Hateful Eight Actor Felt Uncomfortable Working On The Quentin Tarantino Film
Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight (2015) is packed with Hollywood legends, to the point that Walton Goggins, the character actor, experienced extreme imposter syndrome while shooting the film. After the film was released, Goggins admitted that working with the likes of Kurt Russell and Jennifer Jason Leigh left him feeling overwhelmed and anxious. In Walton’s own words,” I wasn’t comfortable.”
Walton Goggins Is A Cult Actor
Actor Walton Goggins occupies a weird space in Hollywood. Unlike Tom Cruise or Zendaya, his name is not necessarily one your mom would know, but those who do know him love him so much that he’s the main selling point for Amazon’s upcoming Fallout adaptation. If actors can be described as “cult” in the same way that movies are, then Goggins is definitely a cult actor.
Goggins Was Star Struck
Because of his less-than-leading-man status, Goggins felt completely out of his element on the set of The Hateful Eight. Ultimately, the actor describes the movie’s production as positive, but it took a little while for him to feel comfortable working alongside bonafide Hollywood icons. “I wasn’t comfortable with Kurt Russell, or Jennifer Jason Leigh, or Tim [Roth], or Michael [Madsen] for that matter!” Goggins confessed in a 2015 interview with The Playlist.
Previous Work With Tarantino
“Those are people who loom large in my imagination,” the actor continued. Out of the entire cast of The Hateful Eight, the only actor Walton Goggins was at ease around was Tarantino regular Samuel L. Jackson. Goggins had previously worked with both Jackson and Tarantino on the film Django Unchained (2012), giving him at least two friends on the set.
“The only reason I didn’t include Sam Jackson in that list before is that Sam is my buddy,” Goggins said in the same interview. Eventually, Walton Goggins got over his shyness on set and was “invited” by his co-stars into what he calls their “iconic group.” Goggins recalled that the production quickly turned into a “celebration” of each actor’s gifts.
Bonding Over Mutual Admiration
According to Goggins, he and his fellow cast members would watch each other’s scenes whether their presence was required or not. “We all got to be in the room,” the actor said, describing the production of The Hateful Eight. Whether it was a shot involving Jennifer Jason Leigh, Samuel L. Jackson, or Hollywood Legend Bruce Dern, Goggins and the rest of the cast were there just off camera watching the performance.
Eventually, the cast bonded over a mutual admiration for each other’s work and Quentin’s impressive directing. The extreme cold also played a big part in bringing the cast closer together. “We took care of each other,” Walton Goggins said after using the harshest expletive possible to describe the equally harsh weather during the shoot.
Now Close To His Co-Stars
The cast of The Hateful Eight became so close that a year after the film wrapped, they still talked daily. Walton Goggins not only overcame his anxiety on set but became so comfortable with his co-stars that he and the rest of the cast formed a text group called the “Haters.” “We still text almost 30 times a day,” said Goggins. “That just doesn’t happen. So we’re very close.”
Walton Goggins Is Going To Become Famous
It’s been close to a decade since The Hateful Eight was released, and in that time, Walton Goggins has racked up a number of impressive roles on both the big screen and the small screen. Between movies like Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018), shows like The Righteous Gemstones (2019), and the upcoming Fallout (2024), it’s safe to say that if The Hateful Eight started shooting today, Goggins would probably feel a lot calmer on set.
