Walton Goggins has played complex characters in series including "The Shield" and "Justified." Now he's hoping his latest nuanced performance will help an unexpected beneficiary: Walmart.
Goggins is taking up the role of The Grinch once more in a bid to call attention to the retailing giant's plans for Black Friday. New deals will be available November 25 through 30, with Cyber Monday promotions dropping December 1. Goggins has appeared in Walmart ads since June, and says the decision to tackle The Grinch during holiday season was not one he made lightly.
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"When they brought up this idea to me, I just howled," the actor confesses during a recent interview, noting that "my elation turned to anxiety, because the thing is The Grinch is one of the most beloved characters in literature. Dr. Seuss is literature and this is one of the most iconic characters in the world."
The actor says he carried around "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas" with him on various travels for several weeks, immersing himself in the story and the way the author described the character, who must overcome a strong desire to ruin the holiday season for a nearby village until he finds the holiday spirit of its citizens rests on caring and camaraderie, not gifts and commercialism.
But Goggins' true recognition of the character did not come until he was fully adorned in the prosthetics he would wear for the commercial shoot. "It took me a two and a half, three hour process of getting made up for the first time, and we just kind of found it," he recalls. "Once we settled on the face and waht it was, and we got that prostethic over my nose and my mouth, I asked if I could be alone. My grin told me who wanted to be." He began to see The Grinch as someone who is "just irritated, slightly annoyed," and he sent an image of himself to his wife, who added that she saw the character as someone she could hang out with, despite his inherent feeling of being annoyed.
Walmart has in recent years tried to capture attention for Black Friday and holiday shopping by evoking famous movies or TV shows. The company has launched campaigns that reunite actorsfrom the hit "Mean Girls"or the cult favorite "Office Space."Last year, it debuted a ten-part "series" of commercials that talked up great bargains available at its stores, tapping actors including Taye Diggs, Lisa Rinna,Ian Somerhalder, Anthony Ramos, Chad Michael Murray Jake Shane andGogginsto take part in vignettes meant to remind viewers of video favorites such as "Bridgerton," "Yellowstone," "Friday Night Lights" or "Vampire Diaries."
But the true stars of the campaigns are the deals. Walmart intends to unveil a 10-in-1 game table set available for $149.99 compared with its original price of $381.99; a Flashforge Adventurer 3D printer that sells for $229 rather than $799; and an iHome towel warmer that is listed for $34.24
Goggins has increasingly been doing more work for big advertisers, including GoDaddy and PepsiCo's Doritos. At an earlier point in his career, the actor says, he was "fearful" about taking part in ads. Over time, he says he has learned that he can add his own twist to the project — something he discovered after a conversation with actor Samuel L. Jackson, who has done work for Capital One, Adidas and the energy company Vattenfall.
Jackson told Goggins that when it came to commercial work, he would "stand in front of a mirror" and figure out how he might deliver the message in his own unique way. And that is "my strength," says Goggins, "not to play into somebody else's idea of the way in which they communicate with the public, but the way that I would do it.
Would Goggins like to play the character again, if Walmart needs him? "I had such a good time playing him I didn't want ti to end," he says, but such a decision "is way above my pay grade."
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