Timothy Olyphant was born in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1968 to Bevan and Katherine Olyphant. At the age of two, his family moved to Modesto, California, where he was raised. Olyphant attended Fred C. Beyer High School, and was interested in art, drawing, competitive swimming, and acting. Growing up, he was nicknamed “Olyphantastic” because he was so multi-talented. Olyphant would eventually study fine arts at the University of Southern California, where he was also recruited to their swim team.

After he graduated from university in 1990, Olyphant applied for a master’s in fine arts at the University of California, Irvine. During this time there, Olyphant tried his hand at stand-up comedy, after which he decided to become an actor. After taking an elective acting class in his final year at UC Irvine, Olyphant moved to New York to further his studies at the William Esper Studio, which offered a two-year acting program.

Olyphant would find recognition in 1995 when he made his stage debut as Tim Hapgood in the Off-Broadway play The Monogamist, which earned him the Theater World Award for his performance. Olyphant is set to revive his role as Raylan Givens in the Justified sequel series Justified: City Primeval. Here are his ten best performances, ranked.

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10 Santa Clarita Diet

     Kapital Entertainment

In one of his more comedic roles, Olyphant shines as Joel Hammond in Netflix’s Santa Clarita Diet, opposite Drew Barrymoore. When his wife becomes a zombie, Hammond takes the adjustment in stride and continues to support his wife and her new lifestyle, which leads to some humorous situations. Joel Hammond is one of Olyphant’s best performances because it is a nice change of pace from his typical cowboy role. Santa Clarita Diet was canceled after three seasons.

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

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MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

9 The Crazies

     Overture Films

The Crazies is a remake of the 1973 George Romero film of the same name. It follows the residents of Pierce County after a plane crash unleashes a toxic virus that causes the afflicted to go mad. Olyphant stars as the Sheriff who must rescue his pregnant wife after the two are separated due to quarantine. It is one of Olyphant‘s best performances as he has mastered the reluctant hero role.

8 High Life

     Triptych Media

Don’t let its title fool you: High Life is more sophisticated than it sounds. It isn’t your typical stoner comedy, but rather an overlooked comedy heist movie with an independent film vibe. The film is set in 1983 and stars Olyphant as Dick a hospital janitor, who loses his job after a visit from his former cellmate Bug. His sudden change in circumstance has Dick plotting a “precision” ATM robbery, however, things fall apart, quickly leading to a disastrous outcome. Olyphant gives a tremendous performance as hapless junkie Dick, who is surprisingly likable.

7 The Mandalorian

     Disney

Timothy Olyphant surprised fans when he starred in The Mandalorian Season 2 debut as Cobb Vanth. He also reprised the role for The Book of Boba Fett. Despite his limited screen time, the character made quite an impression on Star Wars fans, who hope to see his character return in Season 3 of The Mandalorian, which is slated for release in February 2023. Olyphant tends to gravitate towards the role of authority, even appearing as The Marshall in The Mandalorian. Den of Geek discusses how Olyphant has made a name for himself as a hard-nosed law man and how it works for him.

6 Live Free or Die Hard

     Cheyenne Enterprises

Olyphant stars as villain Thomas Gabriel in Live Free or Die Hard. It is one of his best performances because he expertly captures the annoyance and frustration necessary to go toe-to-toe with John McClane. The film deviates from the typical Die Hard plot in dealing with real-world terrorists, and in a more modern twist, pits McClane against cyberterrorism.

5 Scream 2

     Konrad Pictures

In the second installment of the Scream Franchise, Olyphant stars in his first big role as Mickey Altieri, an overzealous film student who takes his love of movies too far, when he goes on a killing spree to see if he can blame the movies for his real-life violence. Olyphant gives a convincing performance in Scream 2 as the two-faced killer who plays a homicidal maniac, while also masquerading as the caring friend. The original Scream spawned several sequels and a TV series and remains one of the highest grossing horror franchises of all time.

4 Go

     Touchstone Pictures

Go is an underrated 90s black comedy that is often compared to Pulp Fiction. It chronicles the story of Ronna (Sarah Polley), a grocery store clerk who becomes an impromptu drug dealer to avoid being evicted. When asked for drugs at her work, she buys some pills from drug dealer Todd, leaving her friend Claire as collateral. When Ronna later flushes the pills to avoid being busted, things get interesting. Todd Gaines is one of Olyphant’s best roles as he brings a certain charisma to the otherwise sketchy drug dealer. Director Doug Liman recently shared his experience making the cult classic movie with The Ringer.

3 The Girl Next Door

     Regency Enterprises

The Girl Next Door is a romantic comedy about Matthew, an awkward teenager who falls for his neighbor Danielle. The pair slowly strike up a relationship, but things become complicated when Matthew learns that Danielle is a former adult film star. When Matthew convinces Danielle to leave the adult film industry for good, her ex-boyfriend and manager Kelly (Olyphant) is furious and begins terrorizing the teen. Olyphant steals the show as the psychotic ex-boyfriend with an axe to grind.

2 Deadwood

     Roscoe Productions

Deadwood is an HBO series that aired from 2004 to 2006. It is set in the 1870s and follows the growth of Deadwood, South Dakota. Writer David Milch used diaries and newspaper articles from that era as inspiration for the show, while mixing historically accurate stories with fictional elements. Olyphant plays real-life resident Seth Bullock and leads a terrific ensemble cast.

1 Justified

     Rooney McP Productions

In his best role, Olyphant stars as tough-as-nails U.S. Deputy Marshall Raylan Givens in Justified. Having committed justifiable homicide against a mob man, Givens is relocated to his hometown of Kentucky to deal with his anger issues. He is, however, not pleased to return to his hometown and soon becomes embroiled in all the mayhem he sought to leave behind. He gets roped into old beefs with his ex-wife, former friends, and criminal father. Fans of the show will be pleased to know, that Olyphant is set to reprise his role in the limited series Justified: City Primeval. No release date has been set.