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[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for The Righteous Gemstones Season 4 Episode 8, “On Your Belly You Shall Go.”]
The most recent episode of The Righteous Gemstones presented a tense moment for actor Walton Goggins, who narrowly avoided facing his longstanding fear of snakes. This fear resurfaced following his character’s run-in with snakes in The White Lotus.
In the eighth episode of the final season, “On Your Belly You Shall Go,” Baby Billy (Goggins) finds himself in a dire situation alongside his brother-in-law Eli (John Goodman). They are kidnapped by Cobb (Michael Rooker), the ex-husband of Eli’s romantic interest Lori (Megan Mullally), who operates an alligator farm. After being incapacitated by poisoned darts, the duo wakes up restrained in a custodial closet with Lori’s former paramour, “Big Dick” Mitch.
Cobb’s entrance reveals his penchant for extreme actions, and the tension heightens as Eli and Baby Billy manage to loosen their bindings and escape, freeing Mitch in the process while Cobb is preoccupied with the arrival of the police. However, Cobb quickly turns violent again, eliminating the officers and pursuing Eli and Baby Billy while firing at them.
In a twist of fate, Cobb’s son Corey (Seann William Scott) intervenes, stabbing his father and pushing him into the alligator-infested waters, leading to a gruesome end. However, Goggins notes that the shootout scene could have taken an entirely different direction.
During a press tour for The White Lotus Season 3, Goggins disclosed his aversion to snakes, sharing, “I did a movie with Olivia Colman about snakes, Them That Follow, and it was genuinely the worst experience of my life… we scheduling the snake scenes toward the end, so I lost sight of the fact that the film revolved around snakes until it was time to shoot those scenes.”
With regard to the alligator farm setting in The Righteous Gemstones, Goggins explained, “What’s not commonly known is that I didn’t receive the script until later. While I was not near any alligators, there were actually snakes in the aquarium on set. However, that was not the initial storyline.”
Goggins elaborated, revealing, “Initially, the plot called for Baby Billy and Eli to take cover under cages filled with snakes, and when the bullets struck the cage, the snakes would fall on us. I’m completely serious when I say that,” he emphasized. The reason for the alteration had less to do with Goggins’ fear and more to do with logistical constraints.
“We had to adjust the script, and I was on the verge of calling the production team the day before to express my inability to proceed. Fortunately, I didn’t have to confront any snakes in the end; I might not have been able to handle it,” Goggins confessed.
What are your thoughts on this revelation about the deleted scene? Share your views in the comments below, and don’t miss the series finale of The Righteous Gemstones, airing on Sunday, May 4.
The Righteous Gemstones, Sundays, 10/9c, HBO and Max
Source
www.tvinsider.com