Wayne Rigsby, July 2nd 2023
Today we wish a very happy 45th birthday to Owain Rigsby aka Wayne Rigsby
Owain Yeoman is Wayne Rigsby, the loyal, heart-on-sleeve romantic CBI agent on The Mentalist with an innocent approach to crime fighting and life in general. He played the goofy sidekick to Cho’s stoic and measured character and moved through the show with an appetite the size of Texas. Even coming from a tough background with a criminal father, Rigsby took his SCU duties seriously so as not to be confused by his father’s illegal activities.
His fierce loyalty to his team members is only overshadowed by his love for Grace Van Pelt, which as a fellow team member made things a little more complicated, and his ability for getting roped into Patrick Jane’s schemes, antics and tricks helped bring a lightness to some of the shows dark themes.
Even as a key part of the team, both Rigsby and Van Pelt left the show in the 6th season, receiving an appropriate send off for two beloved characters in the process.
A seasoned actor born and raised in Wales in the United Kingdom, Owain got into the Rigsby character before filming for the pilot started and stayed that way. It was some time before some members of the cast and crew realized he wasn’t an American actor as his accent was so well done (to hear his real accent in the Emergence TV series was a refreshing change).
Starting in 2004, Owain appeared in an extensive list of film and TV productions including but not limited to:
Troy
American Sniper
Kitchen Confidential
The Nine
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Turn: Washington Spies
Emergence
This is the day to say “Happy Birthday” to Owain!
Before you go
Be sure to get the full picture of a For Mentalist Fans right on the website!