One of Fallout's Biggest Stars Had an Unforgettable Role on Sons of Anarchy (2024)

Not only has Prime Video's Fallout TV series managed to impress longtime fans of the games, but it has also managed to bring more attention to the undeniable talents of one of the entertainment industry's most underappreciated performers. In recent years, Walton Goggins has been given some rather unique opportunities to showcase his range and prove that he's capable of playing characters that are more than just unlikable villains. While many might recognize him from films like The Hateful Eight and Tomb Raider, there's no doubt that Fallout has given him perhaps one of his most well-known and well-regarded performances to date. It's not the first time that he has Sons of Anarchy may also recognize him from the

In the seventh and final season of Sons of Anarchy, Goggins takes on a role that nobody would have ever expected. Compared to most of the other characters in the show, Goggins' character was one of the show's more sympathetic characters. Not only that but thanks to creator Kurt Sutter, it resulted in one of the most progressive and respectful portrayals of an LGBTQ character that television has ever seen. For a show that was so full of corrupt characters and heartbreak, Goggins' small but compelling role managed to bring a faint light of wholesomeness to what was, by all other means, an incredibly dark and tragic story.

What Else Has Walton Goggins Been In?

With all the work that he has done, especially within the last decade or so, one would have been hard-pressed to be able to avoid anything that Walton Goggins has done. After starting in small supporting roles in films like The Next Karate Kid and Shanghai Noon, in 2002, Goggins finally earned himself a leading role among the ensemble cast of FX's The Shield as Shane Vendrell. His place on the hit series soon led him toward more notable roles in films like Predators and even two Quentin Tarantino classics: Django Unchained and The Hateful Eight. While he's been known to play characters of both good and evil, with his roles in these films, he started to gain a greater reputation for portraying those that fell into the latter category. Most of the time, these characters were incredibly unlikeable and even straight-up villainous, but the charisma and high energy of these performances were what made audiences fall in love with them.

His reputation for these roles also followed him back to television in 2010, when he returned to FX with Justified, taking the part of the show's lead villain, Boyd Chowder. Of course, playing these sorts of morally corrupt characters also gave him several chances to show off his comedic chops, joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe with 2018's Ant-Man and the Wasp, as well as garnering significant praise for his performance alongside Danny McBride in the HBO dark comedy series, Vice Principals. Most recently, with Prime Video's Fallout, he managed to further impress the masses with his transformative role as Cooper Howard, the gun-slinging Ghoul anti-hero. However, it was his role in Sons of Anarchy that truly showcased how truly wide his range as an actor is, perfectly balancing moments of legitimate humor with those of somberness; and it tragically continues to be one of the show's most underappreciated and overlooked performances.

Who Did Walton Goggins Play on Sons of Anarchy?

Despite Goggins' repertoire of unlikable and unsympathetic characters, it was his role on Sons of Anarchy that audiences got one of the first major glimpses of how much range he carries as an actor. From seasons five through seven, Goggins had a recurring role as prostitute Venus Van Dam. In the show, Venus is a transgender woman who becomes associated with SAMCRO for a variety of reasons. While her introduction and the story arc that continued afterward may have felt more like a side story that was independent of the main narrative, it had a much greater and unexpected effect on the episodes that followed, especially when it came to SAMCRO member Tig. Introduced in Season 5, she helped the Sons blackmail Allen Biacone, and Tig immediately took a liking to her.

In Season 6, she enlisted the help of Jax and the other Sons to help her resolve a family matter involving her son (who knows her only as his "Aunt") which led to violent gunplay and a high-speed car chase among her relatives. Afterward, she and Tig began to develop a romantic relationship, and the complications that they faced and overcame in doing so led to perhaps some of the show's most feel-good emotional moments. In a show that was populated with so many tragic character moments, Venus' presence managed to provide a much-needed sense of comedic relief. It also managed to bring out the largely unseen compassionate and soft side of Tig's character that would make their romance one of the best and most wholesome in the entire series. Even though she didn't make any appearances besides Tig in the spin-off series, Mayans M.C., (and even though showrunner, Elgin James, revealed to Deadline that it would've been a "dream" to have Goggins return), it was implied in the series finale that two of them would remain together.

Why Venus Was One of Sons of Anarchy's Best Characters

• All episodes of Sons of Anarchy are now available to be streamed on Hulu.

Sons of Anarchy was a show that was full of memorable side characters, from vicious and intimidating antagonists to more good-natured individuals with a stronger sense of right. Falling into the latter category, Venus Van Dam became a fan-favorite character, not just due to Goggins' unforgettable performance, but also the writing that made her so sympathetic and interesting to watch. Having such a tragic and complicated backstory, having her confront and overcome the prejudice of her family with the help of SAMCRO made for one of the show's most engaging (and perhaps even relatable) side stories. She wasn't just transgender for the sole purpose of providing representation or inclusivity. In an admirably impressive move, similar to that of David Duchovny's Denise Bryson from Twin Peaks, Venus was written in such a way that her character wasn't entirely defined by her gender identity; it just happened to be another facet of her character.

One of the show's most wholesomely emotional moments came in the final season, during a heart-to-heart chat between her and Tig in the episode "Faith and Despondency". For a character like Tig, who was always so aggressively short-tempered and violent, Venus' vulnerability through her expression of her feelings and even doubts about their relationship managed to bring out the unseen vulnerability and softness in his confession of his love for her. The scene not only strengthened Venus' character, but it brought a whole new dimension to Tig's as well, who claimed that while it's hard for him to close, he still wants to and still loves her. While the two of them may have seen and embraced their relationship as an unconventional one, the love, and openness that they shared for one another ultimately made it the healthiest romance in the entire show. Despite how well-written these moments were, the strength of Goggin's performance was what made them so easy to get invested in emotionally.

Deservedly so, Goggins received high praise for his role, and the actor even expressed his gratitude and admiration for the part in a video message to Kurt Sutter for the aftershow, Anarchy Afterword. He claimed that while Sutter's work on The Shield had contributed to "some of the best scenes" of his career, "none were more impacting" on him as an actor than the ones he had in playing Venus. For any Fallout fans who may not be aware of Goggin's other works, they don't need to look far; but Sons of Anarchy is a good place to start to be further blown away by his talent.

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  Fallout

  Action

  Adventure

  Drama

  Sci-Fi

  In a future, post-apocalyptic Los Angeles brought about by nuclear decimation, citizens must live in underground bunkers to protect themselves from radiation, mutants and bandits.

  Release Date

  April 10, 2024

  Cast

  Moises Arias , Johnny Pemberton , Walton Goggins , Kyle MacLachlan , Xelia Mendes-Jones , Aaron Moten , Ella Purnell

  Main Genre

  Sci-Fi

  Seasons

  1

  Number of Episodes

  8

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  Sons of Anarchy

  Action

  Drama

  A biker struggles to balance being a father and being involved in an outlaw motorcycle club.

  Release Date

  September 3, 2008

  Cast

  Charlie Hunnam , Katey Sagal , Kim Coates , Mark Boone Junior , Tommy Flanagan , Ron Perlman , Johnny Lewis

  Main Genre

  Crime

  Seasons

  7

  Number of Episodes

  92