Born and raised in the deep South, actor Walton Goggins – one-time winner of a hog calling contest - probably did not imagine that his future breakout role would be a tough and corrupt Los Angeles cop on FX’s breakout hit, “The Shield” (2002- ). Then again, Goggins was so believable as the show’s ambitious but limited and beleagured detective Shane Vendrell that he appeared not to be acting at all. If the fan sites and general word of mouth were any indication, Goggins was just as much a reason to watch as series star, Michael Chiklis.
Born in Alabama and raised in Georgia, Goggins started performing as a child – he and his mother were statewide champion cloggers, a form of mountain dancing. It has been widely circulated that, when B.B. King was on tour, the mother-son team opened for him at the Fulton County Prison in Atlanta. Before too long, young Walton had himself an agent and moved to Hollywood.
From there, it was the common route of young actors – a slew of television guest appearances, and a movie-of-the-week now and then. He made brief appearances on “In the Heat of the Night” (CBS) and “Beverly Hills 90210,” (Fox) and showed up on the big screen in small roles in “Mr. Saturday Night” “Forever Young” both in 1992, and in “The Next Karate Kid,” in 1994. He got his cop legs in a small recurring role on “Pacific Blue” (USA).
Goggins first garnered some attention in “The Apostle,” (1997), in a small but pivotal role of a lonely mechanic “saved” by a devout minister played by Robert Duvall, who also directed the film. After some more bit parts, he played the real-life pioneer husband of Laura Ingalls in “Beyond the Prairie: The True Story of Laura Ingalls Wilder.” (CBS, 2000).
In the meantime, the prolific Goggins created his own production company, Ginny Mule, with actress Lisa Blount and “Deadwood” star Ray McKinnon, and produced the “The Accountant,” which won the Academy Award Award for best short film in 2001. Its first full-length feature, “Chrystal,” starring Billy Bob Thornton, was released in April, 2005.
It was on the set of “Shanghai Noon,” (released in 2000) that Goggins married his wife Leanne, who died tragically not long later. Goggins remained focused on his work, turning in one riveting, high-caliber performance after another in the award-winning cop show, which was based in part on the real-life corruption and scandals of a downtown Los Angeles police district. In the meanwhile, he continued to find work with smaller parts in feature films, including “The World’s Fastest Indian" (2005).