Walmart Commercial Actors
A complete guide to the familiar faces behind Walmart’s biggest ads.
(By Carmichael Phillip)
Summary
Walmart commercials have recently featured a major mix of actors, comedians, athletes, influencers, and television personalities. Some of the most notable recent Walmart commercial actors include Walton Goggins, Stephanie Beatriz, Taye Diggs, Lisa Rinna, Ian Somerhalder, Anthony Ramos, Chad Michael Murray, Jake Shane, Paris Hilton, and Russell Westbrook. Walmart has used these performers in campaigns such as “Who Knew?” and “Deals of Desire,” helping the brand feel more modern, humorous, and entertainment-driven.
Why Walmart Commercials Are Getting More Celebrity-Focused
Walmart commercials have changed in recent years. While the brand has always been known for low prices, everyday shopping, and family-friendly messaging, its newer campaigns often use celebrities to shift how viewers think about Walmart.
Instead of showing only shoppers walking through aisles, Walmart now uses actors, athletes, influencers, and familiar TV personalities to create bigger campaign moments. This helps Walmart promote not just groceries and household goods, but also fashion, delivery, online shopping, Walmart+, Black Friday deals, home goods, electronics, and marketplace items.
Recent Walmart campaigns have leaned into:
Celebrity humor
Nostalgia
Streaming-style storytelling
Holiday shopping
Black Friday deals
Walmart+ benefits
Online ordering
Pop-culture references
Familiar actors from TV and film
This celebrity-driven strategy makes Walmart commercials feel more like entertainment than traditional retail advertising.
Walton Goggins
Walton Goggins has become one of the most recognizable recent faces in Walmart advertising. He appeared in Walmart’s “Who Knew?” campaign, which was designed to change outdated perceptions of the retailer by showing the wide range of products available through Walmart stores, online shopping, and delivery.
Goggins also appeared in Walmart’s holiday advertising. In 2025, he transformed into the Grinch for a Walmart holiday campaign set in “WhoKnewVille,” giving the brand a playful pop-culture connection during the Black Friday and Christmas shopping season.
Goggins works especially well in Walmart commercials because he brings a quirky, unpredictable screen presence. He can be funny, strange, intense, and charming all at once. That makes him ideal for campaigns that want to surprise viewers and make Walmart feel more unexpected.
His performance style usually includes:
Dry humor
Expressive reactions
Offbeat charm
Strong character presence
A slightly mischievous tone
For Walmart, Goggins helps communicate the idea that the store has more variety, personality, and surprise than some shoppers may expect.
Stephanie Beatriz
Stephanie Beatriz is another recent Walmart commercial performer. She is best known for playing Rosa Diaz on Brooklyn Nine-Nine and for voicing Mirabel in Disney’s Encanto. Walmart’s “Who Knew?” campaign included Spanish-language ads featuring Beatriz, helping the brand reach a broader audience with a familiar and energetic performer.
Beatriz is a strong fit for Walmart because she brings both comedy and warmth. She can deliver lines with confidence, speed, and personality, while still feeling approachable.
Her presence also helps Walmart connect with viewers who recognize her from television, animation, and family entertainment. That recognition makes the commercial easier to remember.
In Walmart advertising, Beatriz brings:
Strong comedic timing
Friendly energy
Clear delivery
Bilingual audience appeal
Familiarity from major TV and film roles
Her casting shows Walmart’s effort to make its campaigns feel inclusive, modern, and culturally aware.
Taye Diggs
Taye Diggs appeared in Walmart’s “Deals of Desire” campaign, a Black Friday advertising event that parodied popular TV genres and streaming-style dramas. The campaign featured several well-known actors, including Walton Goggins, Lisa Rinna, Ian Somerhalder, Anthony Ramos, Chad Michael Murray, and Jake Shane.
Diggs brings smooth charisma and polished confidence to Walmart’s advertising. Because he is known from television, film, and Broadway, he has the kind of familiar star quality that helps a retail campaign feel bigger.
In Walmart’s “Deals of Desire” format, Diggs fits especially well because the campaign played with soap-opera drama, romance, and binge-worthy entertainment. His performance style naturally supports that tone.
Taye Diggs brings:
Charm
Strong screen presence
Romantic-drama credibility
Clear line delivery
Polished commercial energy
His casting helped Walmart make Black Friday deals feel like part of a dramatic entertainment event.
Lisa Rinna
Lisa Rinna also appeared in Walmart’s “Deals of Desire” campaign. Known for The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, soap operas, and reality television, Rinna brings dramatic flair and self-aware celebrity energy to the campaign.
Rinna is a strong choice for a campaign that parodies binge-worthy television because she already understands dramatic performance, confession-style reality TV, and heightened emotion.
Her Walmart commercial appeal comes from:
Big personality
Reality-TV recognition
Dramatic facial expressions
Self-aware humor
Strong pop-culture identity
In a Black Friday campaign built around desire, drama, and deals, Lisa Rinna fits naturally.
Ian Somerhalder
Ian Somerhalder was another celebrity performer in Walmart’s “Deals of Desire” campaign. Somerhalder is widely known for The Vampire Diaries, making him a smart casting choice for a campaign that played with dramatic TV references.
His presence gives the commercial a moody, romantic, supernatural-drama feel. That works well for a campaign parodying popular television formats.
Somerhalder brings:
Dramatic intensity
Recognizable TV-star appeal
Romantic mystery
Genre credibility
Strong camera presence
In Walmart’s campaign, his casting helped make the ads feel like mini streaming episodes rather than ordinary retail spots.
Anthony Ramos
Anthony Ramos also appeared in Walmart’s “Deals of Desire” Black Friday campaign. Ramos is known for Hamilton, In the Heights, and film and television work, which gives him strong musical-theater and screen credibility.
Ramos brings youthful energy and expressive performance ability. He can handle humor, drama, rhythm, and emotion, making him a strong fit for a fast-moving commercial campaign.
His Walmart appeal includes:
Musical-theater energy
Modern star power
Warm screen presence
Youthful charisma
Strong emotional expression
For Walmart, Ramos helps the campaign feel current and entertainment-focused.
Chad Michael Murray
Chad Michael Murray appeared in Walmart’s “Deals of Desire” campaign, bringing a nostalgic teen-drama connection to the Black Friday advertising series. He is best known for One Tree Hill, which makes him a natural fit for a campaign built around TV-drama parody.
Murray’s presence adds:
Nostalgia
Romantic-drama energy
Familiar TV appeal
Smooth delivery
Fan recognition
His casting helps Walmart reach viewers who remember early-2000s television dramas while also giving the campaign a playful, soap-like quality.
Jake Shane
Jake Shane was also part of Walmart’s “Deals of Desire” campaign. Shane is known as a TikTok personality and digital creator, giving the campaign social-media relevance alongside traditional TV and film stars.
This kind of casting is important because modern commercials do not only live on television. They also spread through TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and short-form video platforms.
Jake Shane brings:
Digital-native appeal
Social-media humor
Younger audience connection
Quick comedic timing
Internet culture awareness
By including Shane, Walmart showed that it wants its commercials to appeal to both traditional TV viewers and younger digital audiences.
Paris Hilton
Paris Hilton has also been connected to Walmart’s recent campaign rollout. Axios reported that celebrity teasers from Paris Hilton and Russell Westbrook helped build early buzz around Walmart’s “Who Knew?” campaign.
Hilton is a powerful commercial figure because she brings immediate recognition, fashion associations, humor, and self-aware celebrity branding. She can appear in a short teaser and instantly create attention.
Her Walmart value comes from:
Instant name recognition
Fashion and lifestyle appeal
Pop-culture nostalgia
Social-media reach
Playful celebrity persona
In a campaign designed to change how people think about Walmart, Hilton helps make the brand feel more style-conscious and culturally visible.
Russell Westbrook
Russell Westbrook was also connected to Walmart’s “Who Knew?” campaign rollout through celebrity teaser content.
Westbrook is a strong fit for modern Walmart advertising because he connects sports, fashion, personality, and mainstream recognition. He is not just known as an athlete; he is also known for bold personal style.
That makes him useful for a Walmart campaign that wants to highlight more than low prices. Walmart is increasingly promoting fashion, delivery, marketplace items, and unexpected product finds. Westbrook’s public image supports that message.
He brings:
Sports credibility
Fashion-forward identity
Confidence
Cultural relevance
Broad audience recognition
His involvement helps Walmart feel more modern and stylish.
Supporting Actors in Walmart Commercials
Not every Walmart commercial relies on celebrities. Many Walmart ads also feature professional commercial actors playing shoppers, parents, employees, friends, families, delivery customers, and everyday people using Walmart services.
These supporting performers are important because they keep the commercials relatable. A celebrity may attract attention, but everyday actors help viewers imagine themselves using Walmart.
Supporting Walmart actors often portray:
Parents shopping for groceries
Families preparing for holidays
Customers using Walmart+
Shoppers discovering deals
Employees helping customers
People ordering online
Friends reacting to unexpected products
Their acting style is usually bright, friendly, and natural. The goal is to make Walmart feel useful in everyday life.
Why Walmart Uses So Many Different Types of Performers
Walmart serves many different types of shoppers, so its advertising needs many different kinds of performers. A Walmart commercial may need a movie actor, a Spanish-language performer, a reality star, an athlete, an influencer, a comedian, or an everyday family actor.
That variety helps Walmart advertise:
Groceries
Fashion
Holiday deals
Walmart+
Online marketplace items
Delivery
Home goods
Electronics
Black Friday deals
Household essentials
The casting strategy reflects the size of the brand. Walmart is not advertising one narrow product. It is advertising an entire shopping ecosystem.
Acting Breakdown: What Makes Walmart Commercial Performances Work
Walmart commercials require performers who can communicate excitement quickly. Whether the ad is about Black Friday, Walmart+, delivery, fashion, groceries, or unexpected product finds, the actors must make the message feel clear and appealing.
Strong Walmart commercial acting usually includes:
Fast, readable reactions
Friendly energy
Clear product interaction
Relatable humor
Comfortable delivery
Strong camera presence
Ability to make shopping feel fun
Walton Goggins succeeds because he makes Walmart feel surprising. Stephanie Beatriz succeeds because she brings warmth and energy. Taye Diggs succeeds because he brings polish and charm. The “Deals of Desire” cast succeeds because they turn shopping deals into dramatic entertainment.
The best Walmart commercial actors do more than sell products. They sell the idea that Walmart is bigger, more convenient, and more interesting than viewers may have realized.
FAQ: Walmart Commercial Actors
Who is the actor in the recent Walmart commercials?
One of the most recognizable recent Walmart commercial actors is Walton Goggins, who appeared in Walmart’s “Who Knew?” campaign and later transformed into the Grinch for a Walmart holiday campaign.
Is Stephanie Beatriz in Walmart commercials?
Yes. Stephanie Beatriz appeared in Spanish-language ads connected to Walmart’s “Who Knew?” campaign.
Who appears in Walmart’s “Deals of Desire” campaign?
The campaign featured Walton Goggins, Taye Diggs, Lisa Rinna, Ian Somerhalder, Anthony Ramos, Chad Michael Murray, and Jake Shane.
Why is Walmart using celebrities in commercials?
Walmart is using celebrities to modernize its brand image, promote online shopping and delivery, and make campaigns feel more entertaining.
Who played the Grinch in the Walmart holiday commercial?
Walton Goggins played the Grinch in Walmart’s 2025 holiday campaign.
Final Thoughts
Walmart commercials have become more ambitious, celebrity-driven, and entertainment-focused. Recent campaigns have featured actors like Walton Goggins, Stephanie Beatriz, Taye Diggs, Lisa Rinna, Ian Somerhalder, Anthony Ramos, Chad Michael Murray, and more.
The strategy works because these performers help Walmart feel bigger than a traditional retail store. They turn shopping, delivery, Black Friday deals, and Walmart+ benefits into memorable commercial moments.
For actors, Walmart ads are also a reminder that retail commercials can now feel like short films, streaming parodies, social media campaigns, and pop-culture events.
Carmichael Phillip is a managing editor of Acting Magazine. In addition to editing, Mr. Phillip is a writer, coordinator and creative director.
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