Timothy Olyphant’s best movies and TV shows showcase a career filled with beloved projects from the Emmy-nominated actor. The American actor got his start in the professional acting world in the mid-90s, eventually finding high-profile roles in movies like Scream 2 and Go. His early bad-boy image has now morphed into more heroic roles in television shows, and more recently he has shown off his comedic skills. While he has become best-known for playing Western characters, Olyphant’s range is much more than that.

Working alongside acclaimed filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino and Steven Soderbergh, Olyphant continues to balance his leading man roles with his work as a character actor in some exciting projects. While he has had some memorable guest-starring roles on shows like The Mandalorian and The Office, Olyphant’s best roles allow him to show his talents in more in-depth characters, ranging from flawed heroes to entertaining villains to hilarious comedic leads.

10 The Girl Next Door (2004)

As Kelly

While Timothy Olyphant is likely better ed for his heroic roles in movies and television, he has been quite successful in playing the villain at times. One of the best examples and one of his most underrated performances is in the teen R-rated comedy The Girl Next Door. Emile Hirsch stars in the film as a bright albeit inexperienced high schooler who falls for the beautiful girl who moves in next door, played by Elisha Cuthbert. However, as they form a relationship, he finds out she is a former adult film star.

Olyphant is almost too charismatic and fun in the role as he becomes the most interesting character.

Olyphant injects a terrific sleazy energy into the movie as Kelly, Cuthbert’s former manager who comes looking to bring her back to the business. Olyphant is almost too charismatic and fun in the role as he becomes the most interesting character. However, the teen comedy has earned a cult status for its fun take on Risky Business as well as Cuthbert’s underrated performance.

9 Scream 2 (1997)

As Mickey

Timothy Olyphant not only had the chance to step into one of the most iconic horror movie franchises of all time, but he also has the honor of being one of the few actors to play Ghostface in the Scream series. Scream 2 picks up after the events of the original movie with Sidney Prescott now in college as a film based on the original murders debuts. The renewed interest in the case becomes deadly as a copycat Ghostface emerges to hunt down Sidney and her friends.

This climactic scene allows Olyphant to have some fun in the role, chewing the scenery as the deranged villain.

Olyphant plays one of Sidney’s college friends, Mickey, who is a rather forgettable character until he is revealed to be one of the killers. This climactic scene allows Olyphant to have some fun in the role, chewing the scenery as the deranged villain. While it lacks the freshness and cleverness of the first movie, Scream 2 is a solid sequel with some genuine shocks and iconic set pieces, like the opening movie theater sequence.

8 Full Circle (2023)

As Derek Browne

Timothy Olyphant returned to television to work for an iconic filmmaker, appearing in Steven Soderbergh’s limited crime series Full Circle. The show stars Olyphant and Claire Danes as an affluent New York City family who receive a call that their son has been kidnapped and is being held for a ransom. However, when their son returns home safely, they realize that another boy has mistakenly been taken and the family’s actions reveal dark secrets about their past they have tried to keep hidden.

Olyphant is excellent as Derek Browne, the patriarch of the family. He initially plays the role with the cool calmness he pulls off so well in other roles, but becomes an anxious and desperate man when things start to unravel. The series makes for a gripping noir movie with a terrific cast that also includes Dennis Quaid and Zazie Beetz.

7 Go (1999)

As Todd Gaines

In one of his earliest breakout roles, Timothy Olyphant was a standout in a cast of young up-and-coming actors. From Doug Liman, Go is a chaotic and hugely entertaining movie that follows various characters through their misadventures following a drug deal. The movie follows different perspectives that range from surreal to hilarious to dangerous. Olyphant gets to show his bad-boy side as Todd Gaines, the threatening yet alluring drug dealer.

Go features a strong cast that includes Katie Holmes, Taye Diggs, and Sarah Polley, bringing the wild journey to life with fun characters. Olyphant steals the show as the initial villain who later becomes the love interest to Holmes’ character. It is a funny and fast-paced ride that stands out as a quintessential 90s movie for the younger generation and also showcases Liman as a truly entertaining filmmaker.

6 Fargo (2020)

As US Marshal Dick "Deafy" Wickware

While Timothy Olyphant is set to appear in Noah Hawley’s much-anticipated Alien: Earth series, the two have already successfully collaborated on the fourth season of Fargo. Chris Rock and Jason Schwartzman lead the season that takes viewers further back in time than any previous Fargo tale. In the 1940s, an Italian crime family and a Black crime family see their long-held truce beginning to crumble, leading to violence and mayhem in the streets of Kansas City.

Alongside cast like Ben Whishaw, Jessie Buckley, and Jack Huston, Olyphant steals the show.

Olyphant has a great ing role that allows him to step into the lawman role once again as US Marshal Dick “Deafy” Wickware. While Deafy sees himself as a righteous and honorable man, he is the darkest lawman Olyphant has played to date, with his monologue about his past treatment of Italian criminals particularly chilling. Alongside cast like Ben Whishaw, Jessie Buckley, and Jack Huston, Olyphant steals the show. Though often seen as one of the weaker seasons of Fargo, it is still a gripping, quirky, and violent crime saga from beginning to end.

5 The Crazies (2010)

As Sheriff David Dutten

A remake of the lesser-known George A. Romero movie, The Crazies is a sorely underrated horror flick from the 2010s with a stellar heroic performance from Olyphant in the lead role. He plays David, the sheriff of a small town that begins to experience an outbreak that turns the affected people into emotionless and violent killers. However, with the government trying to contain the spread, David and his wife, Judy (Radha Mitchell), find that those in charge are willing to kill anyone in order to ensure the disease doesn’t reach a wider population.

The film is an intense ride with some excellent horror movie set pieces, but there are also brief moments of dark humor that make it feel unique. The idea that the government is as big of a threat as the mindless killers is also an unsettling twist. Olyphant is also able to bring a quiet everyman hero performance to the movie, grounding some of the more outlandish elements.

4 Santa Clarita Diet (2017-2019)

As Joel Hammond

While The Crazies wasn’t technically a zombie movie, Timothy Olyphant did manage to get into the genre while also delivering his best comedic performance to date. Santa Clarita Diet stars Olyphant and Drew Barrymore as Joel and Sheila, a married realtor couple in California who find themselves dealing with more than just typical domestic issues when Sheila dies and comes back to life with a craving for human meat. She and Joel then set out to find evil people who they can feed to Sheila while also attempting to maintain a normal suburban life.

He and Barrymore have wonderful chemistry in this underrated Netflix original series that ended too soon.

Santa Clarita Diet is certainly a gruesome and gory show, but it is also completely silly, never taking itself seriously. Olyphant seems to, especially by having fun embracing his goofy side as the laidback family man who is slowly falling apart from the stress of their new situation. He and Barrymore have wonderful chemistry in this underrated Netflix original series that ended too soon.

3 Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (2019)

As Jim Stacy

Timothy Olyphant got to star alongside some of the biggest names in acting while also stepping into the engrossing world of Quentin Tarantino’s filmmaking in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Set in 1969, the movie follows fading TV hero Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his best friend/stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) as they navigate the changing landscape of Hollywood while also living next door to Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie).

Olyphant plays one of several real-life characters in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, as Jim Stacy, star of the little-known Western series Lancer, which Dalton guest stars on. The film is a surprisingly touching love letter to this era in television and moviemaking while also adding some surprising elements related to the Manson Family. It makes for a fascinating and hugely entertaining look into the past with Tarantino as the guide.

2 Deadwood (2004-2006)

As Seth Bullock

The role that started Timothy Olyphant’s introduction into the Western genre also happens to be one of HBO’s greatest shows of all time. Deadwood is a historical fiction series that takes a look at the last lawless town in America where a variety of characters came to seek their fortunes in a place where gold was being discovered across the various claims. The series had a large ensemble, but most of the story was focused on the noble but hot-tempered sheriff Seth Bullock (Olyphant) and the scheming saloon owner Al Swearengen (Ian McShane).

While McShane has the flashier role with long, brilliant monologues, Olyphant is excellent as Bullock, the flawed hero of the story. Olyphant perfectly plays this man who has seething rage at any display of injustice which sometimes blinds him to the wiser course of action. The series is filled with complex and interesting characters that make it more than just another Western show.

1 Justified (2010-2015)

As Raylan Givens

Timothy Olyphant found the role he was born to play as Deputy US Marshal Raylan Givens in Justified. Based on the character created by Elmore Leonard, Raylan is a lawman who looks and acts like he just stepped out of the Old West yet operates in the modern world. After gunning down a mobster in broad daylight, Raylan is sent to the Marshal’s office in Kentucky where he grew up. There, he contends with the local criminal element, which includes his former friend turning outlaw, Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins).

Justified expertly brings Leonard’s crackling writing to life on the screen with this sharp and grounded crime series that keeps the thrills coming but also has time for a sense of humor. Olyphant is particularly funny, delivering the tough-guy one-liners while also being willing to show Raylan as a fool at times. However, the highlight of the ultra-cool series is the chemistry between Olyphant and Goggins, with the show becoming electrified whenever they share the screen.