Walton Goggins has been the breakout star of The White Lotus season three, in which he plays the emotionally distant Rick, a man struggling with his childhood trauma and searching for vengeance following the murder of his father. While the character is a tragic one, filming in Thailand was particularly meaningful for Walton, who first travelled to the country following the death of his wife back in 2004.
Walton’s first wife Leanne’s death
Walton had been married to a dog walking business owner Leanne Knight for three years when she died by suicide, which led to the actor spending three years travelling following the “unrecoverable” tragedy. The pair were estranged by the time of her death.
His travels to Thailand
Speaking to GQ, he explained: “I thought it was really unrecoverable for me. Life on the other side of that. And I spent the next three years looking for an excuse—not to end it, but certainly putting myself in situations that were questionable, not with drugs or anything like that, just life experiences and traveling. And I really went all over the world.”
© HBOWhen he began filming The White Lotus two decades later, he realised that he was visiting the same spots he had visited during the darkest time of his life, saying: “The first island we were staying on. I realised, ‘I’ve been on this road before’. And then the next island we went to, I realized, ‘I’ve definitely been on this beach before. I know this boardwalk.’ And all of the things kept coming back.”
“We got out of the boat and that’s where we were filming, man—all of the equipment was literally right in front of the hotel that I’d picked 20 years ago on the internet, on this little bitty road in this little bitty neighborhood.” He added that he wished that he could hug his former self, and reassure him that he was “going to be okay”.
Walton’s relationship now
Walton married for a second time to filmmaker Nadia Connors in 2011, and the pair share one son.
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