We should be thanking our lucky stars for Timothy Olyphant. Ten years ago, Olyphant was just "That Guy" from Scream 2, but through divine intervention from the Gods of Badassery, he was transformed into the modern day sheriff.
Scientists say it's phyiscally impossible to look directly at Olyphant's Seth Bullock without breaking a sweat and collapsing. That's one deadly stare.
This weekend, Olyphant solidifies his spot as guy-to-hide-behind-in-face-of-danger in the Romero update, The Crazies, and in March, his new Elmore Leonard crime drama, Justified. But first, he lays down the law.
Matt Patches: Obviously The
Crazies is based on an old Romero film, what do you think makes this new
version stand out? What are you
bringing to it?
Timothy Olyphant: I'm thinking about $15 - 20 million
dollars [laughs].
MP: So just a couple extra bucks.
TO: I think what we really loved and wanted to honor about
the original would be, first and foremost, that it be a true horror film. That it's really f*cking scary - I mean
that's why people are buying their tickets.
MP: Would you consider yourself a horror fan?
TO: Oh yeah, The
good ones. [laughs] The good ones stick
with you, they really do. I think what
was great about the original too, secondly, all the Romero movies have an
undercurrent of the things around them.
He was talking about the situation in Vietnam, and we didn't want to
make the movie without that.
MP: Does this movie play specific political or social
ideas? I'm guessing it's not the
Vietnam War anymore.
TO: No, but there's
still conflicts out in the world, and people question whether we should be
involved or not, and those questions are very complicated. I think there's also what length will people
go, what length your government will go to quell a situation.
That thing that was going on in the original Crazies is that it was a metaphor for
Communism, and the Vietcong, and that if we don't take them out it's going to
spread and be a problem, and it was a wonderful metaphor that was happening.
And then we have our own kind of thing in their, but I don't
want to give it away. The original had
a priest setting himself on fire that mirrored the protests to the Vietnam war,
and we have a priest who we use a little bit differently, and it's a curious
thing.
MP: And you play the
lawman, sheriff in the town.
TO: I'm the town sheriff, yup.
MP: What do you think makes you a go-to guy for the lawman
role? I know your new TV show was
originally titled Lawman.
TO: It was a good title too. Segal...but we got Segal back, because now we have a title that
sounds like a f*cking Segal movie.
MP: [said in the worst Segal impression ever] Justified.
TO: Anyway, Hollywood makes movies about cops, and I'm in
the right age range. If you're my age
in Hollywood, you will play a cop.
MP: As a big Deadwood fan,
I'm excited to see you kick some more ass.
Do you see a connection at all between the two shows?
TO: It's a different vibe, a different animal. I think there are things Deadwood fans will get out of this, but
Elmore Leonard is a different beast.
Elmore Leonard...there's a lightness, a humor that is very particular, and
it's something we're going for. And the
character moseys...the show breaths, tells stories through character. And it's in Kentucky, so it's gotta a different
flavor.
MP: What's appealing about television as opposed to movies,
which always gets a rep as a place actors should be heading?
TO: Well, the last couple years the best material I've been
able to get my hands on is television.
The movie business is a different animal. It's not to say there isn't a lot of crap on TV, but we aren't
shortchanging the American public. The
best stuff on TV - the characters are reminiscent of the films Hollywood used
to make, which are a lot harder to come by these days.
MP: So you've played a lot of rough, tough guys, but is
there a role you're looking to play?
Maybe a comedy or something flat out weird? I think I just want you to do another Girl Next Door.
TO: Thank you! [laughs] You know I haven't had the opportunity to do a comedic role, like
a balls out comedic role, and I look forward to that. There's something about that, to just be funny. Would love to get my hands on it.
