Movies - TV
How A Guest Role On Damages Led To Timothy Olyphant's Justified Casting
By VALERIE ETTENHOFER
Timothy Olyphant’s incredible performance as Raylan Givens in the neo-Western show “Justified” has helped the actor carve out a niche playing cowboy and lawmen-type roles. However, despite being in HBO’s “Deadwood,” it was actually his time as a guest performer in the FX show “Damages” that landed him the role in “Justified.”
On the second season of “Damages,” Olyphant played Wes Krulik, a possibly-shady character who meets Ellen (Rose Byrne) in grief counseling, before almost disappearing after the finale. Although the character wasn’t his most memorable, the role landed the actor the “Justified” gig, as Olyphant had the opportunity to build a relationship with the FX network.
“The more time I spent talking to the ‘Justified’ people, the more I felt they understood how to let really good drama happen,” said the actor. Though “Damages” co-creator Todd Kessler talked about bringing Olyphant back, the “Justified” series kept him busy for six seasons, and the actor only appeared in two more episodes of “Damages.”