The CBS single-camera comedy series The Unicorn is back for Season 2, as Wade Felton (the endlessly charming Walton Goggins) embraces life in the wake of the loss of his wife by exploring the instant connection he has with Shannon (Natalie Zea), a woman he shared a chance meeting with but couldn’t stop thinking about. Navigating dating and figuring out how someone can fit into your chaotic life is always an interesting prospect, but when you add in two adolescent daughters, a very opinionated friend group, and the other person’s baggage, there are sure to be some challenges along the way.
During this 1-on-1 phone interview with Collider, actor Walton Goggins talked about returning to work during a pandemic, his excitement over getting to explore the next phase of life for his character, how his Justified co-star Natalie Zea came to join the show as his love interest, what he loves about the father-daughter relationship, and the behind-the-scenes vibe on set. He also discussed how things are coming with Season 2 of The Righteous Gemstones, and voicing a character for the animated superhero TV series Invincible.
Collider: After a very successful first season of the show, how was it to go into Season 2? Were there things that you were most looking forward to getting to dig into with the character, especially after getting all of the set-up and introductions out of the way?
WALTON GOGGINS: You just said it. You don’t have to deal with that anymore. The thing that I was most excited about, other than going back to work, because I missed it so desperately, was to explore the next phase of this experience, for Wade, for his daughters, and for his friends, and to do that through the potential new love of his life, with this character played by Natalie Zea. I was excited to see where that would lead us, what it means to feel that way about someone, and how that would look. How do those introductions begin, with my daughters’ lives and my friends’ lives, and for me in her life and with her friends. What does that really look like? What are all of the complications that go along with that?
How does it feel to actually get on set and do this thing again, that you love while also being in this whole new world?
GOGGINS: Michaela Watkins said it best, the very first day, when we had the mask and the shield on. She said, “Forget about the mask and the shield. Does anyone remember how to do this shit?” For all of us, in every department, it was daunting on day one. It was like, “How is this gonna work?” But as soon as we took that mask and shield off, and we looked into each other’s eyes, and John Hamburg said, “Action!,” it was all there. It almost brought me to tears because it was like, “Wow, this is feeling human again. This is what it’s like to be this close to someone, other than your family.” It just felt so good.
When this new character came up as a love interest for Wade, what made you think of Natalie Zea? Was it the Boyd Crowder in you, still trying to one-up Raylan Givens?
GOGGINS: Do you think I should text Tim [Olyphant] right now and say, “Hey, I got your lady buddy”? No. It actually wasn’t that, at all. I suppose, on some level, it’s because I know her and I feel so comfortable around her, and I just adore and respect her so much, as an artist. The truth is that we were talking about different people. We did the first season and we ended at the grave, and I wanted to have a conversation with my deceased wife. And just when that happens and everything is okay, then another door opens and life changes. That’s the way that it happens in reality. We all thought of it, independent of each other, but almost at the same time. They texted me, right before I texted them, “What about Natalie Zea?” And as soon as they texted it, for all of the reasons, it was her and it was hers to say no to, really. She has it all. She can do anything. She can make you laugh, she can make you cry, she can make you think, and she’s just so real.
Did you have a pitch ready for her, to make sure that she didn’t say no?
GOGGINS: I guess my pitch was, “Please. Boyd Crowder is asking you, please.” And luckily for me, half-way through the description, she said, “I don’t need to hear anything more. If you’re doing it, I’m in.” That’s what you wanna hear, as an artist, when you reach out to a friend, after so long. It was really lovely.
Why is this the right relationship for Wade to explore, at this time in his life?
GOGGINS: Well, I think you’ve gotta watch the show to find out. What he may think is the best thing for him may turn out not to be the best thing for him, but it ultimately may be the best thing for him, if that makes sense. This wasn’t a, “Oh, God, we don’t have anything. Now, let’s go here.” It wasn’t random. It’s really following the way that life works organically. Once someone is ready to explore another phase of their life, inevitably, they will be given that opportunity to do so. In your heart, you know when you meet someone. You just know it. And Wade knows it. But what he doesn’t know or fully understand is all of the complications that go along with it. It is funny as shit, all of these situations, and extremely poignant and earnest when it explores them.
What do you most enjoy about the relationship that he has with his daughters, and the relationship that you have with those actresses, Ruby Jay and Makenzie Moss?
GOGGINS: I love their growing minds, their curiosity, and their desire to learn. Both of them are just so delightful, but Ruby, who plays Grace on the show, came up to me a couple of weeks ago, and she said, “Walton, I have this audition for a very serious drama, and I wanted to see if you would do it with me.” I just almost started crying. I was like, “Of course! Are you kidding? Let’s look at it.” We just sat outside and we read through it and I said, “Okay, I want you to go home and read this a hundred times between now and tomorrow.” She trusts me and she said, “Okay, that’s what I’ll do.” Then we got on a Zoom call the next day, on a Saturday, and I just talked to her through it. She just wants to learn. She wants to know what that feeling is like, when you turn yourself over to an imaginary set of circumstances. It was extraordinary. I love them. I’m so fond of them, and I hope that I’m in their life forever.
When you do a show like this, that all really comes out of a place of love, whether it’s love of family, love of friends, or now this romantic love, what sort of atmosphere does that create on set? If fans of the show got a glimpse behind the scenes of you guys filming this, what would they see?
GOGGINS: It’s a bunch of really funny people making each other laugh all day long, and then deep, serious political conversations, deep conversations about life, and dealing with the six kids that we have running around. And then, there is Walton, at certain times of the day, sitting there and reading his script 150 times, pacing back and forth in his own head. That’s what it is. That’s what I do at work. I participate in all of the life that’s going on, but then I dip out like I’m still doing The Hateful Eight. I’m still the same guy. It doesn’t matter that it’s on CBS and it’s an earnest comedy. I still have to do the work, so that’s what I’m doing. I’m sitting in my chair alone, looking at my script. It’s crazy.
Are there any other actors, either that you’ve worked with in the past or that you admire, that you’d love to get to come onto the show?
GOGGINS: Yeah, there are so many people that we wanna reach out to when the time is right. I would imagine, at some point, you’ve gotta meet Wade’s dad, and I’m sure that’s a very complicated relationship. I would love to get Bruce Dern on there, or Bruce Greenwood. I’m a huge fan of Greenwood. Every person that I’ve ever worked with, I would, in some form or fashion, love to have on the show. And it’s not just me. [Rob] Cordddry knows everybody. Michaela Watkins knows everybody. Omar [Miller] knows everybody. All of us are just waiting for the right moment to reach out to the people that we love and respect and admire. With every single person that we have on, what we’re trying to do is make sure that they have a full, three-dimensional experience and that they have a beginning and a middle. Who knows about an end? It’s ongoing and a part of the fabric of the extended family of the show.
This show really does have a very fun friend group. How has the ensemble aspect of this ensemble comedy been? What have you learned about your co-stars from working with them for two seasons now?
GOGGINS: Nothing that I didn’t know before, from just hanging out, because we’ve hung out a lot. I didn’t know that Rob Corddry loved cars so much. I didn’t know he was obsessed with that, so much so that he’s one of the co-hosts of Top Gear. I didn’t know that Maya Lynne [Robinson] was such a big camper. She’s really into camping. I didn’t know Omar story about his dad and his father’s business, and coming to Los Angeles and how he started it. And I didn’t know that Michaela was that funny. I knew she was funny, but she’s that funny and one of the most interesting people that I’ve ever met in my life.
Throughout the first season, you got to reveal a little bit of Wade and Jill’s history together. Were those things that you knew when you signed on for this, or have you been learning that backstory as you go?
GOGGINS: Mike [Schiff] and Bill [Martin] and I created that backstory. This show is based on Grady Cooper, who is their best friend and one of our writers on the show. It’s not their relationship entirely, by any stretch, but a lot of his own struggles and the things that he had to overcome are in the DNA of this experience. Now that Wade is taking on a life of his own, it was a deep discussion about, “Well, who was Wade before he met Jill? What are some of the things that he had to sacrifice or compromise in that relationship? And what did Jill have to compromise? Who was she? What person would he be attracted to? Was does she look like? I don’t think she’s austere. I think she’s very tactile and in her body and in the world, and very experimental and an artist, on some level. What does that awaken in him? What does that do to him?” I think you’ll see all of that in the show, but all of those things were talked about at length.
Because there can never be too much Baby Billy in the world, is there any update on Season 2 of The Righteous Gemstones? Do you know what’s happening with that?
GOGGINS: I know that Danny [McBride] is in his writers’ room right now. I just talked to him a couple of days ago and he is hard at it. It was a big hole in all of our hearts, not to be able to do the second season this year. We’re coming back, for sure. HBO already announced that. I don’t know if they’ve announced the date but we’re all going back next year, probably earlier rather than later. We’re just so excited about it.
Is the Christmas special still going to happen, or will that have to wait?
GOGGINS: Yeah, that had to wait too because of the up-tick. We were gonna do that. Maybe there’ll be a special this next year. You never know.
It’s certainly one of those characters that so insane that only someone like you could pull that off because it is just so bonkers.
GOGGINS: He’s insane. He’s the other side of my personality. I’m Wade Felton, Baby Billy, Lee Russell, and Venus, all at once. It’s crazy to have a dinner with me because you never know which one will show up.
What also made you want to voice a character for the animated superhero TV series Invincible? How did that happen?
GOGGINS: They called and I read it, and I’m a big fan of [Robert Kirkman’s] work. He’s such a good writer. And the cast they were assembling, with [J.K.] Simmons and all the rest, it was like, “Wow, I’ve never done this before.” It was a learning curve. I got in there and we were going about it. The other guys that were writing it were so lovely and so patient. I said, “Look, I don’t know what’s going on. Where am I, in the room? You want me to stand behind this podium and say these lines? I can’t do that. I’ve gotta walk around and talk.” I was pacing like a madman and we started doing the scene, through the glass, and I would step up to the microphone and we would do it two or three times, and that was it. It was a different way of working for them but they accommodated me, and it was awesome. I loved it.
Is there a fun in getting to do something like that, where you bring a character to life in a very different way?
GOGGINS: Yeah, it is. There are a lot of people that have been doing that for a long time. That is a certain skill that you learn over time and I hope to get even more comfortable at it. It really took some getting used to, for me. But it is fun. I’ve seen some of these final product and it’s really good.
It’s interesting to think of and look at The Shield now. Obviously, police corruption was something that existed then, but how do you feel about that show, now that police misconduct is such a national discussion? Was, the idea of that something that motivated you during the show, at all, or was it more the complexities of the character that you were focused on, at that time?
GOGGINS: Well, that’s really a question for Shawn Ryan more than me. Because he’s said it in interview, I can say that he was so surprised at the juxtaposition between crime rates going down and police corruption going up, and he didn’t understand like what was happening there. We set out to do that so long ago – it was 20 years ago now, when we were doing the pilot – and he felt like that was a discussion to have. And now, the discussion will continue.
The Unicorn airs on Thursday nights on CBS.