It's already highly acclaimed, but Raylan Givens’ (Timothy Olyphant) villain trick manages to make Justified even better. Based on the works of Elmore Leonard, Justified is full of morally complex characters, at times blurring the line between hero and criminal. It’s this connection between opposite sides of the law that Olyphant was particularly drawn toward, elevating Justified beyond typical crime shows.
The role of renegade US Marshal Raylan Givens would be many actors’ dream job, but Olyphant understood perfectly that the character had to be more than just a modern-day cowboy. Raylan is a deeply conflicted lawman, regularly ignoring orders and breaking the law himself, albeit for an honorable cause. He struggles to form lasting connections throughout Justified, with his longest relationship being with friend-turned-criminal Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins).
Raylan’s habit of connecting with Justified’s villains is one of Olyphant’s favorite things about the character. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, he praised both the show and Elmore Leonard’s world as a study of “human behavior”, iring how Raylan feels more comfortable telling his secrets to criminals. According to Olyphant, “[Raylan] won’t talk about himself to people that he knows, but he oftentimes reveals things to people he’s never met”. The Justified star’s preference for emphasizing Raylan’s mentality over showdowns encapsulates why the US Marshal is such a fascinating character.
Timothy Olyphant explained, “One of the most attractive things about the character to me is that Raylan often reveals very personal things about himself to strangers, criminals, as a way to get a point across.” Indeed, Raylan is surprisingly chatty with many Justified villains, like Quarles (Neal McDonough), often cracking jokes either to provoke his enemy or diffuse a precarious situation. However, not many fictional lawmen take the time to share their personal history and frustrations with a criminal who would happily kill them. Olyphant deeply values this characteristic because “it’s different from the clichéd character you’ve seen over the years – you never saw those [lawmen] talk about themselves”. As much as Raylan claims he wants to leave Kentucky and Boyd behind, he appears to secretly enjoy their encounters, even acknowledging their bond in the Justified finale.
Boyd knows more about Raylan than many other characters, but the Marshal has also exposed his deep-rooted anger and tumultuous past to various other villains over Justified's Raylan Givens rarely talks about his past or problems to his friends or loved ones, which is a major reason why he always ends up alone. His ex-wife, Winona (Natalie Zea), insists she can cope with his job but “can’t handle silence”.
Raylan damages the relationships he cares about because he offers what his loved ones need only to the villains he is willing to shoot. However, his issions often result in him doing the right thing, sometimes preventing a life-ruining mistake. For all his showdowns, that’s never what appealed most to Olyphant. He politely dismissed The Mandalorian actor Timothy Olyphant’s proficiency in tapping into Raylan’s mindset. He’s so at ease when facing villains because it provides him a fleeting chance to confess his innermost feelings to strangers who won’t repeat them.
