Timothy Olyphant: The Charming and Versatile Actor You Need to Know
I have a confession to make.
I am a huge fan of Timothy Olyphant.
Ever since I saw him as the charismatic and conflicted sheriff Seth Bullock in HBO’s Deadwood, I was hooked.
He had a presence that was captivating, a voice that was soothing, and a smile that was irresistible.
Timothy Olyphant was the perfect blend of rugged and refined, tough and tender, serious and playful.
He was, in a word, awesome.
But Olyphant is not just a one-trick pony.
He has proven himself to be a versatile and talented actor, who can tackle any genre and any role.
Timothy Olyphant has played villains, heroes, comedians, action stars, and everything in between.
He has starred in movies, TV shows, and even video games.
Timothy Olyphant has won awards, critical acclaim, and a loyal fan base.
He is, in my opinion, one of the most underrated and underappreciated actors working today.
So, if you are not familiar with Timothy Olyphant, or if you want to know more about him, this article is for you.
I will give you a brief overview of his life and career, and answer some of the most common questions people have about him. Let’s get started.
What made Timothy Olyphant famous?
Timothy Olyphant was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, on May 20, 1968, but moved to Modesto, California, when he was two years old.
He was a competitive swimmer in high school and college and graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in fine arts.
Timothy Olyphant started his acting career in off-Broadway plays and won the Theatre World Award for his performance in The Monogamist in 1995.
He made his film debut in The First Wives Club in 1996, and then appeared in several movies in supporting roles, such as Scream 2, Go, Gone in 60 Seconds, A Man Apart, and The Girl Next Door.
He also had guest appearances in TV shows like Sex and the City, High Incident, and Mr. & Mrs. Smith.
However, his breakthrough role came in 2004, when he was cast as Sheriff Seth Bullock in HBO’s western drama Deadwood.
The show was a critical and commercial success, and Olyphant received praise for his portrayal of the complex and conflicted lawman.
He was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Satellite Award for his performance.
Deadwood ran for three seasons, from 2004 to 2006, and was later revived as a movie in 2019, which Olyphant also starred in.
After Deadwood, Olyphant continued to work in both film and television, but his next major role was in FX’s crime drama Justified, which premiered in 2010.
He played Raylan Givens, a U.S. Marshal who returns to his hometown in Kentucky and faces his past and his enemies.
The show was based on the novels and short stories by Elmore Leonard, and Olyphant also served as a producer.
Justified was another hit, and Olyphant received rave reviews for his performance as the witty and badass Givens
. He was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award, a Critics’ Choice Award, and a TCA Award for his role¹. Justified ran for six seasons, from 2010 to 2015.
What is Timothy Olyphant doing these days?
Timothy Olyphant has been busy since the end of Justified.
He has starred in several movies, such as Mother’s Day, Snowden, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and Amsterdam.
Timothy Olyphant has also had notable guest appearances in various TV sitcoms, such as The Office, The Mindy Project, and The Grinder, for which he won a Critics’ Choice Award.
He also starred in the Netflix comedy series Santa Clarita Diet, alongside Drew Barrymore, from 2017 to 2019.
The show was about a married couple who deal with the wife’s transformation into a zombie.
Olyphant showed his comedic chops as the supportive and hilarious husband Joel Hammond.
In 2020, Olyphant had a cameo as himself in the NBC comedy The Good Place, parodying his Justified character.
He also guest starred in season 10 of Curb Your Enthusiasm, as a love interest of Cheryl Hines’ character.
He also joined the cast of the fourth season of Fargo, playing Dick “Deafy” Wickware, a Mormon U.S. Marshal who pursues a crime syndicate in Kansas City in the 1950s.
Additionally, he appeared in the second season of The Mandalorian, the Star Wars spin-off series on Disney+, as Cobb Vanth, a self-appointed sheriff of a Tatooine town who wears Boba Fett’s armor.
He later reprised his role in The Book of Boba Fett, a spin-off series focusing on the bounty hunter.
Why did Timothy Olyphant leave The Office?
Timothy Olyphant had a recurring role in season seven of The Office, playing Danny Cordray, a rival salesman who joins Dunder Mifflin and becomes a love interest for Pam Beesly.
He appeared in four episodes, from 2010 to 2011.
However, he left the show because he was cast as the lead in Justified, which was a more prominent and lucrative opportunity for him.
He also said that he enjoyed working on The Office, but he felt that he was not a good fit for the comedy genre at the time.
He said, “I loved doing The Office, but I felt like I was a guest in someone else’s home. I didn’t know how to be funny in that way”.
Is Timothy Olyphant’s wife in Justified?
Timothy Olyphant is married to Alexis Knief, whom he met in college and married in 1991.
They have three children, a son and two daughters.
Olyphant is very private about his personal life and rarely talks about his wife and family in public.
However, he has said that his wife is his best friend and his biggest supporter. He said, “She’s my favorite person in the world”.
Olyphant’s wife is not in Justified, but she did make a cameo appearance in the show’s finale, in 2015.
She played a woman who sits next to Olyphant’s character, Raylan Givens, on a plane.
The scene was a homage to the opening scene of the show, where Raylan sits next to a fugitive on a plane and tells him that he has two minutes to live.
Olyphant said that he wanted his wife to be in the scene because he thought it would be a nice way to end the show and his journey as Raylan.
He said, “I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be fun to have her in the last scene?’ It was a little gift to ourselves”.
