TXST professor and actor Richard Robichaux gets back to his Cajun roots in Richard Linklater's ‘Hit Man’

Robichaux on the red carpet at the premiere of 'Hit Man.'

Few 21^st-century filmmakers have explored Texas and magnified the state as a backdrop for cinematic storytelling as much as Richard Linklater. One of the renowned director’s go-to actors to help bring those Lone Star stories to life is Richard Robichaux, a professor in the TXST Department of Theatre and Dance. 

Robichaux, a veteran screen actor, is featured in a small role in Linklater’s acclaimed new action-comedy film Hit Man.

The film, which stars Glen Powell and Adria Arjona, is about a “mild-mannered professor moonlighting as a fake hit man in police stings who ignites a chain reaction of trouble when he falls for a potential client,” according to Netflix. The film opened in theaters on May 24 and starts streaming on Netflix on June 7.

This marks the fifth time Texas natives Robichaux and Linklater have worked together.

“He knows that my family is from Louisiana and New Orleans, so I got to do a Cajun accent,” Robichaux said. “The accent I’m using is basically how my grandfather spoke to me my entire childhood.”

Robichaux first worked with Austin-based Linklater on the 2011 movie Bernie. About a year after its release, Linklater reached out to see if Robichaux was available to work on a film dubbed the “12 Year Project.” This later became the award-winning film Boyhood. (In downtown San Marcos, Boyhood Alley, located across from the Hays County Courthouse, was the location of a long tracking shot featured in the film.)

“That was thrilling because I got to shoot for basically two of those years, and the movie went on to get nominated for many Academy Awards and is regarded as one of the best movies of this century so far,” Robichaux said.

Robichaux said Hollywood success can bring fame and fortune, but that’s not the most important reward.

“For an artist, what really lasts is when your work is respected by those whose work you respect,” he said. “For me, to have Rick respect my work enough that he casts me again and again just feels like, maybe I can do this.”

Richard Linklater (left), Robichaux, and Powell pose for a photo behind the scenes of the film 'Hit Man.'

Originally from Channelview, Robichaux earned a BFA in theater from Stephen F. Austin State University and completed his MFA at Rutgers University. He joined TXST in 2023 and teaches acting for television and movies to aspiring acting students.

“I just finished my first year, and I’ve been so impressed with the students,” he said. “I’m a first-generation college student, and I’ve had so many first-generation students in my classes. It’s been very meaningful for me to work with them. I really feel like I’ve found home.”

He credits his colleagues for being student-focused faculty members. “I’ve worked at some of the biggest institutions in the county,” he said. “I haven’t always seen faculty this committed to student success. Here, you really do get the feeling at faculty meetings that this is a student-centered place.”

Also, this year, Robichaux appears in The Long Game, which was partially filmed outside Denise M. Trauth and John L. Huffman Hall at TXST, and in an upcoming series for Hulu.

Listen to his interview on the Big Ideas TXST podcast discussing his career, teaching acting classes, and other projects.