STACK #132 Oct 2016

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DUDE LOOKS LIKE A LADY Walton Goggins frocks up again as transgender prostitute Venus Van Dam for the final season of Sons of Anarchy .

that I felt getting into her, and not wanting to do a disservice to this community and trying to do it in a way that is extremely respectful," he says. "I wanted to live up to that. And I know Kurt is the same way. I know he has the same fears. We talk about it. Once we do it and we get it, then it's like you just put your best foot forward and know that you're coming from a good place and let the chips fall where they may.” Venus’s acceptance by SAMCRO as a friend and ally, without judgement, is another strength of the show that resonated strongly with Goggins. “That's kind of been the journey, winning them over and if she can win them over, well then she can win the audience over, can't she? I mean that's kind of the whole point and this is arguably the most testosterone driven show on television, really. You know, these mothers are tough, and for them to embrace her, I think that says a lot about them. I mean the episode I did last year with Katie [Sagal], with Gemma, and the way that she treated Venus when she first met her, to the end of that conversation, her just saying ‘whatever you need, baby, I'm here for you. I got you.’ It just speaks volumes about who these people are and how far they've come in their ability to love someone that's not only outside of their club, but outside of their framework for normalcy.” He’s also gratified by the acceptance the audience has shown for the character. “I feel like we've done our job, and thankfully, that has been the response. I get it first hand on the street all the time. And I just got back from doing this movie in New Orleans and there are people – men, women, conservative, liberal, Hispanic, black, white, Chinese, you name it – that really embraced her. And that just means the world to me and I know it means the world to Kurt.” So will there always be a place for Venus Van Dam in Walton Goggins’ heart? “She's allowed me to see the world through her point of view, and that's forever changed me,” he says. “In some ways she is the most at peace, self-realised person I have ever played, more so than Boyd, more so than Shane [Vendell in The Shield ], more so than any role I've ever done in any movie. She is here and present and I think that the fact that she's transgender is just f-ing awesome."

W alton Goggins has quickly movies like Machete Kills and Tarantino’s Django Unchained and upcoming western The Hateful 8 . He’s also a familiar face on television. Prior to appearing as Timothy Olyphant’s nemesis, Boyd Crowder, in Justified , Goggins worked with Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter on his become the new Bill Paxton in terms of the roles he lands in

She's allowed me to see the world through her point of view, and that's forever changed me

extremely talented. "But for me, preparation starts a good probably 10 days before I get here. I just start my process. I always start off scared, really insecure about pulling it off. And then I start with a facial. Then I get waxed and then I get a mani-pedi and then I shave my whole body. And then I shave my whole body again and then I shave it again. It starts with a trip to the pharmacy to pick out the right things and the right kind of perfume. And it's a process. I spent more money to look this way than my wife does. She gets pissed off because I buy really good shit.” Beyond the cosmetic applications, Goggins fully embraced the responsibility that

crime series The Shield . He later pitched the idea of appearing on SOA as a transgender character. Sutter liked the idea and Venus Van Dam was born, making her debut in the show’s fifth year

and securing a bigger role in the sixth and seventh seasons, not least as a love interest for the oversexed Tig (Kim Coates). Transforming himself into the transgender prostitute with a heart of gold wasn’t as simple as putting on a dress, a wig, and a pair of heels, however. “You have all these incredible technicians – makeup and the hair department for the obvious and then the prosthetic department and wardrobe,” he explains. “These guys deserve as much recognition to this character. They own it just as

comes with portraying a transgender character. “The hardest part for me is the extreme insecurity

• Sons of Anarchy: The Final Season is out now

much as I do and Kurt does. They're

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