"10,000 pounds off my shoulder" - Walton Goggins reveals what he went through before shooting The White Lotus season 3 episode 7

Walton Goggins spent over six months preparing for the emotional climax of The White Lotus season 3 episode 7, a moment he described as finally lifting "10,000 pounds off of my shoulder."

Walton Goggins, who plays Rick Hatchett, told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview dated April 1, 2025, that the final confrontation scene with Scott Glenn’s character, Jim, was filmed near the end of the Thailand shoot. For Goggins, the catharsis seen on-screen mirrored his own personal release.

According to a Vanity Fair report dated March 17, 2025, Walton Goggins connected deeply with Rick’s search for closure, having traveled through Southeast Asia himself after a personal tragedy.

He also revealed that Thailand held special meaning, as he ended up filming near the same hotel he stayed in years ago during a period of grief.

As per HuffPost on March 28, 2025, the actor isolated himself on set to stay immersed in Rick’s emotionally burdened mindset.

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Walton Goggins said working with Sam Rockwell was one of his best experiences

For Walton Goggins, the emotional weight behind The White Lotus season 3 episode 7 wasn’t just acting, it was deeply personal. The highly anticipated confrontation between Rick Hatchett (played by Goggins) and Jim Hollinger (Scott Glenn), the man Rick believes killed his father, wasn’t filmed until the final leg of production in Thailand.

Goggins told The Hollywood Reporter in a report dated March 30, 2025:

“It took me six months and seven hours of this experience to smile, to really smile.”

That moment of relief, captured on camera, reflected both Rick’s release and Goggins’ own.

The build-up to episode 7 began long before cameras rolled. Walton Goggins read all the scripts months in advance and understood the psychological depth required to portray Rick's internal struggle.

“I knew what it would take in order to get to that moment. It was all building toward that,” he said in the same THR interview.

For the actor, the delay added to the tension. He had to wait over half a year to perform the scene that resolved Rick’s revenge arc, which he described as the culmination of a storyline built on grief, isolation, and emotional reckoning.

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A long wait and a heavy burden

The revenge plot was gradually revealed. In episode 4, Rick confides in his partner, Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood), that Jim, now a co-owner of the White Lotus in Thailand, was allegedly responsible for his father’s death decades earlier.

The moment of truth arrives in episode 7 when Rick confronts Jim privately. Despite carrying a gun and decades of unresolved trauma, Rick ultimately decides not to follow through. He topples Jim’s chair, turns away, and walks out.

As per The Hollywood Reporter, reflecting on this critical moment, Goggins explained:

“Rick’s just a lost boy, isn’t he? He’s just looking for answers as much as he’s looking for revenge. And when he saw [Jim] for who he was, all of the pain and all of the power that this man had over him was gone. There was no boogeyman in the closet anymore.”

The confrontation doesn’t bring justice, but it delivers emotional closure. According to Mashable India’s report dated March 31, 2025, Rick accuses Jim of orchestrating his father’s murder “over a land deal or some sh*t,” but Jim’s vague responses, like saying, “Lots of ways to take care of that” only add ambiguity.

Whether Jim is truly guilty remains unresolved.

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Isolation on set and personal reflections

The emotional intensity of Rick’s arc extended behind the scenes.

“More often than not, my chair is separate. I sit on my own. I do my own thing,” he said.

Walton Goggins added:

“They didn’t understand why I was there. This guy is isolated.”

As per HuffPost’s March 28, 2025, report, Goggins described the shoot as

“more isolating than I anticipated.”

Adding another layer, the filming locations in Thailand triggered Walton Goggins’ memories of grief. He told Vanity Fair in a March 17, 2025, report that years ago, following his wife’s death, he had travelled to Southeast Asia to process his trauma.

Remarkably, The White Lotus brought him back to the exact hotel he had once stayed in. He stated in the official White Lotus podcast cited in Huffpost:

“That’s the room I stayed in 20 years ago. That’s my balcony,”.... “I thought, God, I wish I could hug that guy.”

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Friendship, release, and the aftermath

Walton Goggins' emotional journey reached a meaningful peak in the episode’s closing moments, which featured a wild Bangkok night out with Sam Rockwell’s character, Frank. After sparing Jim, Rick joins Frank for a chaotic bender that includes drinking and strip clubs, true to The White Lotus’ thematic indulgence.

While Frank breaks sobriety, Rick appears visibly lighter, even happy. The sequence doubled as personal catharsis for Goggins. He told THR:

“As an actor, all of a sudden, 10,000 pounds lifted off of my shoulders. That smile was so genuine. It was real. And getting to go through that experience with Sam was arguably one of the great times of my life.”

Walton Goggins and Rockwell have been friends for over 15 years, and that real-life connection shaped their onscreen dynamic. The ease and familiarity between the two actors added authenticity to Rick and Frank’s interactions.

As Goggins said in Vanity Fair:

“There was a comfort and a level of listening and respect and genuine love and affection for each other that permeates their entire friendship.”

With just one episode left in season 3, The White Lotus still holds unanswered questions, particularly whether Rick’s story will circle back to Jim. But for Goggins, episode 7 was already a complete arc: a layered mix of performance, memory, and healing.

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The White Lotus Season 3 episodes are available to stream on Max, with new episodes airing Sundays at 9 pm ET on HBO.