50 Fun Facts About Timothy Olyphant

Which Deputy U.S. Marshal did Olyphant play for six seasons on FX?

Many critics call it the defining role of his career.

Which sheriff did Olyphant play in HBO's Deadwood?

He reprised the role in Deadwood: The Movie in 2019.

On which network did Justified air?

FX president John Landgraf sent him the pilot script, then titled Lawman, after Damages.

Which novelist created Olyphant's Justified character?

Leonard's final novel, Raylan, was inspired by the TV show.

In which state was Olyphant born?

He was born in Honolulu and moved to Modesto, California, at age two.

Olyphant is a descendant of which famous American family?

Cornelius Vanderbilt was his paternal fourth great-grandfather.

In which sport was Olyphant a national finalist in 1986?

He reached the finals of the 200m individual medley and was recruited by USC.

Which university recruited Olyphant as a swimmer?

Coach Peter Daland brought him in; he hoped to study architecture but was told it would clash with training.

How much later did Olyphant finish the degree he left one elective short of?

He took an online course during the COVID-19 pandemic to complete it.

What was Olyphant doing for a living before he moved to New York to try acting?

He also dabbled in stand-up comedy for about six months.

For which 1995 off-Broadway play did Olyphant win a Theatre World Award?

It was his professional stage debut, at Playwrights Horizons.

Olyphant originated a one-man show based on which writer's essay about being a Macy's elf?

The SantaLand Diaries premiered at the Atlantic Theater Company in 1996.

Which producer quit Olyphant's first paid job, a 77 Sunset Strip pilot, before filming?

Olyphant never got to meet him.

In which 1996 film did Olyphant make his feature debut?

He played an eager young director who tries to cast Goldie Hawn as an elderly mother.

In which 1997 horror sequel did Olyphant play a film student revealed as a killer?

He later called the role a gift, since he had virtually nothing on his résumé.

On which HBO series did Olyphant play a love interest for Carrie Bradshaw in 1998?

Sarah Jessica Parker called the episode her favourite of the whole series.

In which 1999 cult comedy did Olyphant play a drug dealer to good notices?

Its producer Mickey Liddell then offered him any part in The Broken Hearts Club.

Olyphant was replaced by Aidan Quinn in which 1998 fantasy film?

He had been set to star opposite Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman.

Which famous role did Olyphant turn down, later taken by Vin Diesel?

The studio said it would greenlight the film if he took the part; he thought it would bomb.

In which 2000 action film did Olyphant joke about playing "second fiddle to a car"?

A Washington Post critic said his detective recalled a young Bill Paxton.

In the 2004 comedy The Girl Next Door, what was Olyphant's character Kelly's profession?

He almost skipped the audition, thinking the part too like roles nobody had seen.

Which Stephen King adaptation featured Olyphant as one of four friends attacked by aliens?

A Variety critic said only he and Jason Lee found the right tongue-in-cheek tone, and they died first.

Who created Deadwood and praised Olyphant's "thoughts too deep for words" quality?

Olyphant calls Milch one of the greatest storytellers he has ever been around.

Which villain did Olyphant play in Live Free or Die Hard?

Both he and Bruce Willis felt the cyber-terrorist was underwritten and built him up together.

Which video game assassin did Olyphant play in 2007 after Vin Diesel dropped out?

He reluctantly shaved his head; the film made over $100 million despite bad reviews.

In which 2009 thriller did Olyphant play a possible serial killer stalking holidaymakers?

It earned him a Toronto Film Critics Association nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

In which FX legal thriller did Olyphant play a love interest for Rose Byrne?

Byrne called him her favourite guest star; FX's president then sent him the Justified pilot.

What was Justified's working title when FX sent Olyphant the pilot script?

He had just impressed FX president John Landgraf on Damages.

In which state is Justified set?

Raylan is reassigned home to Harlan County after a questionable shooting in Miami.

With which Justified character did Raylan dig coal as a teenager?

Walton Goggins played Boyd, the outlaw who became the show's co-lead.

In which year was Olyphant nominated for the Lead Actor in a Drama Emmy for Justified?

He and the show were widely felt to have been snubbed in other years.

Which prestigious broadcasting honour did Justified win in 2011?

Olyphant was also a co-executive producer on the show.

Who pushed for Olyphant to guest star on The Office in 2010?

He later asked her for a part on The Mindy Project and played a middle-aged skateboarder.

What character did Olyphant voice in the animated film Rango?

It was a parody of Clint Eastwood's Man with No Name; Gore Verbinski cast him on hearing his voice on TV.

Which video game character did Olyphant voice in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3?

He had earlier voiced a character called Cowboy in Turok.

In which Fox comedy did Olyphant play a fictionalised version of himself?

USA Today called it an Emmy-deserving performance.

Who co-starred with Olyphant in the Netflix horror-comedy Santa Clarita Diet?

He also served as an executive producer on the series, which ran for three seasons.

Which real TV western star did Olyphant play in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood?

Stacy starred in the 1968-70 series Lancer, which the film recreates.

Which Star Wars character did Olyphant play in The Mandalorian?

He first appeared in Chapter 9: The Marshal and returned in The Book of Boba Fett.

What was the 2023 miniseries that brought Olyphant's marshal back called?

His daughter Vivian plays Raylan's daughter in it.

Which role did Olyphant take in Noah Hawley's Alien: Earth?

The FX series premiered in 2025.

Olyphant played himself in a cameo parodying his Justified marshal on which NBC comedy?

It came in 2020, the same year as Curb Your Enthusiasm, Fargo and The Mandalorian.

What job did Olyphant hold on an LA Indie 103.1 radio show from 2006 to 2008?

Director David Lynch was the show's weatherman.

Which famous director served as weatherman on the same radio show as Olyphant?

Olyphant phoned in his sports reports every weekday, often reading from the newspaper.

Since what year has Olyphant been married to his college sweetheart Alexis Knief?

They live in Westwood, Los Angeles, with their three children.

For which baseball team did Olyphant throw a ceremonial first pitch in 2013?

He is also a Clippers fan and a keen tennis player.

Which Kenneth Lonergan comedy gave Olyphant the role of country singer Strings McCrane?

Variety called his 2016 off-Broadway performance a stunner.

Who did Olyphant reunite with for the 2026 Peacock series The Five-Star Weekend?

They had starred together in Catch and Release and knew each other from their struggling-actor days in New York.

In which stop-motion Laika film did Olyphant voice a character in 2019?

He played the bounty hunter Willard Stenk.

In which Oliver Stone film did Olyphant play a CIA agent befriending a whistleblower?

His character meets Snowden just before the leaker flees to Russia.