A Man Worth Listening To: Timothy Olyphant
So what are you into right now?
My son and I just read those Bones novels. Oh my god, those things are great. That might have been one of the best things I’ve read in the past few years. Is someone making a movie about that?
You could make the movie. You’re a producer on Justified right now. Is that a world that interests you?
It does. It’s been the best thing about this job, really. They sort of cracked the door open in the writer’s room, and I just backed the truck up. The acting gig on Justified is pretty good. It’s tough to come by these roles — it’s badass, it’s charming, it’s Cool, with a capital C. But the real pleasure of this job, and also the real challenge of this job, is the storytelling. Trying to crack that nut. Week after week, year after year. And being part of that process has allowed me to be a student again. I’ve been in the room and I have a say in the process — and I have no idea what I’m doing. It’s nice when you’re my age and you’ve actually developed some sort of expertise in something, to be able to be a novice in something and have so much to learn.
Who have you learned from?
I worship David Mamet. I always have. I remember reading his books on acting years and years ago. Most actors I talk to hate him, but I’ve always loved him. I’ll read anything on the art of storytelling. It’s amazing how much wisdom authors can give you. When you read good books it’s really about writing and storytelling. And then I also just re-read scripts. The only thing better than reading Elmore Leonard is re-reading Elmore Leonard. You try to break it down. You try to look for the patterns, look for what it is. You read it so you know what it is you love about it.
So what are you secretly hoping to do now that this show is over?
It’s no secret. I’m not secretly hoping to work with Paul Thomas Anderson, I want to work with Paul Thomas Anderson. It’s not a secret that I want to be in a Coen brothers movie. And then, secretly, I would like to have a cooking show. Cooking with Kids: it’s just me in the kitchen with kids, and I’m just going, “No! Turn that off! You’re going to break it!” There’s no future there, but you know, secretly I think that would be fun.
I’m sure you can make it happen.
Also, I don’t think anyone takes this seriously and I don’t see a world where I could get away with it, but I’ve always really wanted to have a talk show. It seems like a great gig.
