This Grinch likes jazz. Walton Goggins stars in Walmart holiday ad.

Up on Mount Crumpit, Walton Goggins' Grinch listens to jazz and wears a knit scarf.

In a new commercial for Walmart's holiday campaign, Goggins plays a lonely, yet sophisticated Grinch who's as eager as he can be to inform the Whos about Walmart's Black Friday deals. In the ad, "Mindy Lou" and the Grinch devise a plan to sneak into "WhoKnewVille," placing Black Friday-purchased gifts under trees.

Dr. Seuss' Grinch is known for his rigid personality and a heart two sizes too small, but Goggins tells USA TODAY the Grinch he portrays is a bit different.

"He just walks around like he's part of the Rat Pack or something," Goggins says with a laugh, referencing the group of entertainers that included Frank Sinatra, popular for performing in Las Vegas throughout the '50s and '60s.

The holiday campaign is an extension of Goggins' work with the retail giant. The actor, known for his recent roles in "The White Lotus" and "Fallout," also appeared in commercials for Walmart over the summer and fall.

Watch Walton Goggins as Walmart's Grinch

Watch Walmart's full "WhoKnewVille" commercial below.

Walton and Walmart go way back

Though he shares the name of Walmart's founder, Sam Walton, Goggins doesn't have familial ties to the company. But his relationship with the company goes way back – almost 40 years.

"It started with coming up short," Goggins says.

Preparing to start classes at Georgia Southern University, Goggins received a Federal Pell Grant and maintained good grades, but he didn't have the funds to cover all his tuition.

"Someone told me that Walmart has a grant to go to college, and what's required is to write about what it is you want to do in your life. I wrote this essay and turned it in and I won," Goggins says. "And that money made all the difference in my life at the time."

Goggins attended Georgia Southern University for a year before moving to Los Angeles to pursue acting full-time.

How many times can you read, 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas'?

The Grinch is undeniably an iconic Christmas character, but Goggins still took "getting into character" seriously.

"I had some books show up to the house and my wife opened the package because I was away at the time and she said, 'You got Dr. Seuss ['How the Grinch Stole Christmas.'] It came in the mail for you. I said, 'Yeah, yeah, I'm doing research,'" Goggins says with a laugh. "Then I just took the book with me on the plane and every flight I was on for the three weeks before this ... people just watched me read this book."

Before arriving on set, Goggins says he practiced his Grinch for wife Nadia and son Augustus.

"They just kept laughing, saying, 'No, that's not it. Keep searching. Keep searching,'" Goggins says with a smile.

When it came to actually getting into character, Goggins says it took the makeup and costume department three hours to get him head-to-toe in green, including facial prosthetics.

Reflecting on favorite holiday memories

Growing up in rural Georgia with his mother, Goggins says he didn't have many material possessions as a child. But when he thinks back to his favorite holiday traditions, spending time with his family tops them all.

"Sometimes we would just go and get gifts altogether," he says. "We would just walk around into a store ... with like literally $15 with me, my mom, her three sisters and my cousin. And then we'd just go down the aisles and like, 'Wow, there's some leg warmers, toothbrush, some bobby pins.' And then you come home and wrap it. I get emotional thinking about it because that was joyful. It was like, 'We're all in this together. Let's just go buying something that is an expression of love.'"

This togetherness is what Goggins cherishes most about the holiday season, now spent with Nadia and Augustus.

"It's never about the gift, right? It's just a token. It's about love," Goggins says.

Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Story idea? Email her at gcross@usatoday.com.