Timothy Olyphant facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Timothy Olyphant
Olyphant in 2014
Born	Timothy David Olyphant (1968-05-20) May 20, 1968 (age 57) Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Southern California (BFA)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1995–present
Spouse(s)	Alexis Knief ​ (m. 1991)​
Children	3
Relatives	Vanderbilt family

Timothy David Olyphant (born May 20, 1968) is an American actor. He is known for playing lawmen in popular TV shows. His famous roles include Sheriff Seth Bullock in Deadwood and U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens in Justified.

He started his career in theater in 1995. He won a Theatre World Award for his first play. Soon, he began acting in movies. He often played villain roles in films like Scream 2 (1997), Go (1999), and Live Free or Die Hard (2007).

Olyphant has also starred in many other movies. These include Hitman (2007) and The Crazies (2010). He has appeared in TV comedies like The Office and Santa Clarita Diet. More recently, he played Cobb Vanth in the Star Wars series The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett.

Early life

Timothy Olyphant was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. When he was two, his family moved to Modesto, California. His father, John, worked for the Gallo Winery. He has an older brother, Andrew, and a younger brother, Matthew.

Olyphant's family has a long history. He is a descendant of the famous Vanderbilt family from New York. His last name, Olyphant, comes from Scotland.

He went to Fred C. Beyer High School in Modesto. As a kid, he loved drawing and art. He was also a talented swimmer. He competed in the U.S. National Championships in 1986. He was recruited to swim for the University of Southern California (USC).

At USC, he studied fine arts. He left college one class short of graduating. Thirty years later, during the COVID-19 pandemic, he finished his degree by taking an online class. After college, he moved to New York to decide what to do next. He tried stand-up comedy for a while before choosing to become an actor. He studied acting for two years at the William Esper Studio.

Career

1995–2003: Starting in Theater and Film

Olyphant's acting career began in 1995 in an Off-Broadway play called The Monogamist. His performance earned him a Theatre World Award. The next year, he starred in a one-man play based on a story by David Sedaris.

He first appeared in a movie in The First Wives Club (1996). He played a young director. His most famous role from this time was in the horror movie Scream 2 (1997). He played a film student who is one of the killers. He later said this role was a "gift" because it helped his career.

In 1998, he had a guest role on the HBO show ... and the City. He also appeared in the war film When Trumpets Fade. In 1999, he played a memorable character in the comedy Go. His performance was praised by critics.

In 2000, he acted in The Broken Hearts Club, a movie about a group of friends in West Hollywood. He also played a detective in the action movie Gone in 60 Seconds. Around this time, he was offered the lead role in The Fast and the Furious. He turned it down, and the part went to Vin Diesel.

He had smaller roles in several films in 2001, including the musical comedy Rock Star. In 2003, he was in the action film A Man Apart and the Stephen King movie Dreamcatcher.

2004–2009: Deadwood and Leading Roles

Olyphant at the 70th Annual Peabody Awards in May 2011

In 2004, Olyphant became well-known for playing Sheriff Seth Bullock in the HBO western series Deadwood. The show ran for three seasons. It gave him a chance to play a serious and heroic character. The show's creator, David Milch, praised his ability to show deep thoughts without words. The cast was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award.

After Deadwood, Olyphant starred in several movies. He played a villain in Live Free or Die Hard (2007) opposite Bruce Willis. He also starred as the main character, Agent 47, in the video game movie Hitman (2007).

In 2009, he starred in the thriller A Perfect Getaway. He played a tourist in Hawaii who might be a killer. His performance was praised for being fun and confident. He also had a recurring role in the TV series Damages.

2010–2015: Justified and Comedy Roles

From 2010 to 2015, Olyphant starred as U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens in the FX series Justified. The show is based on a character created by author Elmore Leonard. Raylan is a modern-day lawman who is sent back to his hometown in Kentucky.

Many critics say Raylan Givens is the most important role of Olyphant's career. He was praised for his cool and charming performance. In 2011, he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. Olyphant was also a producer on the show and helped with the stories.

During his time on Justified, he also appeared in comedy shows. He had a guest role as a salesman in The Office (2010). He also appeared on The Mindy Project (2013).

He worked on movies as well. He voiced the Spirit of the West in the animated movie Rango (2011). The character was based on Clint Eastwood's famous western roles. He also appeared in the science-fiction film I Am Number Four (2011) and the comedy-drama This Is Where I Leave You (2014).

2015–present: Recent Work

After Justified ended, Olyphant had a guest role in the comedy series The Grinder. He played a funny version of himself and won a Critics' Choice Television Award for his performance.

From 2017 to 2019, he starred with Drew Barrymore in the Netflix comedy series Santa Clarita Diet. He played Joel Hammond, a husband whose wife becomes a zombie. He was also an executive producer for the show.

In 2019, he returned to his role as Seth Bullock in Deadwood: The Movie. He also appeared in Quentin Tarantino's movie Once Upon a Time in Hollywood as actor James Stacy.

In 2020, Olyphant joined the Star Wars universe. He played Cobb Vanth, a marshal on the planet Tatooine, in the Disney+ series The Mandalorian. He played the character again in The Book of Boba Fett in 2022. In 2023, he returned as Raylan Givens in the miniseries Justified: City Primeval.

Personal life

Olyphant married his college sweetheart, Alexis Knief, in 1991. They live in Los Angeles and have three children. His daughter, Vivian, acted alongside him in Justified: City Primeval, where she played his character's daughter.

He is a big sports fan. He enjoys playing tennis and has played in celebrity tournaments. He supports the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team and the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team. In 2013, he threw the first pitch at a Dodgers game.

Filmography

Key

Denotes works that have not yet been released

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1996	The First Wives Club	Brett Artounian
1997	A Life Less Ordinary	Hiker
	Ellen Foster	Roy Hobbs
	Scream 2	Mickey Altieri
1998	1999	Hooks
	When Trumpets Fade	Lieutenant Terrence Lukas
1999	No Vacancy	Luke
	Go	Todd Gaines
	Advice from a Caterpillar	Brat
2000	The Broken Hearts Club	Dennis
	Gone in 60 Seconds	Detective Drycoff
2001	Head Over Heels	Michael
	Auggie Rose	Roy Mason
	Rock Star	Rob Malcolm
	Doppelganger	Brian	Short film
2002	Coastlines	Sonny Mann
2003	The Safety of Objects	Randy
	Dreamcatcher	Pete Moore
	A Man Apart	Hollywood Jack
2004	The Girl Next Door	Kelly
2006	Catch and Release	Fritz Messing
2007	Live Free or Die Hard	Thomas Gabriel
	Hitman	Agent 47
2008	Stop-Loss	Lt. Col. Boot Miller
	Meet Bill	Chip Johnson
2009	Perfect Getaway, AA Perfect Getaway	Nick
	High Life	Dick
2010	The Crazies	Sheriff David Dutten
	Elektra Luxx	Dellwood Butterworth
2011	Rango	The Spirit of the West	Voice
	I Am Number Four	Henri
2013	Dealin' with Idiots	Max's Dad
2014	This Is Where I Leave You	Horry Callen
2016	Mother's Day	Henry
	Snowden	CIA Agent Geneva
2018	Dark Was the Night	Steven Lang
2019	Missing Link	Willard Stenk	Voice
	Deadwood: The Movie	Seth Bullock	Also executive producer
	Once Upon a Time in Hollywood	James Stacy
2021	The Starling	Travis Delp
	National Champions	Elliott Schmidt
2022	Amsterdam	Tarim Milfax
2025	Havoc	Vincent
	Over Your Dead Body	0TBA	Post-production

Television

Video games

Theatre

See also

In Spanish: Timothy Olyphant para niños