These days it seems as if Walton Goggins is everywhere.
He’s Rick Hatchett, consumed with avenging his father’s murder, in “The White Lotus.” Baby Billy Freeman, shilling in the name of God, in “The Righteous Gemstones.” The nose-less bounty hunter, known as the Ghoul, in “Fallout.”
But Goggins didn’t initially make the cut for “The Uninvited,” a film written and directed by his wife, Nadia Conners, about an older woman who shows up at the home of an actress and her agent husband just as their big Hollywood party has started.
Conners originally envisioned “The Uninvited” as a play and staged readings in Los Angeles, New York and London. “I wasn’t invited to be Sammy in any of them,” Goggins said of the husband character.
Then Conners turned her script into a screenplay. “I texted her from the plane when I finished it — crying emojis, crying emojis, crying emojis,” Goggins recalled. “And I said, you’ve really cracked this for yourself.” The role was his.
In a video call from Los Angeles, Goggins — who lives in New York in the Hudson Valley — talked about shaking off the work day, never washing raw denim and joyriding with his son, Augustus. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.
Drinking Wine by the Fireplace
This fireplace is a hundred years old and the centerpiece of this living room that has hosted Edna St. Vincent Millay, Walt Disney, Babe Ruth and even members of the House of Windsor. I end every night in the same spot, sitting on the same stool, with a bottle of wine created by Arianna Occhipinti that we found when we were vacationing in Sicily.
My Bezzera BZ10 Espresso Machine
For a lot of people that spend their life on the road, it’s nice to have a routine that is reminiscent to one you have at home. My wife and I love coffee. We’ve got the grinder and we weigh a shot and we make coffee art and it’s just fabulous.
‘The Corner’ by Lewsberg
When I heard it for the first time, I fell madly in love with it. But my attachment changed because I realized that this song fully represents how Rick Hatchett felt in “The White Lotus” at the end of Episode 7. The lead singer says, “He’s carrying a child.” I thought, yeah, that’s Rick. He’s carrying himself as a child.
A Used Pair of A.P.C. Jeans
I just can’t seem to penetrate loose fitting jeans in the year 2025. These A.P.C.s are a raw denim pair that they’ve sold for a very long time. The trick is you never wash them. You go in the ocean with them and they turn into the perfect color.
Officine Creative Loafers
As one gets older, you begin to really see who you are and who it is that you want to emulate and how you want to move through the world. And I had this image of Gianni Agnelli in my head. I love Italy. I love that Sundowner style with a Campari spritz at 5 and a little aperitivi.
A Black Dior Classic Suit
One piece of advice that my father gave me is, I would rather have one shirt that costs $250 than five shirts that cost $50. It’s about quality — and saving your money and being patient and buying something of value that you will have for a really long time.
A Cast-Iron Skillet and a Fryer
The skillet is essential to do a steak the way that they do it in a restaurant. You sear it a couple of minutes on high, high heat, then you stick it in the oven for 15 minutes. Over the pandemic, I also perfected French fries. I fry them once for about five minutes, then finish the second fry right when the steaks get put on the table.
My Brass Cocktail Shaker
I have a cocktail or a glass of wine every night transitioning from work to my civilian life. That spring-summer cocktail is a different kind of joy. For that you use citrus more often than not. Citrus has to be shaken, not stirred.
Kimberlin Brown Jewelry
My wife and I buy jewelry sparingly — things that we feel are classic and transcend style. We came across this woman’s jewelry at a shop down in SoHo, and I became obsessed with it. Each one feels like an heirloom, like something you can pass down to generations to wear.
My Super73 Electric Bikes
One of the most enjoyable things in my life is driving down dirt roads in the summer and fall with my son. I grew up riding motorcycles, but I wasn’t able to really introduce my son to that in Los Angeles. And I thought this would be something that we could share together and teach him how to ride responsibly. I’ll never forget the first day we went out. It was the first time that he was truly autonomous as a human being.
The post Walton Goggins on the Song in His ‘White Lotus’ Character’s Head appeared first on New York Times.
