Cinematical

The first place you probably encountered Timothy Olyphant was in a string of films in the late 90s like Scream 2 and Go, where he played characters that could best be described as 'sleazy-but-comedic.' You couldn't quite tell if they were good guys or bad guys, but they were always weirdly funny. Olyphant took this character type as far as it can probably go in 2004's The Girl Next Door, where he played a smiling, wild-eyed predator who calls himself 'Kelly' and guides some impressionable youngsters through the wildnerness of Hollywood's porn community. 2004 turned out to be a banner year for Olyphant, since he also landed the role of Sheriff Seth Bullock on the wildly popular HBO series, Deadwood. Although the show was abruptly canceled, to the outrage of fans, HBO has reportedly ordered up two final feature-length films, to cap the series. In the meantime, Olyphant has taken on another challenge -- a romantic leading man role, opposite Jennifer Garner, in Susannah Grant's directing debut, Catch and Release, which opens this Friday.

Cinematical recently spoke with Olyphant from Los Angeles, where he was in town to do press for the film and was eager to talk up his full slate of 2007 releases, which includes not only Catch and Release and Kimberly Peirce's long-awaited follow-up to Boys Don't Cry, but also the villain role in the next John McClane adventure, Live Free or Die Hard:

Did you go back and watch the first three Die Hard films to get an idea of what is expected of a Die Hard villian? All I've heard about your Die Hard character is that he's a computer nerd or a geek. I don't really see you as the nerdy type, though.

TO: God bless you for saying that! The only truth to that is that there is a computer terrorism element. He's a character who's a sort of classic popcorn villain. He's pretty slick -- Maggie Q is my girlfriend, which kind of says everything. So, the picture revolves around this computer terrorism plot. I did go back and watch the first Die Hard film, really for pure enjoyment, and I also thought that I really wanted to find something that I could throw in there as a quasi-tribute to Alan Rickman, because he's just one of the great villains of all time.

Was it your idea to bring Kevin Smith onto Live Free or Die Hard after meeting him on Catch and Release?

TO: That's right. I had a hand in it. That's the only reason he was allowed on that Die Hard set, because I put in a call for him! [laughs] I'm always looking out for Kevin Smith. The poor guy can't catch a break.

Was he writing his own dialogue on Catch and Release? I got that impression, watching the film.

TO: He was writing not only his own dialogue, but other people's dialogue, as well. He's always throwing stuff out. He's really good. He did something that was really quite smart and savvy, which is that he alters the dialogue just enough to still honor what Susannah Grant wants on the page, to tell the story while at the same time keeping it fresh and I think, in some respects, make himself comfortable.

Could you see yourself doing a Kevin Smith project one day?

TO: Yes! Tell him to throw me a bone for God's sakes. I've already pointed out how I'm getting him work. What's the hold up?

What made you want to work with Susannah Grant? What was the attraction there?

TO: Well, first and foremost, it was a great opportunity. You know, very often in this town, people.....they tend to cast you in what they see you in, and the fact that she kind of went to bat for me and gave me this opportunity means a great deal. And really, it was such a bonus to not only get the opportunity to play that kind of a part, but for it to still be very interesting and complex. It was just wonderful. Usually, in romantic comedies, you end up sacrificing a great deal of the complexity -- you know, just two attractive people and a good soundtrack. This was not the case. She's an interesting writer, and she's really quite bright, and I'd work with her again in a heartbeat.

Your character's name -- Fritz -- I expected him to be an old German guy, with a monocle. Did that name strike you as odd?

TO: Ha! You know, I would be right there with you, but I remember my older brother's tennis coach was named Fritz, and there was nothing German about him.

You and Jennifer Garner both have similar backgrounds, with lots of television experience -- did you do a lot of rehearsal for this film?

TO: It wasn't that in-depth, but we did have an opportunity to kind of sit down and go over some things before we started shooting. It was a matter of a few days, where we might have read through stuff, if I recollect. Yeah, it wasn't too much.

The big scene at the beginning, where you're having a quickie in the bathroom with another funeral-goer, while Jennifer Garner's character hides behind the shower curtain -- that must have been an interesting day on the set.

TO: You know, those things are always a bit odd. First and foremost, I literally was just shaking hands with that girl, who did such a great job playing the caterer. You're introducing yourself and then minutes later, you're making out with her on the countertop. But it's a great beginning for the story and for the character. Jennifer was hilarious in the bathtub.

Was she actually there in the tub while that was going on?

TO: I can't remember. I guess we did some off-camera for her. Yeah, we did. We kind of went through it outside of the shower curtain a little bit for her, to give her something to work off of, there.

When are you shooting those two Deadwood movies, to wrap the series? What's up with that?

TO: What is up with that. You tell me. I tend to read everything about Deadwood in the press. Lately, I've been learning more things from you guys than from anywhere else. I found out about Hitman through you guys. Did you guys not publish that like a few weeks ago? I just remember coming home one day and my wife saying 'Tim, I keep hearing people say that you're doing Hitman.' I met this guy who plays hockey for The Kings, and he was like 'Oh, I hear you're doing Hitman.' And I was like 'What the hell are people talking about?' So I went home and googled my name and sure enough, it was all over the Internet: I'm doing Hitman! But it was not true -- not true at the time.

Are there any directors you're really hot to work with these days?

TO: Oh, there are so many. You know, there are the greats. If Martin Scorsese calls, I am available. And then there the ones, well, you can just run down the list -- any of those Oscar-nominated films, they have amazing directors across the board. There's always that refreshing thing, where hopefully the experience, the result, will turn out to what my hunch is with Hitman. This young guy, Xavier Gens, who is a young, 30-something French guy -- just sitting down with him, he just seems like he's going to be amazing. Look, I like to work, and I always start there -- it's always good to be working.

You're all wrapped on the Kimberly Peirce project, right?

TO: Yes, I finished a few months ago.

Do you lean more toward romantic or comedic roles? I found lots of great comedy in your part in The Girl Next Door, even though your character was very slimy and sleazy.

TO: Well, God bless you for saying that, because I think sometimes that that's not often thought of. I often look at things like The Girl Next Door as a comedic role. If you can say those things and also look at it as a comedic performance, then I feel like job well done. I really appreciate that, because I think the goal in that is -- you know you're playing sort of a menacing character and you have to see how many other things you can try to find in there, comedy being first and foremost. If I can find some comedy in there, it's always great. But as far as the leading man/romantic lead, I'll tell you what, I really enjoyed my experience more than I thought or imagined I would on Catch and Release. God bless them if they want to give me another shot at that. I would love to have that as something I can go to on occasion.