How ‘The Fast and the Furious’ Might Have Looked With Timothy Olyphant as Dom

Timothy Olyphant is one of the greatest actors of our time, but the universe always conspires to give us less of him. We would have loved to see several Hitman sequels, but 20th Century Studios was never interested in making one. We’d also have loved to see more of Sheriff Seth Bullock, but Deadwood was canceled after only three seasons, despite getting approval from almost every critic who saw it. It’s painful to even talk about Santa Clarita Diet, and a few other projects. What do we have to do to get a lengthy Olyphant run anywhere?

Despite the interruptions, Timothy Olyphant has remained one of Hollywood’s most hardworking actors. In 2024, he did excellent voice work in Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Terminator Zero, and in 2025, he is set to impress once again in Havoc, a star-studded action thriller that also features Tom Hardy and Forrest Whitaker. If fate had played out differently, he would now be filming the twelfth installment of the Fast & Furious franchise. Once upon a time, Olyphant was offered the key role of Dominic “Dom” Toretto, only to turn it down.

Timothy Olyphant Didn’t Think ‘Fast & Furious’ Would Be Big

Over the years, Timothy Olyphant has struggled to explain why he turned down the first Fast & Furious movie. He has given various reasons in different interviews, one of them being that he had just finished a car-related movie when he was offered the role of Dom, hence he wasn’t interested in signing up for another.

Just a year before The Fast and the Furious premiered, Olyphant starred in the remake of Gone in 60 Seconds alongside Nicolas Cage. In it, a car thief gathers a team after he is forced to steal 50 high-end vehicles if he wants to see his child again. Well, the first Fast movie also involves cars and stealing, so we can understand why Olyphant didn’t want to repeat himself.

However, his most honest answer came during a sitdown on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen.

“I just thought, well, this will just be stupid, and I thought no one is gonna wanna see this movie eight or nine different times. I mean, by the third or fourth sequel, people are gonna definitely get bored of it. Right?”

Wrong! The franchise became so big that Vin Diesel hardly ever felt the need to take on any other role. But Olyphant insists he doesn’t regret it, stating that there was no better person to helm a car franchise than a man whose name is Diesel.

“I haven’t seen those movies, but y’know, they’re part of the culture that I know what they are. And it feels like part of what makes that, [Vin Diesel] is a huge- he’s just unlike anything out there… I remember thinking “I can’t make this work,” I was like, “Why would I be in this?” at the time. But he seems like they got the right guy.”

The Fast & Furious series has been a major success commercially. It’s currently Universal’s biggest franchise and the eighth highest-grossing film series of all time, with a total gross of over $7 billion, a figure that’s set to increase with the upcoming installment.

With Timothy Olyphant, ‘Fast & Furious’ Might Have Been Less Corny, But It Probably Wouldn’t Have Lasted Long

The Fast & Furious franchise is extremely corny, and we love it for that. Still, such an approach needs the right cast. The movies remain in high gear because of the riveting presence of Vin Diesel, whose personal charisma and particularly ferocious driving style made him a global star. It’s hard to picture Timothy Olyphant doing all those cheesy lines about “family” with a straight face. The actor can crack a joke or immerse himself in a slapstick moment, as seen in his cameos in The Office and Curb Your Enthusiasm. However, he tends to lean more toward frown-y roles.

Diesel’s Dom is loud and confrontational. In addition to that, he is a daredevil, willing to do all kinds of stunts. Olyphant could have brought an earthier flair to the role. With his involvement, the franchise might have had a crime drama or spy thriller feel, rather than an action comedy. His character might have been quieter and more strategic, with morals that were as twisted as the people he sought to destroy. His films would have been more visceral, and far less flashy than standard Hollywood blockbusters, trailing disparate characters with an exigent, almost documentary assertion of social realism.

Would that have been a good thing? With a grittier approach, the films might have impressed critics more, but they likely wouldn’t have grossed billions of dollars.

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Then there’s a question of whether the actor would even stick around for all the installments if he had been cast as Dom. In as much as we lament about a lack of continuity in Timothy Olyphant’s career, a look into his filmography proves he is more of a journeyman, and he isn’t much of a franchise-man either. His only ever appearances in a film series came in Scream 2 and Live Free or Die Hard.

He once told The Hollywood Reporter:

“I’ve passed on absurd projects, and they have become enormous, enormous hits spawning numerous sequels, and I’m not in them.”

Olyphant might have thus moved on after The Fast & the Furious, and there’d be no billion-dollar franchise today. This doesn’t seem like a pleasant alternate reality, so audiences should be thankful for what they have.

The ‘Fast & Furious’ Franchise’s Biggest Problem Isn’t the Cast

The ‘What if?” scenario surrounding Dominic Toretto creates room for nourishing discourse. Still, it’s worth acknowledging that casting is hardly the franchise’s biggest problem. Fast & Furious’ flaws might be as big as Dom’s ego, but all the actors fit in.

Vin Diesel is perfect in all his “I’ll never wear a long-sleeved shirt so that you keep seeing my arms” glory. Tyrese Gibson’s deadpan line readings and impeccable comic timing are part of what makes this saga so great, especially when he jokes during serious discussions and Chris “Ludacris” Bridges is convincing as a hacker and mechanic. It’s also hard to picture anyone other than Dwayne Johnson as Hobbs, or Frank Grillo as Shaw.

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The franchise simply needs better scripts, and we hope the final installment gets things right. Even though the dialogue and spectacle tend to be first-rate, most plots are disjointed, formulaic, and incoherent, feeling like scenes were patched together from suggestions that were thrown around during Day One of the shoot. Audiences don’t mind seeing characters go into space, but there has to be a sensible explanation behind it. Universal Pictures sure can afford to consult NASA.

The characters also need to be fleshed out more. It would be interesting to see someone other than Dom having romantic relationships or personal problems. No one gets ill? No one has a stubborn child? No one’s finances are in a mess? Such little relatable things make a movie great, but the Fast & Furious films would rather dedicate all the minutes to heists, banter, and chases. Time for a change.