Timothy David Olyphant (born May 20, 1968) is an American actor with an awesome surname. He actually got his start in show business attempting to become a stand-up comediannote , but realized it wasn't the right career path for him and turned to acting. He eventually found scene-stealing roles in films like Scream 2 and Go which helped gain him recognition. He then landed the lead role in David Milch's critically acclaimed Shakespearean Western Deadwood, playing the brooding, intense Sheriff Seth Bullock.
Olyphant later starred in Justified, based on the books of Elmore Leonard, as Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens. His roles in Deadwood and Justified have led to a reputation as the go-to guy for a rule-breaking gunslinger with a Death Glare ready, leading him to play an expy of Clint Eastwood in Rango. He's lately Playing Against Type in sitcoms such as The Grinder, where he performed As Himself and was last seen as Bumbling Dad Joel Hammond in the Netflix series Santa Clarita Diet along with Drew Barrymore.
Film Roles
- 1996: The First Wives Club as Brett Artounian
- 1997: A Life Less Ordinary as Hiker
- 1997: Scream 2 as Mickey Altieri
- 1998: When Trumpets Fade as Lt. Terrence Lukas
- 1999: Go as Todd Gaines
- 2000: The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy as Dennis
- 2000: Gone in 60 Seconds (2000) as Det. Drycoff
- 2001: Head Over Heels as Michael
- 2001: Rock Star as Rob Malcolm
- 2001: Doppelgänger as Brian
- 2003: Dreamcatcher as Pete Moore
- 2004: The Girl Next Door as Kelly
- 2007: Catch And Release as Fritz
- 2007: Live Free or Die Hard as Thomas Gabriel
- 2007: Hitman as Agent 47
- 2008: Stop-Loss as LTC Boot
- 2009: A Perfect Getaway as Nick
- 2010: The Crazies as Pierce County Sheriff David Dutten
- 2011: I Am Number Four as Henri
- 2011: Rango as The Spirit of the West
- 2014: This Is Where I Leave You as Horry Callen
- 2016: Snowden as CIA Agent Geneva
- 2019: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood as James Stacy
- 2019: Missing Link as Willard Stenk
Television Roles
- 2004-2006 Deadwood as Sheriff Seth Bullock
- 2009-2010: Damages as Wes Krulik
- 2010-2015: Justified as Raylan Givens
- 2015-2016: The Grinder as Himself
- 2017-2019: Santa Clarita Diet as Joel Hammond
- 2020: Fargo Season Four as U.S. Marshal Dick "Deafy" Wickware
- 2020: The Good Place as himself playing a Lawyer-Friendly Cameo version of Raylan Givens
- 2020-: Star Wars as Cobb Vanth
- 2023: Daisy Jones & The Six as Rod Reyes
Videogame Roles
- 2008: Turok as Cowboy
- 2011: Modern Warfare as Sergeant First Class Alfred "Grinch"
Tropes Associated with Timothy Olyphant's roles:
- Silver Fox: His hair has been going grey in middle age but it's done nothing whatsoever to take away from his rugged good looks. In fact, he seems to get more attention for them than ever before.
- Vocal Evolution: It's quite jarring to hear Olyphant's voice in his early acting roles in comparison to his latest roles, which his voice is noticeably more gruff and deeper in contrast. Compare the villain characters from the nasally high-pitched Large Ham voice of Mickey Altieri in Scream 2 to the more deeper The Stoic voice of Thomas Gabriel in Live Free or Die Hard and the equally hammy, but gruffer voice of Willard Stenk in Missing Link.
- What Could Have Been: He was the original choice for Dom Toretto in The Fast and the Furious but turned it down and Vin Diesel was cast instead.
