mutual respect and understanding of each other. That’s gold, for an actor. It is as complicated a relationship as I’ve ever had, on screen or off screen, getting to play this character with Tim’s Raylan. He’s such a good actor and so specific. It’s just wonderful. I’ve really become good friends with him. He’s a really wonderful guy.

With everything that Boyd has been through, do you think that he prefers to be the one in charge, as opposed to the one taking orders from someone?

GOGGINS: Oh, yeah. I don’t think there’s any going back for him. He’s always been in charge. He’s always been a leader. He’s never been a follower. Whether he’s had an audience of one, an audience of 20, or an audience of 100, he’s always a leader. I don’t think he’s ever played second fiddle to anyone in his life, but I think he’s more comfortable and clear-headed about his direction as a leader, now that he’s come to this place, spiritually, in his life.

What’s it like to work on Lincoln with someone like Daniel Day Lewis, who lives in the character that he’s playing?

GOGGINS: There are so many actors that approach the work that way, from Forest Whitaker to Ed Harris to [Robert] Duvall to Chris Cooper. They’re everywhere. On a lot of people’s lists, Daniel is probably the best actor of his generation, and two subsequent generations. He’s that specific. What it does for me is it reminds me of how important this is. It’s nice to have that daily, almost minute-by-minute, reminder. This isn’t just a story about Lincoln. We’re not just doing another story about Lincoln. This is Steven Spielberg doing a story about one of the most flawed men, who is also one of the greatest men, and certainly one of the greatest presidents we’ve ever had, and feeling the weight that he was under and what was going on in this country. It was the schism that forever changed this country. So, when you have an actor that approaches the work that way, you show up to work every day with your fucking A-game.

Who are you playing in the film?

GOGGINS: I play a congressman whose real name is Wells Hutchins, and he was a Democrat out of Ohio. The movie is about a lot of different things. It’s about Lincoln, and it’s about his relationship with his cabinet, but it’s also a story about the passage of the 13th Amendment. In order to pass the 13th Amendment, Lincoln needed a certain amount of Democratic congressmen to vote for it, or it wouldn’t have been bipartisan, and he needed the 13th Amendment to pass. So, I play a pivotal role in that part of the story.

How did you end up getting involved with G.I. Joe 2?

GOGGINS: Well, Lorenzo [di Bonaventura] just approached me. He had been a fan since The Shield, and he said, “I’m doing this big budget movie and I’ve got this role I want you to come play.” If you can bounce back and forth between a studio movie or a big action movie, like Cowboys & Aliens or G.I. Joe, and you balance that out, if you’re so lucky, with a wonderful television show or working with Steven [Spielberg], what better career can you have? One of the reasons why I wanted to do Justified so badly, or wanted to continue once we got up and going, was that I didn’t have to live in pain, every single day. On The Shield, for seven years, I was emotionally fucking wrecked. It was rare that we were just laughing. For the last five years, especially, it was really painful. Justified is lighter in tone, and it’s nice to be around that and show up to work and wear that hat. It’s the same thing for movies. G.I. Joe was fun. Lincoln was serious. I’m going to go do Quentin Tarantino’s movie (Django Unchained), and that’s going to be seriously fun. Once you’re at the buffet table, you just sample everything. That makes for a well-balanced life.

Was part of the appeal of the G.I. Joe sequel the fact that it’s more grounded in reality, this time around, and not so cartoony?

GOGGINS: Yeah, it’s a very, very big part of it. Just because of my personality, for me, comedy comes from pessimism, more often than not, and from a real place. In some ways, I wish I could tell a joke. I’m not good at telling a joke, but I can say a line in a certain way that makes people uncomfortable because they don’t know whether to laugh or not, and I love that comedy. That’s my favorite comedy, when it’s grounded in truth. And, I think G.I. Joe is going to be a really good film.

How did you end up working with Quentin Tarantino?

GOGGINS: I’m a big fan. I’ve been a big fan, like everybody else, for 20 years. He really enjoyed my work in the films I’ve done, that he’s really liked. The first time he saw me was in a movie called The Apostle, and he was a fan of The Shield and likes Justified. We had never met before, and had the opportunity to meet and had an incredible meeting. He is one of, if not the most, passionate filmmakers I’ve ever been around, and a lover of this art form and material, and he’s a master at it. He’s a master at directing a scene. So, I was like a little giddy schoolgirl around him. I was so full of excitement.

Did he tell you much about what you’d be playing in Django Unchained?

GOGGINS: Yeah, we talked about it. There’s one role that I really wanted to go for because of my commitment to Justified. It’s something that is a quintessential Quentin Tarantino scene.

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Gallery Link:
- Season 3 > Screen Captures > 3×01 – The Gunfighter

I think that’s the evolution of humanity. We can only transcend by truly coming to terms with where we come from. That’s what I felt Boyd was saying in that moment. He’s not saying I’m a racist or I’m a born-again Christian. He is saying I’m all of it, everything; I’ve worn all of those coats to get to this moment right here just to shed them.

You ask some deep questions man. This may require a glass of wine.

That’s what I need watching the show! So this season he is sort of getting the gang back together; he has some real goals.
He has some recruiting to do. Don’t you think? [Laughs.] I mean his band of outlaws is pretty thin, but I think that for Boyd this season is about putting in a foundation and finding that cornerstone on which to build his empire. Hopefully once he gets to his empire it will be earned and not something that comes easy. He’s starting from the ground up and he’s a CEO of a criminal corporation and he’s never been that as a real leader, a real player before. So his attitude has changed, his behavior changes. Everything changes. He has his swagger back, but it’s a different swagger.

How would you describe his new swagger?
I think he will find humor in the strangest of places and he will find sadness in the strangest of places. He is still a showman, but his audience has heard all of his homilies, so now he’s forced to motivate people in a different way, in an authentic way, in a real way.

And speaking of the whole criminal enterprise thing, he has a lot of competition this year.
He has a lot of competition, man. Yeah, a lot of competition and a few mouths to feed, you know?

You can check out the interview in full over at RedEyeChicago.com