Walton Goggins Says This ‘Righteous Gemstones’ Storyline Made Him Tear Up

The Righteous Gemstones wrapped its fourth and final season on May 4th, ending an absolutely spectacular run of raunchy Jesus jokes, outrageous plot lines and even touching meditations on family and legacy. One of the show’s runaway stars was Walton Goggins as Baby Billy Freeman, a white-haired, fake-tanned, big-toothed maniac who was always a couple million dollars and an eight ball of cocaine shy of his dreams. 

In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Goggins reflected on his time in the role. He said that one plot line from the show still brings tears to his eyes to this day. “I can’t even say that without tearing up, truly,” Goggins explained. 

He’s referring to his Season Two arc, when Baby Billy is confronted with abandoning his son. “Season Two was about Baby Billy reconciling his narcissism and the sacrificing of his child,” Goggins said. “He abandoned his family, he abandoned his child, and he has to come to terms with that in order to move forward in his new life with the wife he has now, and make amends and apologize.”

His estranged adult son is portrayed by Macauley Caulkin, who Goggins said he developed a real-life friendship with the actor after filming. 

With their on-screen relationship, there was a real emotional weight to a character practically drowning in prosthetics and evangelical pastor costumes. “That whole season for me inching towards this ultimate inevitable confrontation with his son and finding the words to say ‘I’m sorry’ and truly mean it,” Goggins said. 

Still, Gemstones is a Danny McBride production, and all of the sincerity from Season Two (and every other season of the show) is accompanied by the relentless humor the show is known for. “In Danny McBride fashion, (Baby Billy) is able to do that from a narcissistic standpoint saying, ‘Well, you don’t think about me? You don’t wonder what I’m up to? And is there anything I can do for you, son?’”

Baby Billy gets a second chance at fatherhood with his child with Tiff, something else that makes Goggins emotional. “That was the bookend to my whole experience,” Goggins explained. “Here he is: Here’s my son. Here’s my second chance. I need to do this all over again. It makes me fucking cry, because God, we all need second chances. We all want that opportunity. We all have regrets. We’re all just learning along the way.”

By the series finale, Baby Billy had fully stepped into his role as Teenjus, living out his lifelong dream of being a star. Goggins feels peace with the show ending, even if he’ll miss all that orange concealer. “With all that said, am I still living with Baby Billy in a painful way? No,” he said. “I’m sad that I won’t get to play him again. But I am so gratified with what we did with his story, and I am so proud of all the actors and people involved in this show.”