Speedos, sunroofs, and smoldering stares: the cult of Goggins is in full swing—and the gays are taking notice.
By all rights, Walton Goggins should have slipped quietly into “that guy from that show” territory. But no. Goggins is doing the most, and it’s exactly what we needed in this era of cinematic beige. Whether he’s serving televangelist drag as Baby Billy in The Righteous Gemstones or prowling the wasteland in Fallout looking like Nosferatu’s hotter cousin, Goggins has quietly—okay, loudly—become a queer icon. Yes, really.
The man has range. From Django Unchained to Lincoln to Predators, he’s played everything from slave traders to soldiers to mutants. But somehow, it’s his silver-haired swagger and spray-tanned bravado in The Righteous Gemstones that sent the needle flying off the gaydar. Baby Billy might be a scammy disaster with the moral compass of a fruit fly, but he slays. Literally and figuratively.
If you’re not already seated, consider Goggins’ recent shoot for Cultured magazine, where he posed in banana-yellow speedos while straddling a Ferris wheel like a deranged, sun-kissed Greek god. Naturally, he shared the images on Instagram with the caption: “What a fabulously creative and wild f**king day. I don’t think I’ll ever be allowed back on the Santa Monica Pier. I’m an enthusiastic guy… at one point I got so excited by @strange.victory photography that I stood straight up thru the sunroof. You don’t do that in Santa Monica. We were promptly pulled over by the police. Luckily he was a fan of The Shield so it worked out.”
Honestly? That’s cinema.
Goggins is 53, proving that Daddy Energy isn’t just thriving—it’s doing donuts in the parking lot. But don’t confuse the wildness for frivolity. “I take it all seriously,” he said in the Cultured interview. The man is the method, even when the method is chaos. “I’ll say this. Someone I worked with on ‘The White Lotus’ didn’t fully understand my process. My character—Rick Hatchett—he’s isolated. So during filming, I was isolated. I liked mirroring that, but it was emotionally difficult.”
And if you’re thinking this is all performative eccentricity? Think again. “Comedy, drama—I take it all seriously. How many of these chances will I have? I want to squeeze as much life experience as I possibly can out of each one.”
Look, we love a himbo, but we worship a weirdo. Walton Goggins isn’t out here trying to be liked—he’s out here living fully, chaotically, and unapologetically. He’s proof that aging doesn’t mean fading, that sex appeal can come in unconventional packages, and that a good sunroof moment can still bring a man joy.
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Is he the gay community’s new favorite uncle-daddy-wildcard? Too soon to say. But let’s be honest: if you didn’t already want to ride that Ferris wheel with him, you probably do now.
The internet had a field day with Walton Goggins’ shoot, especially the now-iconic shot of him in a yellow Speedo and cowboy boots. Fans flooded social media with thirst tweets, memes, and hilarious captions.
https://x.com/Copas_Rainha/status/1914843865497903279
A behind-the-scenes video of Goggins strutting across the street in full shoot attire added to the frenzy, drawing laughter from twitter and cementing the moment as pure internet gold.
Walton Goggins isn’t just having a moment. He is a moment. A beautifully craggy, emotionally available, fear-driven, speedo-wearing, story-devoted, empathy-evangelizing moment. And we’re just lucky to be alive in it.
Or as he once put it, with all the glorious cheek of a man who’s seen some shit and made it look good:
“Fuck yes, I’m Walton Goggins.”
And yes, daddy—you are.
Source: Cultured