Do You Remember When Walton Goggins Was on a ‘Little House on the Prairie’ Adaptation?
The third season of The White Lotus has been full of stand-out performances — but Walton Goggins‘ turn as the vengeful and conflicted Rick has been especially noteworthy. In the lead-up to the show’s season finale on April 7, it’s a great time to revisit Goggins’ long career — and the surprising roles he landed before becoming a household name.
A character actor-turned-quirky lead, Goggins first came to fame as an Emmy-nominated supporting actor on the FX neo-Western Justified; in the years since, he’s become known for his collaborations with Danny McBride, including HBO comedies Vice Principals and The Righteous Gemstones, and his recent lead on the sci-fi drama series Fallout, which landed him his first Best Lead Actor Emmy nomination in 2024.
Fans who have been following Goggins’ career for decades probably first remember him from his run as Detective Shane Vendrell on gritty FX cop drama The Shield, starting in 2002. But Goggins, 53, first moved to Los Angeles at age 19 to pursue an acting career, and already had a decade of small roles under his belt by the time he landed on The Shield — a group of credits that includes a quick cameo as a kegger-throwing frat boy in a single second season episode of Beverly Hills, 90210.
But by the early ’00s, shortly before he landed on The Shield, Goggins began logging some higher profile roles — including one as Almanzo Wilder in a 2000 CBS made-for-TV movie called Beyond the Prairie: The True Story of Laura Ingalls Wilder.
The film starred John-Boy from The Waltons himself, Richard Thomas, as Charles Ingalls, and Emmy Award winner Lindsay Crouse as Caroline Ingalls; Meredith Monroe, of Dawson’s Creek fame, played Laura, while Goggins played her husband. The film was broadcast in two parts — the first aired in January 2000, the second in March 2002.
Publicized as telling the “real” story of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s life, the films focused on the final books in the Little House series, as well as The First Four Years. Some fans criticized the films for bringing what were viewed as modern updates to Laura’s styling and costumes.
Goggins has never specifically reflected on his time as Almanzo. But he did tell Business Insider, in a 2024 interview, that “I look back on my life as a storyteller, and though there were dips, it was always going up. And I think that’s because there was never an opportunity I wasn’t ready to step into. And I think God, whoever she is, structured my life in that way. I have been ready for every moment that has come my way. If it had been different in any way, I think I would have left the business. I don’t think it would have worked out for me. So I feel it all came for a reason.”
Remind