LOS ANGELES – Walton Goggins has played so many outrageous characters he suspects audiences will be taken aback when they see him portray a widower edging back into the dating pool in “The Unicorn.”
“It’s more me than anything else I’ve played,” he says.
Normally, “I just go where the material is. And when this came along, I just fell deeply in love with him and with his struggles.”
Goggins – who was a widower at one point in his life – says it’s a bit unnerving to cut so close to reality.
“I was really insecure about it,” he says of the upcoming CBS series. “It took me asking myself the question, ‘Can you pull that off? Can you pull off just being you?’ And once I got past that fear of it, I said, ‘This is what I think I’ve always wanted to play.’ I have a similar relationship with my son and my group of friends and it’s nice to step outside of hiding behind something.”
Considered a unicorn because he’s reluctant to look for romance, Goggins’ character needs prodding from his friends to open up to someone new. The series follows that journey and shows just how endearing -- and funny – it can be.
Even when he was playing deadly serious roles in “The Shield” and “Justified,” the 47-year-old actor says he was searching for the comedy. “Comedy is very serious,” he says. “For me, it always starts with the story.”
With the full-fledged comedy “Vice Principals,” he was able to make it even funnier because he was willing to turn himself over to a certain set of circumstances. His character in that HBO series was a “flawed, insecure man” who allowed his behavior to run amok. “The fact that his behavior is different is just something that comes out from living in your imagination.”
In the new HBO comedy “The Righteous Gemstones,” he’s Baby Billy Freeman, a conniving evangelist who’s bitter that his brother-in-law interrupted a thriving career he had with his singing (and clogging) sister. Sporting a shocking white wig and demonic grin, Baby Billy seems like one of those on-the-edge characters that have brought him Emmy nominations and acclaim.
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In truth, he’s a little Goggins, too.
“My mother had me in clogging classes by the time I was 8 years old,” he says. “We had a clogging team, my brother and I, and it’s become kind of a novelty in my life – something I break out from time to time.”
“Gemstones” creator (and “Vice Principals” co-star) Danny McBride knew that and included it in the series. “Sugarland’s” Jennifer Nettles plays his sister – and fellow clogger.

Walton Goggins (at computer) stars on "The Unicorn," alongside Michaela Watkins, Rob Corddry, Omar Benson Miller and Maya Lynne Robinson.
Goggins volunteered to go on tour with her and clog. Nettles, he says with a laugh, passed. “When I start clogging, everybody gets quiet. It’s like having a superpower. In the Marvel Universe, I’m the Clogger.”
Now mining old emotions for “The Unicorn,” Goggins says he felt a bond with his co-stars when they were shooting their first scene. “We were all there together and, literally, two seconds later, I think we all kind of felt it. Like, wow, this feels really good.”
Based on a real person, “The Unicorn” has made Goggins realize universal experiences can be approached in a variety of ways.
“His experience and my experience were very different but similar,” Goggins says. “I was able to move on because of the community around me and the friends who held me up and thought I was worth bringing back. I am forever grateful to them. They are my brothers and my sisters. If you are in a difficult period right now, if you hold on long enough, everything will be OK.”
“The Righteous Gemstones” premieres this month on HBO; “The Unicorn” airs in the fall on CBS.
Orpheum Vaudeville

The new Orpheum Theatre opened Dec. 19, 1927. The theatre included vaudeville acts, such as a comedy acrobatic act and singer Frank Richardson. Ticket prices in 1927 were 50 cents for adults in the main floor seating and 35 cents for balcony seats. Children were charged 15 cents.
RKO New Orpheum Theatre

The RKO New Orpheum Theater, as it was later known, was only four stories tall when it was originally erected in 1927. Four more floors were added in 1948. The theater closed in 1992.
1942 playbill

Playbill from the Orpheum Theatre's production of "Life with Father," which graced the stage Feb. 23, 1942, starring Lillian Gish and Louis Clahern.
Movie theater 1968

Dubinsky Bros. Theatres of Lincoln, Neb., remodeled and opened the Orpheum as a movie theater. A suspended ceiling was installed and concealed the chandeliers and dome of the auditorium.
Orpheum Theatre

The Orpheum Theatre in Sioux City is shown in April 1985. A local group was given grant money in 1988 to study whether the Orpheum should be renovated to its original glory.
Orpheum drop ceiling

The ceiling of the Orpheum was uncovered in April 1999, exposing several original crystal chandeliers.
Orpheum grand opening

The Sioux City Symphony performs along with the Siouxland Master Chorale, the Morningside College Chorale and the Briar Cliff University Singers during the grand opening of the Orpheum Theatre on Sept. 15, 2001.
2001 Orpheum sign

In this 2001 file photo, the new Orpheum Theatre sign awaits elevation above the marquee on the front of the building.
Orpheum chandelier

The Yanney family donated this chandelier for the Orpheum restoration in 2001.
Orpheum grand opening

People mingle in the lobby of the Orpheum Theatre at its grand opening in 2001.
Orpheum grand opening

The Orpheum Theatre fills with people during the grand opening ceremonies on Sept. 15, 2001.
Orpheum grand opening

Master of Ceremonies Jim Wharton welcomes people to the grand opening of the Orpheum Theatre on Sept. 15, 2001.
Orpheum grand opening

Gene Hancer, Sioux City, wears period type attire while attending the grand opening of the Orpheum Theatre on Sept. 15, 2001.
Orpheum organ

Bob Ralston plays the Wurlitzer organ at the Orpheum Theatre in Sioux City in November 2004.
Gubernatorial debate

Larry Wentz and Amanda Krenz introduce the speakers at the Iowa Governor’s Debate at the Orpheum Theatre in 2010.
Orpheum Theatre 2011

The Orpheum Theatre is shown in January 2011.
Mardi Gras Gala

People dine during the Mardi Gras Gala outside the Orpheum Theatre on June 30, 2011.
Guy Fieri at Orpheum

Guy Fieri warms up the crowd at the beginning of his cooking show at the Orpheum Theatre on May 27, 2011.
Gubernatorial debate

Workers prepare the stage at the Orpheum Theatre in September 2010 while setting up for the Iowa gubernatorial debate.
Orpheum Theatre ushers

Usher Trudy Gordon grabs a pair of ear plugs while preparing for the Bret Michaels concert at the Orpheum Theatre Saturday, December 21, 2013. (Jim Lee, Sioux City Journal)
Irving Jensen

Irving Jensen, Jr., poses for a photo at Orpheum Theatre in Sioux City on Sept. 14, 2016.
Irving Jensen cartoon

A cartoon of Irving Jensen, Jr., drawn by famed Disney director Ron Clements is seen at the Orpheum Theatre on Sept. 14, 2016.
Orpheum 15 years on

The Orpheum Theatre is pictured in 2016, 15 years after its "rebirth."
Orpheum 15 years on

A board outside the Orpheum Theatre displays coming attractions in fall 2016.
Inside the Orpheum

"Fluffy" (aka stand-up comic Gabriel Iglesias) actually was there. Theater technician Joe Mahaney II talks in 2016 about some of the celebrities who have signed the backstage wall at the Orpheum Theatre in Sioux City.
Chandelier

The 1-ton grand chandelier is a centerpiece of the Orphuem Theatre.
Nelson autograph

Willie Nelson's autograph is shown in 2016 on the backstage wall at the Orphuem Theatre.
Mighty Wurlitzer Organ

The seven-story structure, at 528 Pierce St., was built for $1.27 million in 1927 as a vaudeville and movie palace. After years of neglect, this architectural treasure was brought back to life in 2001 and is now a performing arts center and home to the Mighty Wurlitzer Organ.
Sioux City Orpheum Theatre

Theater technician Joe Mahaney II stands on a catwalk surrounding the dome above the the ceiling in the Orpheum Theatre in Sioux City.
Sioux City Orpheum Theatre

Theater technician Joe Mahaney II stands on a catwalk surrounding the dome above the the ceiling in the Orphuem Theatre in Sioux City.
Righteous Brothers autograph

The Righteous Brothers' autographs are shown on the backstage wall at the Orpheum Theatre in Sioux City.
Sioux City Orpheum Theatre

Theater technician Joe Mahaney II flies a movie screen down across the stage at the Orphuem Theatre in Sioux City.
Rockestra's John Luebke

Director John Luebke of the Sioux City Rockestra is pictured ahead of the group's final concert at the Orpheum Theatre.
United Flight 232 anniversary panel discussion

An audience assembles for a panel discussion held in conjunction with the 25th anniversary of the United Airlines flight 232 crash in Sioux City, at the Orpheum Theatre in Sioux City, Iowa on Friday, July 18, 2014. (Dawn J. Sagert, Sioux City Journal)
2014 gubernatorial debate

Iowa gubernatorial candidates Gov. Terry Branstad and Jack Hatch debate at the Orpheum Theatre in Sioux City on October 14, 2014
Iowa Piano Competition 2015

People watch on a monitor as Victor Cayres, from Brazil, competes during the solo recital round of the Iowa Piano Competition at the Orpheum Theatre in Sioux City on March 19, 2015.
Sioux City Symphony Orchestra

Members of the Sioux City Symphony Orchestra rehearse at the Orpheum Theatre on Sept. 15, 2015.
Democrat Hillary Clinton

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks during a campaign event at Orpheum Theatre in Sioux City, Iowa on Tuesday, Jan., 5, 2016.
Trump in Siouxland

Donald Trump speaks with Jerry Falwell, Jr., at the Orpheum Theatre on January 31, 2016.
Kansas concert

Kansas performs at the Orpheum Theatre in Sioux City on October 7, 2017.
Orpheum Theatre seating

The Orpheum Theatre's seats are shown from the stage in 2017.