Timothy Olyphant Bio

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Timothy David Olyphant (born May 20, 1968) is an American actor. His prominent roles include Sheriff Seth Bullock in the HBO series Deadwood, the villain Thomas Gabriel in Live Free or Die Hard (also known as Die Hard 4.0) and the lead role in Hitman. He has also had notable roles in Scream 2 and Catch and Release. He's currently starring in the legal drama Damages.

Timothy Olyphant: Personal life

Olyphant was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, the son of Katherine Wright, and raised in California. Olyphant attended Fred C. Beyer High School in Modesto, California. He was a competitive swimmer in high school and at the University of Southern California in L.A., where he studied fine art and theater; he was a finalist at the U.S. National Swimming Championships in the 200 Individual Medley. After graduating, Olyphant moved to New York City, where he was acquainted with actress Jennifer Garner and attended William Esper's acting program.

Timothy Olyphant: Career

He began acting onstage, and received the Theatre World Award for Outstanding Debut Performance for his performance as "Tim Hapgood" in The Monogamist. Olyphant subsequently appeared in SantaLand Diaries and Plunge on stage. He made his film debut in 1996's The First Wives Club. He followed the role up with parts in the films Scream 2 (1997), Go (1999), The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy (2000) and Gone In Sixty Seconds (2000). During this time, Olyphant also guest starred in an episode of Sex and the City.

He played the lead role of Sheriff Seth Bullock on HBO's Deadwood from March 2004 until the series' end. Olyphant considered it to be one of his first leading roles as a "complicated" and "complex" character. Prior to that he had roles in Rock Star (2001) and Dreamcatcher (2003). He played a porn film producer alongside Emile Hirsch and Elisha Cuthbert, in The Girl Next Door in 2004.

In January 2007, Olyphant appeared in the comedy Catch and Release, playing the love interest of Jennifer Garner's character; Olyphant was cast in the role over several other known actors, including Matthew Fox. He next appeared in Live Free or Die Hard, as the villain, a cyber-terrorist and in Hitman, as the title character. His 2008 roles include Stop-Loss, about the Iraq War, playing a Lieutenant Colonel, Meet Bill, a comedy co-starring Aaron Eckhart and Jessica Alba, and a voice-acting role in Turok (2008) as Cowboy.

Olyphant serves as the sports reporter for Joe Escalante's morning show on LA radio station Indie 103.1, every Monday through Friday.

In 2008, he appeared on a recurring basis on ABC's comedy series, Samantha Who?, starring as Samantha's ex-boyfriend. In June 2008 he joined the cast of FX's show Damages, starring Glenn Close. As a result, his part in Samantha Who? was recast and filled by Billy Zane.

In late November 2008, it was announced that he had officially signed on for the lead role of the town sheriff in the remake of George A. Romero's 1973 film, The Crazies.

In spring of 2010 he will play the lead role of Rayland Givens in the FX series Lawman. His character is a 21st century US Marshal who, for his questionable tactics, is banished to the part of Kentucky he was born and raised in. Givens wears a Stetson and somewhat acts in the manner of an old west sheriff. It is based on a character created by Elmore Leonard in the novels "Pronto", "Riding the Rap", and "Fire in the Hole". The pilot episode will be an adaptation of the latter.