Justified: Why Walton Goggins Initially Rejected Boyd (& How He Fixed Him)
Walton Goggins was widely praised for his performance as Boyd Crowder, but the actor initially turned down the Justified role, before fixing the beloved criminal. After a recurring role in the crime drama’s first season, Goggins was Justified’s second lead throughout its remaining five seasons. It’s hard to imagine many actors turning down such a compelling character, but Goggins had an admirable reason for rejecting Boyd.
Based on Elmore Leonard’s novella “Fire in the Hole”, Justified follows US Marshal Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant), whose trigger-happy nature finds him relegated to his native Kentucky. Walton Goggins debuted in the show’s pilot, leading a white supremacist group in Harlan County who come into Raylan’s orbit. Following an almost fatal showdown with Raylan, Boyd repeatedly reinvents himself, the criminal managing to evade his many enemies and survive beyond the Justified season 6 finale.
Related: Tarantino's Justified Revival Delivers On His Best Unmade Movie
It was Boyd’s white supremacist ties that prompted Goggins to initially reject the part in the pilot. In an interview with Rolling Stone, he revealed, “I turned down Justified twice.” Goggins didn’t want to simply play a racist, and largely took on the role out of respect for Timothy Olyphant and Justified showrunner Graham Yost. However, he asked for one pivotal change — that Boyd was no longer a racist — which served to improve the character. Walton Goggins’ request transformed Boyd into a far more captivating figure, adding far more nuance to the role itself.
Born in Alabama and raised in Georgia, Walton Goggins has an attachment to the South and was reluctant to play into stereotypes of the region. Luckily, his friendship with Olyphant helped
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