Walton Goggins on 'The White Lotus,' spirituality, and telling stories that matter

It was 4.30am when Walton Goggins, residing in the US, dialed in for our conversation. In just two hours, he’d be back on set filming for the upcoming season of Fallout, yet he spoke with a quiet intensity and a sense of presence that made time feel irrelevant. There’s something timeless about Goggins—an actor who has spent 35 years building an unparalleled resume of characters that dance between chaos and charm, heartbreak and humour. His latest role as Rick Hatchett in the newest season of HBO’s The White Lotus only deepens that legacy.

Goggins' career is a masterclass in instinct. From Justified to The Shield, from Tarantino’s cinematic universe (Django Unchained, The Hateful Eight) to his recent turns in prestige TV, his roles often carry an aura of unpredictability. When asked whether this comes from instinct or preparation, Goggins says, "I read this story like 250 times... I try not to dictate the path of the river. I just try to float down it and see where it goes."

This spontaneous precision—where nothing feels calculated but everything lands—is part of what makes Goggins so compelling. He credits storytelling itself as the core of his joy. “I love a lot of things in my life, nothing more than my family,” he says, “but second to that, I love telling stories.”

And in The White Lotus, he’s telling a particularly poignant one. Season three of the popular HBO anthology series takes place in Thailand.

Enter Rick Hatchett: The spiritual outlier

When director Mike White offered Goggins the role of Rick Hatchett, there was a caveat: he had to read all eight episodes before saying yes. What followed was, in Goggins’ words, a journey that felt “really important.” In a show that thrives on dissecting the lives of the wealthy and the workers who serve them, Rick is an anomaly.

“He’s an interloper in this world,” Goggins explains. “He doesn't fit into either the privileged guest list or the behind-the-scenes staff. He's there for a very, very specific reason. And since it’s outside of those lanes, he is a mystery to the other people that are there.”

This season, The White Lotus delves into themes of religion, life, and death, and Rick Hatchett’s presence taps into all three. Goggins describes the role as “a beautiful, lonely experience... cathartic on many levels.” In a sea of opulence and satire, Rick is a man quietly unraveling—a spiritual seeker caught between two worlds, carrying pain he cannot yet share.

But all storylines shall conclude in the eighth and final episode of season three, out this Monday in the UAE. You can catch all the action and drama on OSN+ in this region.

One season, one shot

Given the anthology format of The White Lotus, actors often have just one season to etch their characters into viewers' memories. Was that a challenge? Goggins embraces it.

“It’s tantamount to a movie, isn’t it?” he reflects. “You build something and then that’s it. It’s out there in the world, never to be repeated.” He likens it to a full meal—satiating in every way. And if this is Rick Hatchett’s only chapter, Goggins is content.

But amid the drama and existential weight, there are lighter moments too. A standout scene in Episode 5 features a barroom exchange with Sam Rockwell. Goggins, a longtime friend of Rockwell, recalls filming it fondly. "Every take, I was just truly listening from my heart... It was alchemy. We just had to get out of the way."

That scene has now become a meme. Due credit to Goggins' brilliant portrayal of an astounded Rick Hatchett listening to his friends' (Sam) transformational journey in Thailand.

Meditation, motion, and meaning

Since there's a lot of meditation and spirituality this season, it isn’t just something Goggins channels for Rick Hatchett—it’s a cornerstone of his real life. He’s been meditating for nearly three decades, though not always in the traditional sense. “I’m a person who likes to move around a lot,” he admits. “So why can’t I be a person that finds meditation on the move?” For him, presence is the goal, however one gets there.

This philosophy extends to his reasoning of why life is good today. “It’s in the details,” he says. “In a cup of coffee with the crew, conversations with my director, the drive home after putting it all out there. It’s in spending time with my wife and son, looking around at how beautiful the world is.”

White Lotus in the desert?

Before signing off, I asked Goggins a fun hypothetical: what would a Dubai-set season of The White Lotus look like? He smiled. “It’s easy to get lost in the desert, isn’t it?” He imagined mirages and spiritual metaphor. Though he’s only passed through Dubai, he hinted at future plans that might bring him back—and maybe, just maybe, a White Lotus chapter set against endless dunes.

If it happens, and if Goggins returns as a mysterious wanderer in the sand, we’ll be watching. Because wherever Walton Goggins goes, there’s always something worth discovering.