Walton Goggins, who plays the villain in Roar Uthaug’s reboot of Tomb Raider, is old school. No, not Lara Croft videogame old school –, seriously old school.

“My experience with videogames began and ended with Pac Man, Donkey Kong and Galaga!” the actor laughs. “I grew up at a time when video games really weren’t a part of my culture – and we couldn’t afford it. So, I never played Tomb Raider. But when I shared the news of my role with my nieces, nephews and godchildren, all of a sudden I became iconic in their eyes!”

However, like many actors who avoid reading or watching the source material of an adaptation, Goggins believes his lack of familiarity with the famous game was beneficial to his performance.

“When reading the script, I wasn’t influenced by the legacy, and didn't feel any pressure to uphold a vision that the audience might expect,” he notes. “Therefore, my motivations could be pure.”

While Alicia Vikander’s interpretation of Lara Croft, the badass archaeologist formerly played by Angelina Jolie, offers new insights into this classic heroine, it was the villain Mathias Vogel who caught Goggins’ attention. The actor, who has previously starred in Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight and Django Unchained, as well as Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln and the TV series Sons Of Anarchy, has always had a penchant for playing complex characters.

“Mathias is a man who has been searching for the fabled tomb of Queen Himiko for seven years, to no avail,” Goggins reveals. “He holds no dreams of changing the world. He’s not interested in the fact that his discovery holds the potential to unleash threats beyond imagination. It’s just a job to him, and he wants the job to be over. Mathias’s need to move on with his life is a big part of who he is, which, in some ways, I think is even more destructive than pure villainy. He isn’t at the nascent stage or the apex of his journey. You’re meeting a guy on a Wednesday of the longest week of his life. Mathias is exhausted and has few options.”

To Goggins, having a man too exhausted to fight for what is right, who accepts the power and profit that comes from exploitation, is a much more relevant and terrifying form of evil, as modern audiences live in a political climate that is constantly testing what we’ll let slide, and what we’ll fight for.

“I think audiences are no longer interested in one-dimensional antagonists,” says Goggins. “I’m lucky to have been a part of some seminal stories featuring multi-dimensional adversaries, beginning with my role in the television series The Shield. So, portraying Mathias was very satisfying for me as an actor, and I hope it’s satisfying for the audience.”

Filming in South Africa also gave Goggins the opportunity to fully observe and understand how oppression affects people around the world, and how an era of political cruelty is felt through generations.

“I really came to understand the effects of apartheid,” the actor says. “The struggle of South Africans is living history. I met people who ran cooking schools in the townships. I spent ten days on a safari up in northern South Africa and spent time with some Shangani people in their village. I also visited an orphanage for youngsters and another for teens, and hung out with them. I was deeply touched by their struggle and inspired by their resolve. It was incredible. I fell in love with that country and with those people.”

Goggins also embraced the opportunity to shoot his stunt-filled adventure sequences in the wild landscapes that surround the cities of South Africa.

“I thrive in those conditions,” he enthuses. “Filming in South Africa and getting to experience that culture was a fantastic experience. I’ve dedicated my life to travelling and submersing myself in other cultures. When I wasn’t working, I took off and spent almost three weeks travelling all over South Africa and Namibia. I spent five days with the Himba tribe on the Angolan border, and then made my way to southern Namibia and bounced over to Mozambique to do some scuba diving. So, the conditions on Tomb Raider were far from challenging. It was like, throw me into the briar patch!”

Goggins found that his passion for the project was more than matched by the film’s lead, Alicia Vikander. Goggins is effusive in his praise for the 29-year-old Swedish actress, who starred in The Danish Girl and Ex Machina and married Michael Fassbender, her co-star from The Light Between Oceans, last year.

“I think Alicia is one of the greatest actors of her generation,” Goggins asserts. “She’s a very special talent. And while I knew Alicia socially, I was so looking forward to playing in a sandbox with her, and I wasn’t disappointed. The experience was everything that I had hoped it would be. The truth is that Alicia is amazing, and I applaud her incredible commitment to playing Lara Croft. It’s complicated – and very exciting – when Mathias and Lara are on screen together.

“Mathias has two daughters that he hasn’t seen for seven years. Suddenly, a young woman – Lara Croft – shows up, and she’s around the same age as one of his daughters. For Mathias, it’s beautiful, sad and exhilarating to be able to just talk to someone different, and to be close to youth and someone who reminds him of his family. So, in some ways, her arrival is the answer to his prayers, both negatively and positively.”

Perhaps because many of Goggins’ previous projects have been testosterone-fuelled stories, he is deeply appreciative of what the Lara Croft legacy means to fans of both the Tomb Raider series and female-driven franchises.

“We wanted to honour the place of this young woman, Lara Croft, in the imaginations of people all over the world,” he asserts. “So, whether you are a fan of the Tomb Raider video game or new to the character, I hope that that you will appreciate the passion behind this interpretation of Lara Croft.”

Tomb Raider is in cinemas now