Developed by Graham Yost from the work of Elmore Leonard, the final season of Justified is focused on the long-brimming conflict between Deputy US Marshal Raylan Givens (Tim Olyphant) and Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins), and how it will all finally come to a head. Up until now, they’ve been tap-dancing around the fact that they’re on opposite sides of the law, but as Boyd hopes for one final score that will enable him to leave Harlan forever, Raylan would like nothing more than to put an end to all of the criminal activity in Harlan County.

During this exclusive phone interview with Collider, actor Walton Goggins talked about enjoying this last lap, how different the end of Justified feels in comparison to the end of The Shield, why television has been a blessing for him, what playing Boyd Crowder will mean to him in the long run, always workshopping the script until the last minute, what fans can expect from the final season, that everything is on the table when it comes to love and war, what he’ll take away from his time collaborating with both Graham Yost and Tim Olyphant, and what he’s keeping from the set.

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He also talked about how honored he is to have been invited to be a part of Quentin Tarantino’s next film, The Hateful Eight, what he was most looking forward to with the project, shooting on 65 mm, doing his home for the role, and why he loves working with Tarantino. Be aware that there are some spoilers.

Collider:  Has it finally sunken in that this is really the last season of Justified and that you’ll no longer be playing Boyd Crowder, after this season? 

WALTON GOGGINS:  It has, yeah. I have really understood the mammoth letting-go experience. The first time we rolled this year on Season 6, something epic happened, on my very first day at work. We had to say goodbye to someone on the show, and I had to do that on the first day. I wasn’t prepared for it, and it quickly became very black and white that this was the end and we’re all going to go that way. I’ve been very, very careful not to let a day go by that I would regret. As painful as it is some days, because of what Boyd is experiencing as a character, I’m really enjoying this last lap. I love him so much, but it’s time to say goodbye and let him lay wherever he lays, and go onto the next.

You’ve been through the experience of a show ending before, with The Shield. Does this experience compare to what you went through then, or does it feel completely different? 

GOGGINS:  It feels completely different. I didn’t know that there was life beyond The Shield. I was 29 years old when The Shield started, and had somehow deluded myself into thinking, “Well, this is for the rest of my life.” And I actually believed that lie that it would never end. Even if the story wasn’t physically being written, I thought the experience would still go on, every day. Even if I showed up at work by myself, I would still be doing that in Los Feliz at Prospect Studios. So, when it really came to an end, I was rocked. I was back on my heels for the better part of a year, really. This time, I am fully aware of how painful the grieving process is, of letting a person go that you’ve been so intimate with for such a long time. I’m prepared for it. Along with the writers, and Graham Yost, in particular, we really tried to leave no stone unturned in the evolution of Boyd Crowder. We went over what this experience is all about. Why did we ask people to go on this journey, and what is my portion of that answer? I feel like we landed on something that will allow me to sleep at night, after it’s all said and done.

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After you finished The Shield, you had said that you almost didn’t do Justified because you didn’t want to do another crime drama, but you ended up doing the show. After coming to the end of Justified, are you going to be more open to the type of work you do next? 

GOGGINS:  Yeah. It’s a completely different answer, this go around. I will follow the writing, wherever that goes. I’m doing Quentin Tarantino’s movie, The Hateful Eight. I just follow the writing. It’s such an honor to be invited to play on that level, with Quentin and all of those iconic actors. The words are so good. They’re his words. For me to go back to television was a blessing, not a curse, with the way television is being done now. I want another up-at-bat to tell a story for another 84 hours, and to explore another human being for that long. There are very few among us that have had this opportunity.

Who were you most looking forward to working with on The Hateful Eight

GOGGINS:  Literally, you could insert the other hateful seven. Sam Jackson and I got to play a little bit on Django Unchained, but he’s one of my heroes. With Jennifer Jason Leigh, I know exactly where I was and the theater that I saw Rush in, and how many times I’ve seen Fast Times at Ridgemont High. She’s a legend. And with Kurt Russell, I was in Mableton, Georgia with my mother, seeing Escape from New York. In the last year and a half, I got to work with Adrienne Barbeau, as the mother of Venus (on Sons of Anarchy), and now Kurt Russell. And I had already worked with Harry Dean [Stanton] ‘cause he did our movie Chrystal. So, I’ve gotten to work with three of the leads of that movie, and Kurt is the last one. During rehearsals, saying the words with him was just everything I hoped it would be. And then, there is Michael Madsen, Tim Roth and Bruce Dern. People have said in the past, “You are a young Bruce Dern,” and that is one of the highest compliments you could ever give me. There is no better, of his generation. He looms so large in my mind. And there’s Demián Bichir. It’s really one incredible opportunity after another, to work with this group of people.

And the film is being shot in 65 mm, correct? 

GOGGINS:  Yes! I have to put a lot of make-up on because that’s a big frame. If you ever get the opportunity to work with Quentin Tarantino, you had better believe that it will be an experience of extremes. That’s what he does, and you follow that kind of person to the ends of the earth, to accomplish whatever it is that they want to do. I had an incredible experience with Quentin on Django, and it’s just all of these people that are so intimately familiar with Quentin’s process. We’re all like little kids who can’t wait to go to school in the morning. It’s really exciting.

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Did he have you do any homework to get ready for this role? 

GOGGINS:  Yeah. He’s a real authority figure on cinema, and everybody out there knows that, but the way that he approaches it and his knowledge of episodes of Bonanza, much less Spaghetti Westerns and every other genre in the medium, is endless. When we first started talking about the role of Chris Mannix, he gave me one person, in particular, to read about, and I’m on my second book about this guy. There is no detail in Quentin’s vision that isn’t attended to by Quentin. He just loves the process, and he surrounds himself with people who also love the process.

Do you enjoy working with Quentin Tarantino because you also seem to pay such attention to the details with every character that you play? 

GOGGINS:  I think that that’s the reason that I am so attracted to working with someone like Quentin. I feel like I can just give myself over to him. I trust Quentin implicitly, on everything. He does all the work, but I and the other actors that are with him bring everything that they have to bear to the experience. Knowing that you’re working with someone who operates at such a high level, you have to operate at that level to be in that group of people. And he will take your specificity, as an actor, and say, “Yeah, that’s it,” or “No, we’ve gotta be more specific here.” For a cook who sits down at a table to an unbelievable meal, they don’t have to think about how they would do the meal different. They just enjoy the meal. And that’s what it’s like, working with Quentin.

When you did the first guest spot on Sons of Anarchy, as Venus Van Dam, did you have any idea how that character would go over and how much people would just completely fall in love with her? 

GOGGINS:  No, not at all, and I don’t think Kurt [Sutter] did either. Neither one of us had any idea that that would be the reaction. We really just genuinely hoped that people would see it as an earnest, heartfelt attempt to honor that community. It was because of the reaction, and that Kurt had such a good time writing her and I had a good time playing her, that it continued, and I’m so grateful that it did. It was painful to say goodbye to her, it will be to say goodbye to Boyd, and it was to say goodbye to Shane.

When it comes to Justified, do you think that you even fully understand what being a part of the show and playing this character will mean to you, in the long run of your life and your career? 

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GOGGINS:  You know, I don’t. But don’t think that being in the world of Elmore Leonard for six years did not greatly improve my chances of working with Quentin, who is widely impacted by Elmore and his work. In some ways, it’s a perfect transition from Justified to the world of Quentin. I think that Boyd is a special guy, who doesn’t come along every time, out of the gate. I felt that way about Vic Mackey and about Shane Vendrell. In some ways, I feel like I’ve gotten the opportunity to do that twice. Boyd is someone who I still don’t fully understand. Maybe it will come on the other side of this experience, and I’ll really be able to wrap my head around what this person means to me. I certainly hope to be challenged again, in this way, on television. I hope that he’s not one-in-a-lifetime, but I understand if he is, and I’m prepared to accept it, either way. I love him. I’ve never met someone like him.

When I spent the day on set, I noticed that you guys were doing a lot of rewrites and the script seemed kind of fluid. Is that something you’ve always done on this show, or is that happening more often because it’s the final season? 

GOGGINS:  It’s something that has always been a part of this show and the evolution of each episode. We try different things and we really talk about it. It’s published, and then we have a conversation about it and go back. We just try to workshop it on the phone, if nothing else. I’ll get on the phone with the writers and play it out to them. I’ll say it and do a bit of improv, and Graham really likes to work that way. That’s how he runs his writers’ room. He doesn’t settle. He’s not afraid to change his mind, even in the 11th hour, or the last minute of a day. If he feels that something comes up, in that moment, that is better or more true to the story, then he will change it. It’s rare to work with someone that gives himself that kind of latitude. It’s really always been a part of the process. That’s how Tim [Olyphant] likes to work, and that’s how I like to work, to an extent. I like to have at least a day with it, circumstances dictate the experience, and sometimes it’s as we’re walking into the room.

Even though it was just for the Season 6 teaser, how did it feel to be wearing Raylan Givens’ hat? 

GOGGINS:  The first thing I did when I turned around and looked at him was say, “God damn, I look good in this hat!” it was very cool. When I read that I got to wear his hat, the world stopped for a minute.

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What can people expect from this final season of the show? 

GOGGINS:  It ultimately comes down to trust. This is Elmore Leonard’s world, and that’s what Graham Yost always comes back to. You have three trustworthy/untrustworthy, morally complicated people trying to protect their own little corner of truth, and get what it is that they need. In so doing, things get very, very complicated, not just in the steps of the storyline, but in the emotional requirements for these people and what they’re looking for. It gets very dirty and very complicated. Joelle Carter, who plays Ava, is so extraordinary. She’s such a wonderful actress. She is put slap-dab in the middle of these two men, pulling her and, in some ways, dislocating her shoulders in both directions. It’s going to be really interesting to see what she does with this kind of physical and mental torture. You’ll see what it means for Raylan and what it means for Boyd, and whether there is a friendship, or whether there was ever a friendship between these two men. Was there ever love between Boyd and Ava? And are things justified or aren’t they for Raylan? It’s a dirty business, but it’s really where these people need to be, in this last season. It’s as complicated as anything that I’ve ever done, as an actor.

How would you say that Boyd’s love for Ava has opened his eyes in ways that they wouldn’t have been, and how would you say that that same love has also blinded him? 

GOGGINS:  I think that Boyd was extremely self-centered and selfish and narcissistic. He had spent the better part of his life looking in a mirror, until he met this woman who gave him permission to believe in something other than himself. The world doesn’t rotate around him. There is something beautiful and permanent in the world, and that is the love that a person can have for another human being. That’s been the great redeemer in his life, but her light shines so bright that it has blinded him in ways that will have their lasting affects on his life. If you would ask anyone who’s experienced love to that degree, if it was worth it, regardless of the consequences, nine times out of ten, and maybe ten times out of ten, people would say that it was worth it, and I hope that’s where Boyd lands, emotionally speaking, at the end of the season. But, we’ll see. Maybe they’ll be together. Who knows?

Whatever the final outcome ends up being, is Ava the one person who could bring him down, if it came down to it, or could he take her out, if it came down to his own survival? 

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GOGGINS:  I think everything is on the table. All is fair in love and war. Certainly, in my experience as an actor, I don’t think there’s a time where that saying has ever been more true for a person that I’ve had the opportunity to play. These are violent people, but they also are very tender, sensitive people who need things that they didn’t know that they needed. For violent people to make themselves vulnerable, and then to have that vulnerability be used against them, bad things can happen.

Was it fun, for this last season, to have some of the actors return who have been in and out of the show, over the seasons, along with some new actors who bring a new dynamic and energy to the show? 

GOGGINS:  Yeah. I think it’s more than rewarding, but it’s necessary, in the world of Harlan County. There is a cast of characters that have come through Harlan County that not only deserve it, but we would be cheating ourselves, if they didn’t come back into this world. Harlan is not a big place. It’s a small community. These people should and will be seen again. It’s right where the story needs to be. And then, you bring in new blood, like the great, iconic Sam Elliott, who fits in this world, as much if not more than Boyd Crowder, and Garret Dillahunt who, for my money and my group of actors, is one of the finest actors working today, in my age range. There is nothing that he can’t do. I have been a big fan of Garret’s for a very long time. I get giddy, being around these people.

What will you take away from your time collaborating with both Graham Yost and Tim Olyphant?

GOGGINS:  What is possible when ego isn’t involved, and to only work with people that you respect. At the end of the day, when you go into a situation, as long as your heart is in the right place, the best decision will be made. I trust both of them so much. Graham and Tim will be friends for life. I meant this when I say that Tim Olyphant will forever by my Raylan Givens. Even in my mind, when I say his name, it’s always Raylan Givens. He will always be that person to me. And Graham will always be the author of this experience, along with his writers, but the buck stops with Graham. He sent me a really nice text for my birthday, and with everything that he said in his text, the thing that I’m most grateful for is our friendship. Graham and I are very good friends, and I can’t imagine it any other way. Between Shawn Ryan and Graham Yost and Kurt Sutter, the bar for me has been raised very high for collaboration with someone in that position.

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If you could have anything from the set, what would you take with you to remember Boyd Crowder by? 

GOGGINS:  I took things that Shane had. I took his key ring. The bullet that he had on his key ring metaphorically stood for the bullet he put in his own head, at the end, and I don’t think any of us had that idea when we put it on that key chain. I took his leather jacket and boots that were a very, very important part of his fashion statement. They never changed, over the course of seven years. For Boyd, there is a pocket watch that I wear with a medallion on it that our former production designer found in Harlan County. It is a real dollar for the Harlan County company store in Kentucky. For me, as an actor, I feel like I’m a blue collar guy, and I identify with people that have a lot to overcome in their life. That coin has really become a symbol for me and Boyd’s struggle. It’s a dollar, but it’s not a real dollar. It’s still a dollar that belongs to the man, and you get to spend it in the man’s store. That really is a metaphor for someone like Boyd Crowder, who comes from the wrong side of the tracks. He made the decisions that he made, in an effort to lift himself out of that cycle of poverty and violence. He unfortunately thought he could do it by perpetuating violence, and I think he’ll realize that that ain’t the answer. That coin really symbolizes that for me, and that’s something that will be going home in my pocket, on the last day.

Justified airs on Tuesday nights on FX.

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