I’m guilty of diving down rabbit holes. I jump down fast, hard and there’s been many times when I haven’t come up for air until I’ve finished an entire filmography. There was that one time where I watched all of Roger Corman’s work in the span of a few months. That’s just one of many… and another write-up 

2025, for me, has been defined by a few deep dives. There’s been the William Smith rabbit hole. Smith honestly, should probably get his own essay here soon as well 

However, today’s subject has proven equally as intriguing, the wide and varying work of Clu Gulager.

I’m embarrassed to admit that I wasn’t familiar with Gulager’s work until right around his 2022 passing.

I’d been living in Los Angeles at the time and was throwing myself deep into the city’s repertoire theater scene. After Gulager’s passing at the age of 93, all the podcasts I enjoyed ran fascinating tributes and retrospectives and I was sucked in. I knew nothing about his work… I had to know more.

Not only were the words glowing — that’s not abnormal in tributes— I was struck by the love I heard. These kids, who can often be cynical and jaded were describing a man, who even as he was in his 90s not only lived for films, he loved them.

They spoke about Gulager still going to the New Beverly and loving to just talk with the young filmmakers, film fans and the artists coming out to the theaters every night. The passion floored me and the stories I heard stuck with me.

It, admittedly, still took me some time to really fall into Gulager’s work… and I have Terror at London Bridge to thank for that. Yes, for those who haven’t seen it, it is as delightful as it sounds. Look it up. I dare you.

2025 though has been my year to bury myself in Gulager’s rich and surprisingly complex filmography. It’s like a cozy blanket of the weird and occasionally wacky, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

With a career spanning 65 years, it’s impossible to tie Clu Gulager into one moment.

Whether he was working in westerns TV series like The Virginian, tv movies like Houston We’ve Got a Problem, or even his later turn into horror films like the Feast franchise, he brought a genuine ease… even if he played more than a few killers.

This has been a filmography deep dive that’s opened my eyes to some much loved first time watches like Return of the Living Dead or to return to essentials I may have a complicated relationship with like The Last Picture Show.

And in between all of this? Plenty of tv movie goodness. Houston We’ve Got a Problem, Hit Lady and Smile, Jenny You’re Dead to name a few. YouTube has been my inroad to Clu Gulager.

Here at Piercing Pop Culture, we value the performers you can rabbit hole into. These are the character actors, the working actors and the journeymen. You may not remember the names, but you certainly know the faces. Let’s turn that around.