This message comes from Scholastic with the new novel El Nino, an entrancing adventure from

beloved and award-winning author of Esperanza Rising, Pam Munoz Ryan. Jason Reynolds calls it a

brilliant amalgamation of myth, nature, sport, and loss. I've never read anything like it. El Nino

is available wherever books are sold.

This is Fresh Air. I'm Tanya Mosley, and today my guest is Walton Gagins. He has been on a run like no other, The White Lotus, the Righteous Jimstones, Fallout, and his newest film, The Uninvited.

It's the latest surge in a 30-year career built on playing some of the most

magnetic and morally complex characters in film and television. From the sharp-witted

outlaw Boyd Crowder and justified to the swaggering, baby Billy Freeman in the righteous

gemstones, to a series of layered portrayals of Southern men in films, including

Quentin Tarantino's

Django Unchained, and The Hateful Eight. Gagins has talked about how he tries to bring

authenticity and nuance to his roles, portraying southern men resisting the pressure to turn

them into caricatures. Lately, Gagins has been reflecting on the arc of his career and how his childhood has

informed his approach to his craft. And when we sat down for our interview, he said,

let's get into the thick of it, the real of it, life in between the roles. So that's exactly what

we did. We started talking about hosting Saturday Night Live, which he did a few weeks ago.

It was the day before Mother's Day, and he describes it as a high point in his career,

in part because he shared the moment with his mother.

I was raised in Atlanta, Georgia, by my mother, with the help of her three sisters and my grandmother,

and my mama is the most important person in my life.

Growing up, whenever my mama, she couldn't afford a babysitter,

she would take me with her to honky tonks.

...