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If the category is actors who chameleon into a role, Walton Goggins will always be at the top of the list. Don’t believe me? Look no further than Baby Billy Freeman from HBO’s The Righteous Gemstones.
In the ludicrously silly series, Goggins — who most recently captured the hearts of millions while playing the tragically distant Rick in The White Lotus Season 3 — has spent years crafting one of the best characters on television with Baby Billy. Lines that would fall flat in another actor’s hands often sing thanks to the Alabama-born actor. (Speaking of which, his character sings, too!)
Chatting with DECIDER ahead of the final block of episodes, Goggins explained that to become the character that every Gemstones fan loves (no hyperbole, here, there are thousands of Baby Billy edits on social media) it takes fundamentally understanding who he’s playing and what each line means. In more recent episodes, that includes processing Baby Bill’s unending beef with his German nanny, Sola (Kerstin Schulze), who he described in Episode 4 as having “old world villain vibes,” which said makes him “feel like Indiana Jones.” It’s the kind of sandbox that any actor would die to play in, Goggins says.
“The relationship between Baby Billy and Sola. This woman who, you know, he is constantly so tough on and she’s so patient with him because he’s become addicted to cocaine and he is trying to provide for his family by making a show about Jesus Christ — teenage Jesus Christ — it’s bananas,” the actor said of his character’s Season 4 arc, which sees Baby Billy asking for money from Jesse (McBride), Judy (Edi Patterson), and Kelvin (Adam DeVine) to fund a TV show about a teenage version of Jesus, with updated language and references, of course.
Goggins added of the absurdist storyline, “Just the whole thing is so absurd but grounded in truth. And I just love saying every line that comes out of my mouth.”
“These lines are just gold. Danny, and these writers, everybody over there, they spin gold,” he said, adding that acting among his co-stars — many of whom come from the world of improv and standup — has taught him to always bring his A-game and hone his own acting skills, as much on the comedy side as he has on drama. His previous dramatic works include Sons of Anarchy, Justified, and The Shield, just to name a few.
“Every other actor here: Tim Baltz, Edi… these guys are pros, these guys do sketch comedy. Edi is a master. Adam Devine is a huge comic, as you know. All of these people in this stable of actors that Danny has are really accomplished in that world,” Goggins explained of his mindset going into filming Baby Billy’s wild scenes. “I’m not that guy. I just do what I do.”
Goggins is certainly no newcomer, though. After four seasons and six years of playing his coke-addicted, fame-hungry, unfiltered proselytising propogandist, the star — who is currently in the middle of filming the highly anticipated second season of Prime Video’s Fallout adaptation — has become a pro. Poll just about any fan of The Righteous Gemstones and they will tell you that no one delivers a line like Goggins as Baby Billy — or Goggins in any role, for that matter.
As much practice as he’s had between Gemstones and Vice Principals — the HBO show where he first worked alongside McBride after initially auditioning and being passed on for a role in Eastbound & Down — Goggins explained that he has yet to break the habit of ruining a take with a laugh. Goggins says he still says he gets a case of the giggles, even after more than a decade of working with McBride on the two comedy shows.
“Not breaking is not a part of my training, you know what I mean? And I’m the guy that does break and ruin takes more often than not,” he said, laughing. “So usually it takes me more times to get it in the can than it does anyone else.”
Chalk it up to him having the funniest lines on the show. And, as any Saturday Night Live fan knows, the breaks are the best part and make for an excellent blooper real. Praise be.
The first six episodes of The Righteous Gemstones Season 4 are currently streaming on Max. New episodes air Sundays at 7 PM PT on HBO and Max.
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