An intense method actor who spent many years struggling in supporting roles as good-natured Southerners, Walton Goggins first gained widespread attention by portraying the corrupt and erratic Detective Shane Vendrell on the gritty cop drama, "The Shield" (FX, 2002-08). Prior to his star-making turn on "The Shield," Goggins logged numerous guest spots on television series before landing his first major film role opposite Robert Duvall in "The Apostle" (1997). In 2001, he won an Academy Award as one of the producers of the acclaimed short film "The Accountant," which he made with fellow actors Ray McKinnon and Lisa Blount while tackling character roles in hits including "Shanghai Noon" (2000) and "The Bourne Identity" (2002). After "The Shield" ended, Goggins landed an even more acclaimed TV role as emotionally complex career criminal Boyd Crowder on the modern western "Justified" (FX, 2010-15) while co-starring in films including Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained" (2012) and "The Hateful Eight" (2015).Born on Nov. 10, 1971 in Birmingham, AL, Goggins was raised in Lithia Springs, GA, by his father, Walton, Sr., and his mother, Janet. Goggins was exposed to show business at an early age through his family - an aunt and uncle were both theater actors, while another aunt was a publicist for B.B. King and Phyllis Diller. In 1980, he entered and won a hog-calling competition when he was eight years old - the youngest competitor in the contest. A few years later, he and his mother were statewide champion cloggers - a form of mountain dancing - which led to opening for B.B. King at Atlanta's Fulton County Prison. When he was 12 or 13, Goggins became interested in acting when he walked into the office of casting agent Shay Griffin and declared his intentions. They remained friends for years. Meanwhile, after graduating from Lithia Springs High School, Goggins began landing small roles on film and in television projects being shot in his native Georgia, including the made-for-television movie "Murder in Mississippi" (NBC, 1990), a drama based on the true-to-life murders of three Civil Rights workers (Blair Underwood, Tom Hulce and Josh Charles) in 1964.It was on "Murder in Mississippi" that Goggins met fellow actor and Georgian, Ray McKinnon, with whom he formed a friendship and later a professional collaboration. On the small screen, he made several appearances as different characters on the Georgia-based drama, "In the Heat of the Night" (CBS, 1988-1994). When he was 19 years old, Goggins packed up and moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career, though he traveled back to Georgia on occasion to continue appearing on "In the Heat of the Night." His move to L.A. proved fruitful when he began landing guest spots on series like the anthologized drama, "The Watcher" (UPN, 1995) and the long-running military courtroom drama, "JAG" (NBC, 1995-2005). After playing Jim Bob in the comedic western, "The Cherokee Kid" (HBO, 1996), Goggins returned to guest-starring with episodes of "The Sentinel" (UPN, 1996-99) and "NYPD Blue" (ABC, 1993-2005). But he had his first breakthrough on the feature side with a prominent supporting role in Robert Duvall's critically acclaimed drama, "The Apostle" (1997). Goggins played Sam, friend and confidant to a charismatic Pentecostal minister (Duvall) who starts a new church after going on the lam for beating his wife's lover (Todd Allen) into a coma.Back on the small screen, he logged in an episode of "Family Law" (CBS, 1999-2002) and a starring role in "Beyond the Prairie: The True Story of Laura Ingalls Wilder" (CBS, 2000), playing Almanzo Wilder, the faithful husband of Laura Ingalls (Meredith Monroe). Also that year, Goggins landed roles in the high-profile comedy "Shanghai Noon" (2000); part three in the supernatural series, "The Crow: Salvation" (2000); and the independent drama, "Red Dirt" (2000). Meanwhile, in 2001, he formed the production company, Ginny Mule Pictures, with old friend Ray McKinno
