Tex Richman

Performer:

Chris Cooper

Tex Richman is the main antagonist in The Muppets. He devises a plan to raze the Muppet Theater and drill for oil beneath it. He hates the Muppets and does not have the ability to laugh.

Actor Chris Cooper commented on his role in a 2011 interview stating:

I play Tex Richman. An oil man who knows there's oil under the Muppet studios, and he’s going to find some way, ANY way, to knock down that studio and get that oil. Tex is the heavy. Needless to say, right?^[1]

Tex performs a hip-hop dance number in the film with four 1960's-style Vegas showgirls. Cooper described the song stating:

Bret McKenzie from Flight of the Conchords wrote the music, and I cut a working track to do the scene. I get to go back in the recording studio to clean up the track. We spent hours in the studio giving this number a few Tex personal touches.^[1]

According to the character's description on the official Muppets website;

...Tex has a personal vendetta against the Muppets. "He blames the Muppets for a terrible event that happened to him at his 10th birthday party," says Cooper. "He is unable to laugh and has vowed to destroy the Muppets." But Tex Richman's inability to laugh doesn't stop him from taking part in other Muppet antics. He may be cold-hearted and conniving, but this oil magnate has a few secrets up his sleeve that are more fun that fiendish.