‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ star Michael Rooker has joined the cast of ‘True Detective’ season 3 in a pivotal role for the final two episodes…
A key character in the third season of ‘True Detective’ who has been mentioned numerous times will finally get a face in the final two episodes.
According to Vanity Fair, Michael Rooker — best known for his roles on ‘The Walking Dead’ as well as both ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ movies — will portray Mr. Hoyt, the founder and CEO beyond Hoyt Foods, which has become a central point of the ongoing investigation haunting the police in ‘True Detective’ season 3.
Savvy viewers first spotted Rooker in his new role during Sunday night’s episode titled ‘Hunters in the Dark’ when Wayne Hays and Roland West go to visit former Arkansas State Police officer Harris James, who was now the head of security at Hoyt Foods. In a brief glimpse at a photo hanging on the wall, you can spot Harris James standing next to Mr. Hoyt on a hunting trip and it’s clear that Rooker is the actor portraying the mysterious character.
There’s not much known about Hoyt (not even his first name right now) except that he is a very successful businessman and the founder of Hoyt Foods, which is somewhat of a stand in for Tyson Chicken, a huge company based and run out of Arkansas.
In the story, Hoyt’s name first pops up early in the season after its revealed that Lucy Purcell used to work at the main plant in town. Hoyt also started a foundation called the Ozark Children’s Outreach Center, which he apparently opened after he and his wife lost their granddaughter (how she died, we have never been told). The Ozark foundation offered up a reward for any information into the case of the missing Purcell children back in 1980 but it turns out that ultimately just flooded police with all sorts of false leads that slowed down the investigation rather than helped it.
In 1990, Hoyt’s name comes up again when the police are investigating Harris James, who was the officer on the scene that identified items belonging to the Purcell children that ultimately condemned Bret Woodard and got him posthumously convicted for allegedly killing both kids who had gone missing.
Finally, in the latest episode Tom Purcell goes to the Hoyt family compound looking for answers after he learns that Mr. Hoyt had paid off his ex-wife Lucy and helped to fund her for eight years after the children were presumed dead until she eventually overdosed in a hotel outside of Las Vegas.
In a creepy final scene, Tom wanders into a pink room hidden down a darkened corridor and he mutters the name ‘Julie’ just before Harris James is seen lurking behind him.
Hoyt is obviously tied to the Purcell kids going missing but we still haven’t met him or found out his true intentions. It appears, he will finally be revealed in these last two episodes with Rooker taking on the role opposite Mahershala Ali and Stephen Dorff.
The penultimate episode of ‘True Detective’ season 3 airs this Sunday night at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and we will have a full recap after the episode airs.
