Walton Goggins names the greatest comedy actor of the last 50 years: “The man is a genius”
Walton Goggins isn’t the first actor you’d think of as a classic comedy star. Known most recently for his role as the grumpy and revengeful Rick Hatchett in the third season of The White Lotus, he has previously starred in action films like Django Unchained, Predators, and Ant-Man. But the actor has also starred in his fair share of TV comedy series throughout his career.
Years before the complex and mysterious Rick arrived at the retreat hotel last year, Goggins was co-starring in one of his breakout comedy roles, Vice Principals, alongside the comedy actor Danny McBride, best known for his often macho-satirical roles.
McBride, now 48, co-wrote the show with friend and frequent collaborator Jody Hill. The comedy series follows McBride and Goggins as two vice principals of a high school who find themselves in an intense struggle to occupy the coveted principal’s seat.
The two also starred in the 2019 dramatic comedy series The Righteous Gemstones together, in which McBride (who also co-wrote the show) plays Jesse Gemstone, the leader of a world-famous televangelist family whose greed and corruption go against what they preach, and Goggins plays Billy Freeman, the host of Baby Billy’s Bible Bonkers and Jesse’s jealous uncle.
Goggins and McBride’s hilarious onscreen chemistry is mirrored by their friendship in the real world, with the former gushing with praise for his friend and describing McBride as the funniest person he’s ever met, simply stating “the man is a genius”.
Others in the industry share similar sentiments towards McBride, including friend Seth Rogen, who once recalled a night where the actor wound up behind the counter at a diner at four in the morning, making hash browns and serving people. “So that happens from time to time,” he told GQ.
Apart from his co-writing credits, the American actor is best known for his roles in comedy films such as Hot Rod, Pineapple Express, and Tropic Thunder. His unique acting style and flair for comedy writing have garnered him a spot in comedy greatness, alongside the likes of Jim Carrey, Will Ferrell, Adam Sandler, Robin Williams and Eddie Murphy.
But for actor Walton Goggins, Danny McBride is at his best in the Foot Fist Way, a 2006 comedy about Fred Simmons, where he plays a taekwondo instructor whose life goes downhill after he learns about his wife’s infidelity. A martial arts black comedy, it was hoped that Foot Fist Way would reach the same critical success as Jared Hess’ Napoleon Dynamite. However, regardless of limited initial reception, the film has gone on to become a cult classic and cemented McBride’s role as one of the greatest comedy actors of all time.
Despite his success in Hollywood, in a recent candid interview with GQ, McBride revealed his struggles in LA and with the Hollywood film industry, leading him to move to Charleston, South Carolina, in 2017, with a handful of close friends and collaborators. There, he’s set up a quasi-comedy commune, making shows about unlikeable but hilarious characters with the likes of David Green and Jody Hill, who also co-run Rough House Pictures with McBride, under which they’ve produced several offbeat comedies and horrors.
