"Timothy Olyphant"
Episode of SmartLess · July 20, 2026 · 60 min
SmartLess hosts Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Sean Hayes talk with actor Timothy Olyphant about arrests, acting range, Deadwood, directors' notes and upcoming projects.
Summary
The episode opened with the hosts trading stories about cheating and petty theft: Sean Hayes recounted being arrested in college for stealing a turkey sandwich while drunk, and Will Arnett described returning to pay for a bag of chips he had taken as a child. Jason Bateman recalled his arrest in Monaco for being drunk and disorderly. Guest Timothy Olyphant then told a story about Eric Roberts on the set of Justified, who had called him a name for never having been arrested.
Olyphant discussed filming Alien: Earth in Bangkok and the move to London for its second season, becoming an empty nester after 35 years of marriage, and working mostly in Los Angeles on Deadwood, Justified and Santa Clarita Diet. He argued that great dramatic actors such as Robert De Niro understand the comedy in their roles, while Arnett said the common thread was commitment. After a game of "Sing For Real" with the Rolling Stones' Satisfaction, Olyphant described growing up in Modesto, studying fine art at USC, finishing his degree decades later, and turning to acting partly to head off a midlife crisis. He and Arnett compared notes on the silence of stand-up comedy.
Olyphant revealed he does not own a working computer, recalled sitting beside Margo Martindale when she won an Emmy, and told how David Milch decided to kill off a child character on Deadwood, reshaping a season. The group discussed directors' notes, including Lawrence Kasdan, Steven Soderbergh, Bradley Cooper and Michael Bay, and Olyphant described David Fincher's many-take approach on The Adventures of Cliff Booth. He promoted Lucky, The Five-Star Weekend and a Larry David historical-reenactment special for the United States' 250th anniversary, in which Hayes also appeared. The hosts closed by praising Olyphant's reputation and plugging a Hollywood Bowl live show.
Chapters
- 0:05
Cheating and arrest stories
The hosts discuss cheating in school, Arnett's stolen chips and Hayes's turkey-sandwich arrest.
- 5:01
Introducing Timothy Olyphant
After ice cream banter, Arnett introduces Olyphant and his credits.
- 7:08
Eric Roberts and Monaco
Olyphant tells an Eric Roberts arrest anecdote from Justified, and Bateman recalls his Monaco arrest.
- 9:31
Alien: Earth locations and empty nesting
Olyphant discusses shooting in Bangkok and London, his long marriage and children leaving home.
- 15:23
Range and comedy in drama
The group discusses versatility, De Niro's comedic timing and commitment as the key to performance.
- 20:04
Sing For Real
The hosts explain their uncomfortable singing game and dissect the lyrics of Satisfaction.
- 23:30
Origins, USC and fine art
Olyphant recounts growing up in Modesto, studying fine art at USC and finishing his degree decades later.
- 29:52
Stand-up and the silence
Olyphant and Arnett describe the terror of stand-up, and Hayes shares his opening joke.
- 32:30
Life without a computer
Olyphant reveals he does not own a working computer and the group reminisces about pre-phone life.
- 36:55
Margo Martindale and Deadwood stories
Olyphant recalls Martindale's Emmy win and David Milch deciding to kill a child character on Deadwood.
- 43:04
Directors and their notes
The group swaps stories about notes from Kasdan, Soderbergh, Cooper, Bay and Fincher's many takes.
- 52:25
Upcoming projects and wrap-up
Olyphant plugs Lucky, The Five-Star Weekend and a Larry David special before the hosts close and plug a live show.
Key points
What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.
- Will Arnett
Arnett said that as a child he stole a bag of chips, felt guilty, and returned the next day to pay.
“I felt so guilty overnight. I went in the next day, and I put a quarter on the counter at the store”
- Sean Hayes
Hayes recounted being arrested in college for stealing a turkey sandwich while drunk and broke.
“I was so hungry and I didn't have any money. So I just stole the turkey sandwich”
Linked moment · 7:55Skip to 7:55 using a listen link in the info box.
Timothy OlyphantOlyphant recounted asking Eric Roberts on the Justified set how often he had been arrested, and Roberts said in the double digits.
“I said to him, I asked him... how many times have you been arrested? And he said something like in the double digits”
- Jason Bateman
Bateman said he was once arrested in Monaco for being drunk and disorderly.
“I was arrested in Monaco for being drunk and disorderly”
- Timothy Olyphant
Olyphant joked that, now an empty nester, he would not have grown so close to his children if he did it again.
“So they just leave you. So just so you know. Like if I did it again, I wouldn't have gotten so close”
- Timothy Olyphant
Olyphant argued that De Niro was aware of the comedy in even his most dramatic roles.
“De Niro knew he was being funny in those roles, even the most dramatic roles”
- Timothy Olyphant
Olyphant argued the flip side as well: the best comedic performances are really dramatic.
“flip side, which is the best comedic performances are really dramatic”
- Will Arnett
Arnett argued that commitment is the common thread in both dramatic and comedic acting.
“I think the through line is always it's commitment. And so you're committed”
- Timothy Olyphant
Olyphant said students with a Bachelor of Fine Arts have many career directions open and are attractive to employers because of their creativity.
“If kids who get like a Bachelor of Fine Arts, they just still have so many different directions they can go”
- Timothy Olyphant
Olyphant said he pursued acting partly to head off a midlife crisis like the one he saw his father go through.
“I do think I had a certain amount of conscious thinking that I was wanting to put off a midlife crisis”
- Timothy Olyphant
Olyphant said that no one prepares a stand-up comic for the silence on stepping out before saying a word.
“this thing that no one prepares you for when you do standup, which is the moment you step on the silence”
- Will Arnett
Arnett said Bradley Cooper told him to perform stand-up in character as a first-timer, without relying on tricks.
“I remember Bradley saying to me, like, we're doing something different. Don't try to rely on tricks”
- Timothy Olyphant
Olyphant said he does not own a working computer and had to dig out an old desktop, then used someone's office, to record the podcast.
“We went, I had a, we went and got out a old desktop computer that we still have in the house and plugged it in”
- Timothy Olyphant
Olyphant said sitting beside Margo Martindale when she won an Emmy was the first time he understood what awards meant.
“when they said her name, she squeezed my hand like it could have bruised me”
- Timothy Olyphant
Olyphant recounted that David Milch, after an off-set dispute over a child actor, decided to kill the character, which became the season's storyline.
“there was a knock on my trailer door, and I open, it's David, which is unusual, and I said, what's up? And he says, we're gonna kill the kid”
- Jason Bateman
Bateman said directing actors is about people skills because an actor who leaves a note session feeling bad gives a worse performance.
“you're going to get a worse performance if you leave that note session with the actor and the actor feels bad”
- Timothy Olyphant
Olyphant said Steven Soderbergh gave him no notes over three months, with one exchange rating a take.
“On a scale of one to 10, that was a seven, maybe an eight. And I was like, all right, cool”
- Timothy Olyphant
Olyphant said David Fincher's many takes make it hard to ignore the inner voice saying you are doing it wrong.
“you're doing it so many times, it's hard to shut out the voice that feels like you're doing it wrong”
- Jason Bateman
Bateman said Fincher sometimes uses many takes to get actors to stop performing and simply say the lines.
“sometimes he'll do a bunch of takes just to get the actor to stop acting”
- Timothy Olyphant
Olyphant described his technique over the past decade as memorizing lines to exhaustion.
“my technique for the last decade or so has been memorizing the lines and then memorizing them to exhaustion so I show up hopefully in that place”
- Sean Hayes
Hayes described Larry David's HBO special for the 250th anniversary, in which David inserts himself into reenacted historical events.
“Larry David did a show for HBO to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States, and he put himself into historical scenarios to reenact them”
- Will Arnett
Arnett said Larry David asked him why he was never on Curb Your Enthusiasm, and he replied that he was never asked.
“He said to me about six months ago, how come you were never on Curb? And I go, you never asked me”
People
In the conversation
- Jason BatemanAmerican actor and director, co-host of SmartLess
- Will ArnettCanadian-American actor and comedian, co-host of SmartLess
- Sean HayesAmerican actor and comedian, co-host of SmartLess
- Timothy OlyphantAmerican actor known for Deadwood, Justified and Alien: Earth
Discussed
- Eric RobertsAmerican actor who appeared in Osipova's Resorts World music video
- Robert De NiroAmerican actor cited by Stallone as someone who cannot stop performing
- David MilchAmerican television writer who created Deadwood
- Margo MartindaleAmerican actress and Emmy winner for Justified
- Steven SoderberghAmerican film director of Out of Sight
- David FincherAmerican film director of The Social Network
- Bradley CooperAmerican actor and director of Is This Thing On?
- Larry DavidCo-creator of Seinfeld and creator and star of Curb Your Enthusiasm
- Mick JaggerRolling Stones lead singer
- Lawrence KasdanAmerican film director and screenwriter
- Michael BayAmerican film director and producer
- Jonathan TropperAmerican writer who created Lucky and Your Friends & Neighbors
- Ruth WeisbergAmerican artist and USC professor
Topics
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From the publisher
No cheating nor stealing — it’s Timothy Olyphant. ‘A complaint of actors’ and other druthers: a hunch, being taken seriously, Mick’s vulnerabilities, cheap champagne and a pocket full of chips. “When he’s doing Taxi Driver, he knows that’s funny, right?” Welcome to SmartLess.
Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on September 30, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.