When you talk about who played in Walking Tall movie, you’ve gotta specify which era you're actually thinking of. Most people are either hunting for the gritty 1970s classic or the high-octane 2004 version where Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson basically levels a casino with a 4x4.
Honestly, the casting for these movies is a wild ride. You have Shakespearean-trained actors rubbing shoulders with professional wrestlers and 1970s teen idols. The whole franchise is based on the real life of Buford Pusser, a Tennessee sheriff who didn't take any crap from the local mob.
The Original 1973 Legend: Joe Don Baker as Buford
In the 1973 original, Joe Don Baker stepped into the boots of Buford Pusser. It’s arguably his most famous role. He brought this raw, hulking physical presence that felt terrifyingly real. He wasn't some polished Hollywood hero; he looked like a guy who actually lived in McNairy County.
Beside him, Elizabeth Hartman played his wife, Pauline Pusser. Hartman was an incredible talent (she’d already been nominated for an Oscar for A Patch of Blue), and she gave the movie its emotional heart. Her role is heavy. It’s tragic.
Then you have the kids. Leif Garrett and Dawn Lyn played Mike and Dwana Pusser. If those names sound familiar, it's because Leif Garrett became a massive teen pop idol just a few years later.
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Other key cast members in the '73 version:
- Noah Beery Jr. as Grandpa Carl Pusser (he’s the guy who played James Garner’s dad in The Rockford Files).
- Bruce Glover as Grady Coker, Buford's loyal deputy. Fun fact: Bruce is the father of actor Crispin Glover.
- Felton Perry as Obra Eaker, another deputy and one of the few people Buford could actually trust.
- Gene Evans as the corrupt Sheriff Al Thurman.
The 2004 Remake: The Rock and Johnny Knoxville
Fast forward thirty years. The 2004 remake shifted the setting to Washington state and changed the main character's name to Chris Vaughn, but the "big stick" energy remained.
Dwayne Johnson was still largely being billed as "The Rock" back then. This was one of the movies that proved he could actually lead a franchise without just relying on wrestling moves. He was charismatic, sure, but he also handled the dramatic weight of a guy seeing his hometown rot from the inside.
The real surprise of the 2004 cast was Johnny Knoxville as Ray Templeton. Most people only knew him from Jackass at the time, so seeing him play the sidekick/deputy role was a bit of a curveball. He actually turned out to be the perfect comedic foil to Johnson’s straight-man persona.
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The villains were top-tier too:
- Neal McDonough played Jay Hamilton. McDonough has that "scary blue eyes" thing down to a science. He played the corporate-villain-meets-hometown-bully perfectly.
- Kevin Durand as Booth. You’ve seen Durand in everything from Lost to Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. He’s a massive guy, and his fight scenes with Johnson were the highlight of the movie.
- Ashley Scott played Deni, the love interest who worked at the casino.
- Kristen Wilson played Michelle Vaughn, Chris’s sister.
The Sequels and the "Other" Bufords
A lot of people forget that Joe Don Baker didn't come back for the immediate sequels in the 70s. Bo Svenson took over the role of Buford Pusser in Walking Tall Part 2 (1975) and Final Chapter: Walking Tall (1977).
Svenson was even bigger than Baker—standing about 6'5"—and he really leaned into the "unstoppable force" aspect of the character. He also played Pusser in a short-lived TV series in 1981. If you're watching a Walking Tall movie on cable and the lead actor looks a bit different but still has the big stick, it's probably Bo.
Then there are the direct-to-video sequels from the late 2000s. Kevin Sorbo (famous for Hercules: The Legendary Journeys) took the mantle for Walking Tall: The Payback and Walking Tall: Lone Justice. He played a character named Nick Prescott, but the DNA was the same: a man with a wooden club cleaning up a corrupt town.
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Why the Casting Worked
The reason we still talk about who played in Walking Tall movie is that the roles required a specific kind of "everyman" toughness. Joe Don Baker felt like a neighbor who’d finally had enough. Dwayne Johnson felt like the hometown hero coming back from war.
If you want to dive deeper into these performances, start with the 1973 original to see the grit, then hit the 2004 version for the popcorn-flick fun. Avoid the 2007 sequels unless you're a die-hard Kevin Sorbo fan.
The best way to appreciate these actors is to look for the nuances in how they handle the "hero's burden"—the moments where they aren't swinging the stick, but just looking at the wreckage of their towns. That’s where the real acting happens. For a complete experience, check out the 1973 film on a platform like Paramount+ or find the 2004 remake on various VOD services to compare the different eras of justice.