Timothy Olyphant is renowned for his roles as lawmen and gunslingers of various stripes, particularly on the series Deadwood. He continued in similar roles after the show's cancellation in one form or another, some of which were jobs he took for the money -- such as Hitman.
According to Rolling Stone, Olyphant bluntly stated his regret over taking the title role in the film based on the video game, as well as the villain part in a Die Hard sequel, revealing the decision to accept them was spurred by financial concerns.
His show was canceled right when he bought a house, he recalled. "I’m a glass-half-full type of motherf--er, and I said to myself, 'Well, thank God I didn’t know they were going to cancel the show. I would never have bought this house,'" Olyphant said. "And let me put this under the list of why these people owe me. What we have to thank for this is the villain in [Live Free or] Die Hard and a f--ing bald head in Bulgaria shooting Hitman."
He also recounted the phone conversations with his agent. "That’s what that phone call led to," Olyphant said. "'How about the villain of Die Hard?' I said, 'Sure.' And they’re like, 'Do you want to read the script?' I said, 'I get it. I’m in. I just bought a house. Did you not hear? They just canceled my fucking show. Yes, I’ll do it.' 'What about this video game adaptation?' 'Yes to that too. I’m in. I’ve got to make up some TV money.'"
Still, Olyphant sees the experience as a lesson learned. "You know what, though? Those experiences were equally valuable," he said. "Oddly enough, those kinds of experiences, perhaps arguably more valuable than these. You know? Find yourself bald in Bulgaria doing some pile of shit, that will get you up a little earlier in the morning and make you work a little harder."
To no one's surprise, Olyphant didn't come back for Hitman: Agent 47, but he will be back for the new Deadwood movie with the rest of his cast.