When does someone hit their prime, and who’s to say, really? For Timothy Olyphant, it could have been during his days on HBO’s Deadwood in the mid-2000s, but even then, it was just his first leading role on a TV series. Maybe it was as Deputy US Marshal Raylan Givens on FX’s Justified in the 2010s, or even right now in 2026—when the 58-year-old actor is working more than ever before in his Hollywood career. Since I last spoke to Olyphant a little under a year ago, the actor has already filmed seven (yes, seven) new projects.
“Is it too much, you think?” Olyphant asks me, playfully. “Should I be concerned?”
Olyphant is calling in over Zoom from a sunny patio in London, where he’s currently filming Alien: Earth season 2. He’s playing the synthetic robot Kirsch once again, so his hair and eyebrows are both bleached a bright platinum blonde. “For better or for worse,” he says of reprising his neo-punk look.
Why is Olyphant’s filmography suddenly ballooning in size? Well, he and his wife are empty nesters now. Call it boredom, or call it a reinvigorated passion for the gig. Maybe a little bit of both. But alongside his newfound hobby of ceramics (which he’ll touch on later), Olyphant says that he just “feels quite lucky.”
Over the past year, he’s played Owen Wilson’s rival on the Apple TV golf comedy Stick, which is gearing up for a second season. He reunited with his Catch & Release partner Jennifer Garner on Peacock’s The Five-Star Weekend. He wielded a killer lawn mower in the buzzy action flick Over Your Dead Body, and he joined Larry David for a western-themed sketch as the legendary sheriff Wyatt Earp on HBO’s Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness. Those aren’t even the biggest items on the list. He currently stars alongside Anya Taylor-Joy and Annette Bening on an Apple TV crime thriller titled Lucky, and he’s joining Brad Pitt in David Fincher’s Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood sequel, in theatres this November.
“I don’t know what it is, but I feel I’m wise enough to know that this too shall pass,” Olyphant says about his workload. “So I’m enjoying it while it’s happening.”
Below, Olyphant discusses his role on Lucky, working with Fincher, and why he’s fallen in love with ceramics.
ESQUIRE: I’ve heard from a lot of actors that you should really only do it if you love it. Do you agree, or is that just a line actors give?
TIMOTHY OLYPHANT: You should really only do it if you’re good at it. Or you should really only do it if you can make money doing it. That’s another reason to do it, though I suppose you don’t have to be good at it to make a living doing it. Perhaps I’ve proved that on occasion. But in my experience, everything’s difficult. Just about anything you try, if you try to achieve some level of expertise in anything, somewhere down the line it gets difficult. So if you enjoy it, you got a little bit of an upper hand.
For all these projects you’ve filmed recently, are people coming to you with characters in mind, or are they saying, “We want a Timothy Olyphant–type character on this show”?
I suppose there’s some conversations where they’re like, “We want a young Timothy Olyphant,” and I don’t get those calls. [Laughs.] You stick around long enough, I guess there’s a type, so it’s not a bad thing. But even the jobs in the last few months, they give me a little room to swing a cat. On Lucky, it’s a wonderful contradiction of someone who loves his daughter dearly and is damaging her in the same breath. And then Larry David reaches out and says, “Come do a funny version of that thing that you’re known to be the serious version of.” They give me a lot of range. I’m not complaining, that’s for sure.
You said something last time we talked along the lines of: If your friends and family can look at you onscreen and say, “Oh, that’s just Tim being Tim,” then you’re proud of the role.
Yeah, I’ll stick by that. I’m all for stretching—trying to push outside your comfort zone. But then I’m always trying, within those roles, to find myself. Some of the best actors that come to mind, people like to say, “Oh, that’s just Jack [Nicholson] being Jack.” But I don’t think they understand what they’re seeing. They go to the ballet, they’re like, “Oh my God, I don’t know how you can do that.” Then they go to the movies and they’re like, “Oh, he’s just being himself.” But, of course, you watch A Few Good Men or As Good As It Gets or The Passenger and they’re vastly different roles with incredible range. But he’s always Jack. That’s what’s so amazing about it.
What can you tell me about Kirsch’s story in Alien: Earth season 2?
Shit goes off the rails just a little bit for our man Kirsch. Gets a little weird this year.
What interested you in playing Anya Taylor-Joy’s character’s incarcerated father, John Armstrong, in Lucky?
That was a bit of a layup. They told me that it was [created by Jonathan] Tropper, that it was with Anya, and that Annette Bening was already attached. Before they said it shot in LA, I was already leaning forward.
In the series, John’s just trying to get his kid out of a jam. Now that your kids are grown up, have you ever had to get them out of a jam?
No, but that may be coming. I feel like we’re going to have to get Dad out of a jam soon.
You worked with your daughter once, when she played Raylan Givens’s kid on Justified. Did you enjoy that she wanted to be an actor?
It was very fulfilling. She fought for it, and she just showed up and made me proud every day. She was such a hard worker and such a fun partner. She was taking a risk and going after something she really wanted and doing it all the ways you hope one of your kids would.
How does it feel to watch your kids grow older, make their own decisions, and become full people?
It’s incredibly satisfying to watch them come into their own. You just end up learning so much from them. And it’s just pure joy watching them grow up, spending time with them as adults. I feel tremendously lucky.
Do you have any advice for a young guy like me who’s coming close to starting a family soon?
Don’t have kids.
Tim, you can’t say that after what you just said.
I just know that comes off well in print. That’s why I said it.
I appreciate the forward thinking there, providing us the good quotes.
Just make sure you get some sleep. You know what I mean? Make sure you get some sleep.
This is the second Jonathan Tropper show I’ve watched now—after Your Friends & Neighbours—that’s about stealing and facing the consequences. Have you ever taken anything from set?
I’m guilty of, like, Oh, I could use a pair of socks.
So utility only, really.
Yeah. I stole something just five days ago off the Alien: Earth set. They had a pair of compression shorts in there and I was like, “I didn’t pack those and I got to get to the gym.” So they’re in my room right now. I’m not proud of it, but that’s something.
At least you’re getting use out of it.
Look, my kids, if I buy a pair of jeans or any kind of clothing, they’re like, “Ooh, Dad bought something.” Most of my wardrobe is from sets or some kind of photo shoot or press tour. I don’t know if it’s “stealing.” I like to think of those things as technically shopping. But I don’t have any memorabilia. Nothing of any significance.
I heard there was a bucket hat that you really liked on the set of Lucky, but they wouldn’t let you wear it on camera.
It looked like the bucket hat that Nicholson wears in The Passenger. We loved it so much that we never wore it. Hard to pull off, a bucket hat. I actually ordered one just the other day. My wife and I were out at a nearby pub here watching the World Cup. And she’s like, “I’m getting you a bucket hat with the England flag on it.” She pulled out her phone and ordered one right then and there. And goddammit, they lost last night. So now the hat’s going to show up and it’s going to be a little sad.
It’s a shame hat now.
Well, I wouldn’t go that far. Let’s not get the English mad at me. I’m still going to be proud to wear it. I’m just saying it’s a bummer.
So if you’re buying jeans and your kids are saying, “Oh, wow, Dad bought something,” what are you doing with all these Hollywood checks? Where is it going?
I have an incredible talent where I can make more and more money every year and end up breaking even. I’ve been doing that for 30 years as a professional actor. Every year, I’ve managed to make a little more money than the previous. And every year when we look at the books, it breaks even.
I don’t know, is the answer. I think it’s those kids. Maybe I can get the money back. Write a very polite letter: “So proud of everything you’ve accomplished, but I don’t know if you know this—preschool through sixth grade, that wasn’t free.” Our oldest daughter’s getting married, and everyone’s telling me the father of the bride pays for it.
I’m getting married soon myself, and we’re certainly not making her parents pay for the whole thing.
So I’ve fallen for it. Let me tell you something. “What I’ve Learnt”? The article could be called “What I’ve Learnt Just Now.” Apparently, this is “What I’ve Learnt Too Late.”
I heard the budget on the Cliff Booth movie is huge. What were you seeing on set?
Well, it didn’t go to me, so that I can say with a certain amount of confidence. That is not a complaint, and they know this. I would’ve showed up for free.
Is it true that Fincher shoots 20 takes per scene?
He made me do more than that. Who got to only do 20? Jeez. Not 20 takes a scene. He does 20 takes a setup, and it’s pretty fun. Usually the experience is “Oh, I’d love to get one more.” And acting’s like you’re basically out there playing ball with your friends. So it’s nice when there’s someone who’s like, “Keep going. Let’s run that back. Let’s keep playing.” The downside is that there’s a lot of sitting around and waiting. John Candy, I believe, once said, “They pay you to wait. We act for free.”
People today say that with the quality of streaming, there’s barely a difference between TV and film now. Do you agree, or do you feel like there’s still a distinction between a TV set and a film set?
Are you saying I’m a film star? Because if that’s what you’re saying, then I agree with you. I mean, big stars are doing series. It’s where the money is, right? But I like what you did there. I like how you twisted it.
Do you have any aspirations to lead a series again?
I would. I hesitate because I was like, “Wow, what about my ceramics?” But I would be pleased to, yes. I like the responsibility. The fun thing about these supporting roles is the work schedule, but it’s also nice to really commit to a project fully in terms of the entire process—to get into the kitchen and really roll up your sleeves and have a voice in it.
What do you love most about ceramics? Is it that it’s tactile and you’re making something physical that you can hold?
There’s something about playing in the mud. To some degree, it’s not too far off from what I like about acting. I’m not sure it’ll help me get a good table at a restaurant. But it’s still just like little kids and dress-up. It’s child’s play.
