Turns Out Walton Goggins Was Just As Excited About That Wild ‘Righteous Gemstones’ Cameo As Everyone Else

WARNING: Spoilers for The Righteous Gemstones Season 2 below.

In its penultimate Season 2 episode, The Righteous Gemstones delivered a truly wild and unexpected cameo that only a show this inspired and chaotic can pull off. In fact, Walton Goggins couldn’t believe it was happening, and he was in the scene. As fans of the megachurch comedy already know, Goggins’ character, the almost-literal snake-oil-shilling evangelist Baby Billy Freeman, finally works up the courage to see his son Harmon, who he abandoned 30 years earlier at a pet store in a mall. What no one could’ve ever predicted in a million years — do not lie to us about this — is that, a few episodes later, Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin would pop up as the now-adult Harmon.

Going into the episode, there was no publicity for Culkin’s cameo, so it was an absolute surprise for viewers. In a new interview, Goggins reveals what it was like filming the scene with Culkin who he calls a “national treasure.” Via Alan Siegel at The Ringer:

“He’s a national treasure, man,” says Goggins, who plays Baby Billy Freeman, the show’s singing, grifting, white-haired preacher. Until they filmed together, he had no clue Culkin had been cast as his character’s estranged child. “When I found out,” Goggins adds, “I was like, ’Are you f*cking kidding me right now?’”

The reunion of Baby Billy and Harmon, the son he walked out on almost 30 years prior, is patently and purposefully outrageous—you don’t cast the star of Home Alone for a run-of-the-mill role. But the scene is also a microcosm of the incredible balance between hilarity and heart that Gemstones pulls off. “I’ve played a father and I’ve played a son in a number of things,” Goggins says. “I’ve never read a scene between a father and a son that’s more honest, ever. That’s more ridiculous.”

When The Ringer attempted to reach Culkin for comment, his publicist responded, “His preference here is to let the work speak for itself. Judging by your own enthusiasm as well as the overall press and audience reactions, that strategy is working.”

Yup, we’ll agree with that. Check out the reactions that started pouring in once Culkin’s cameo aired:

https://twitter.com/storybyahman/status/1495599622013730820
https://twitter.com/amirdopeee/status/1495996513885233152

The Righteous Gemstones airs Sundays on HBO. It is a very good show.

(Via The Ringer)