Timothy Olyphant finds ‘Justified’ rewarding

OLYPHANT was tickled pink to land the role.

“I was too tickled just to have the opportunity to play an Elmore Leonard character to worry about anybody’s expectations,” actor Timothy Olyphant said during a phone interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Olyphant is currently playing Raylan Givens, a Kentucky-based US Marshal in the acclaimed series “Justified.” He was nominated in the Lead Actor category of the 2011 Emmy Awards for playing the character, which previously appeared in crime novelist Elmore Leonard’s short story “Fire in the Hole.”

The actor played former sheriff Seth Bullock on the gritty drama “Deadwood” from 2004 to 2006. Olyphant sees no similarities between playing that role and his current lawman character.

“[Seth] wasn’t all that funny,” he said. “The big difference between playing that character on ‘Deadwood’ and playing Raylan, in terms of the tone of the show is it’s much more delicate, it’s funny. Elmore’s got a soft touch for him. Elmore’s all about being cool.”

The 44-year-old actor added that helping flesh out the author’s character is a unique opportunity. “His characters, you can put them anywhere in the world,” he said. “There’s something I find very comforting being in an Elmore Leonard story; you just feel like you’re in good hands.”

He also finds working on “Justified” for a third season enjoyable. “More or less, I just enjoyed the heck out of the vibe of the show,” he gushed. “I find it so funny. It’s such a broad, big scope of hostilities in terms of characters you can have on the show.”

Olyphant expounded on the favorable working conditions: “It’s just an incredible group of actors…and, by the way, [there’s also] an incredible group of writers and directors. Every day, five days a week, I’m working with great people. That doesn’t come that easy and often in my line of work so I really do appreciate it. The best thing about this show is that there’s not a lot of drama. Everybody’s pretty cool; everybody knows their lines. Everyone seems pleased to be there.”

Los Angeles doubles for Kentucky in the show. Despite the long work days (usually from 6 a.m. till “the sun goes down”), Olyphant is indefatigable. “The wonderful thing about this job and my involvement in it is that when you’re in the thick of it, there are just endless amounts you can put into it and it’s just terrifically rewarding,” he said.

Olyphant is also appreciative of other TV appearances and movie projects. His acting career started in the mid-’90s. He prominently appeared in “Scream 2,” “Go,” “Live Free or Die Hard,” and “I Am Number Four.” He also played the titular character in the 2007 action flick “Hitman.”

“It’s been pretty steady. I’ve been lucky. I’ve been working a long time, no major drama along the way…Every year it seems I could get my hands on better and better material. I’ve had my share of good things in both [TV and films]. I feel like in the last four or five years, I’ve been allowed to work on some great material in both mediums.”

(“Justified” season three will air Sundays, 9:50 p.m., starting July 15 on BeTV.)