Timothy Olyphant never thought the Deadwood movie would actually happen

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

When HBO cancelled Deadwood after three seasons over a decade ago, there were frequent rumblings that the series could return in some form. Those rumours were so prevalent that many fans, myself included, soon found it hard to take them seriously. Timothy Olyphant, who played Seth Bullock on the series, was one of those people who believed that the Deadwood revival would never happen.

"I always thought it was never going to happen. And the false starts I never, quite honestly, paid attention to. It was white noise," Olyphant said while speaking with TVLine. Against all odds, HBO officially got the ball rolling on a DEADWOOD movie and Olyphant was forced to start paying attention. While every other member of the cast was eager to return, Timothy Olyphant confessed that he was initially uncertain whether or not he'd sign on.

High school reunions can be a lot of fun. But repeating your sophomore year? Not so fun. And I couldn’t tell if this was going to be the former or the latter. I didn’t know what it was going to feel like. Is it just going to be a lovely reunion, or is going to feel like, "Jesus, I’m being asked to do things I regret"?… My mindset was, "S–t. I guess I’m going to have to make some kind of decision here." It was a very curious process. I did not expect to be in the position to actually have to make a decision; I just assumed it would go away. It’s a curious [thing] deciding on whether to do a job when all of your old friends have already committed to it and  you kind of think, "Well, I’ve never been in a position to be such an a–hole."

Thankfully, not only did Timothy Olyphant return for the DEADWOOD movie, but he also found the whole process to be "wonderful" and "quite rewarding." The upcoming film will find the main characters of the TV series reuniting after ten years to celebrate South Dakota's statehood. "Former rivalries are reignited, alliances are tested and old wounds are reopened, as all are left to navigate the inevitable changes that modernity and time have wrought." As how the years have changed Seth Bullock, Olyphant said Bullock was "a character that was so defined by his rage. But now he’s got three children and he’s been married [to Anna Gunn’s Martha] for 10 years. And one of the central questions on the show is, “Has he gained any wisdom? Has that rage within him subsided? What will happen when he’s tested? Will he regress to the man he was, or will he be able to take a new path?” It allowed me to really enjoy returning to the character because I could try to answer some of those questions with the performance. It was almost like asking the same questions of myself."

The DEADWOOD movie will debut on HBO on May 31, 2019. I can't wait.