Timothy David Olyphant (born May 20, 1968) is an American actor. His notable roles include the television drama series Deadwood, Damages and Justified and such films as Scream 2, Gone in 60 Seconds, Dreamcatcher, Live Free or Die Hard, A Perfect Getaway, The Crazies and Hitman.
Olyphant was born in Honolulu, Hawaii and moved to Modesto, California, a rural town east of San Francisco, at the age of 2, where he was raised. His father worked for a winery. Olyphant began competitive swimming at age 6, and started training seriously in the seventh grade. He was a finalist at the USA Swimming Short Course National Championships in 1986 in the 200 Individual Medley. He graduated from Modesto's Fred C. Beyer High School that year.
Olyphant continued swimming at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, where he studied fine art. He took a beginning acting class as an elective at UC Irvine, in order to fulfill the final credits he needed to graduate from USC. Olyphant then decided to move to New York City to study acting, rather than pursue a master's degree in fine arts. He took acting classes with William Esper at William Esper Studio for two years, and then started looking for acting work.