Timothy Olyphant was born on January 12, 1976 in Honolulu, Hawaii. He attended Fred C. Beyer High School in Modesto, California and studied fine art and theater at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. While there, he became a U.S. National Finalist in the 200 Individual Medley and was part of swimming competitions. He moved to New York and became part of William Esper%u2019s acting program.
Timothy Olyphant took on roles on stage before being a film and television actor. He received a Theatre World Award for Outstanding Performance in the production of The Monogamist. He was also on stage plays like SantaLand Diaries and Plunge. Olyphant%u2019s film debut came in 1996, when he was cast in The First Wives Club. The next year, he accepted a part in Scream 2, and the film 1999. During that time, he had roles on television movies like Ellen Foster and When Trumpets Fade, as well as an appearance on the series Sex and the City. In 1999, he starred in movies such as Advice from a Caterpillar, Go with Katie Holmes and No Vacancy with Christina Ricci. In 2000, he became known in the film The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy and the action film Gone in Sixty Seconds starring Nicolas Cage. He continued his movie career with Doppelganger, The Safety of Objects, Rockstar and Coastlines. In 2004, he was given the lead role of Sheriff Seth Bullock in the HBO series Deadwood. He was also in Dreamcatcher, The Girl Next Door with Emile Hirsch and Elisha Cuthbert, and 2006%u2019s Catch and Release. When Deadwood ended two years after its release, Olyphant appeared as the villain in the film Live Free or Die Hard. He then took on a terrorist role in Hitman in 2007, and soon played roles on shows like Samantha Who? and Damages.