Summary
Walton Goggins shares what his surreal experience was like auditioning for Quentin Tarantino to star inDjango Unchained. Released in 2012,Django UnchainedstarsJamie Foxx as the titular Django, following the escaped slave as he embarks on a mission to rescue his wife from a brutal plantation owner. The film, which was a critical and commercial hit, sees Goggins starring as Billy Crash, a central antagonist.
In a recent video forGQ, Goggins recounts how he ultimately got the role of Billy inDjango Unchained.
After revealing how his friend, director Robert Rodriguez, helped to put him on Tarantino’s radar, Goggins recounts that he and theDjango Unchainedfilmmaker had an unusual audition that he was reluctant to let end. Check out Goggins' story below:
“At the end of this dinner with this friend, he said, ‘You know the script. Pick one of these four or five roles, whatever speaks to you, and come in next week.’ I said, ‘Okay, great.’ And I read it again and again and again and again, and I came in with these four roles… And I did these four roles. He said, ‘That was fantastic, man. Is there one you kind of gravitate to more than the other?’
“I said, ‘Well this is really interesting.’ And he said, ‘Well that one might not be available, but what about…’, and I said, ‘Oh this is really interesting.’ And he said, ‘Okay, man, all right. This was a great time. Thank you so much for coming in.’ And I said, ‘But I’m not leaving.’ He said, ‘What do you mean?’ I said, ‘No, I wanna play all of these roles. I want to read all of these roles.’
“He said, ‘What are you talking about?’ I said, ‘I wanna read Leo’s role, I wanna read Sam’s role, I wanna read all of them. Because I don’t care if I get this job, like that’s irrelevant to me. The only thing that I care about is having the opportunity to say Quentin Tarantino’s words in front of Quentin Tarantino.’ And he said, ‘Are you serious?’ And I said, ‘Yeah.’ And he said, ‘Yeah, let’s fucking do it.’
“And he sat there with me in that room for another 45 minutes, maybe an hour, and we just read through his script. And I read Sam’s role and he read every other role as if he was filming it. And I read Leo’s role and he read every other role as if we were filming it, and it was one of the greatest days of my life as an artist.
“And at the end of it, I think I hugged him, but I just said, ‘Thank you, that was a dream come true. And good luck with your movie. I can’t wait to watch it, man.’
“Couple of months go by, I get a call that he wants me to come and play with him. And that was the beginning of two of the greatest experiences of my life.”
Walton Goggins' & Quentin Tarantino’s Working Relationship Explained
The Pair Reunited For A 2015 Western
Goggins was already a successful actor before starring inDjango Unchained, but the film, which has an 87% score onRotten Tomatoes, certainly showed just what the actor was capable of. While Leonardo DiCaprio’s Calvin Candie is the real villain of the story, Goggins plays a truly reprehensible character. After starring inDjango Unchained, Goggins would ultimately reunite with Tarantino for another Western.
Released in 2015,The Hateful Eightsees Goggins playing Sheriff Chris Mannix, a much more prominent role than Billy. The actor stars opposite Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, and Channing Tatum in Tarantino’s less commercially successful, but equally blood-soaked Western. WhileDjango UnchainedandThe Hateful Eightare the only two movies Tarantino and Goggins have made together, the pair may have almost reunited for another project.
Django Unchained Ending Explained
Django Unchained has an ending that begs to be explained. Here is a deep dive into Tarantino’s complex tale of love, freedom, and redemption.
Before appearing in anyTarantino movies, Goggins was perhaps best known for playing Boyd Crowder onJustified. Tarantino was evidently a fan of the series, as he’s said to have helped brainstorm the show’s newCity Primevalrevival. Tarantino was also once in talks to direct episodes of the series, though this ultimately didn’t come to pass. Goggins, of course, returns to cameo in theJustifiedrevival. It remains to be seen whether Goggins and Tarantino will reunite again afterDjango UnchainedandThe Hateful Eight, but working with the director is evidently a major highlight for Goggins.
Django Unchained
Cast
Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained follows Jamie Foxx’s Django, a Black slave who is freed before becoming a bounty hunter. After meeting German dentist-turned-bounty-hunter Dr. King Schultz, Django sets off to free his wife from the cruel and charismatic plantation owner Calvin Candie. Christophe Waltz stars alongside Foxx, with Leonardo DiCaprio, Samuel L. Jackson, and Kerry Washington rounding out the cast of Tarantino’s revisionist Spaghetti Western.
