Timothy Olyphant tapped out of the Hitman franchise after only one movie, after the original gave him something of an existential crisis. After movies like Go and Scream 2, Tim Olyphant seemed destined for stardom. After Olyphant passed on hit movies like The Fast and the Furious, however, it appeared he didn’t have the best instincts for spotting hits.
This was doubly true after the star appeared in back-to-back duds like Stephen King adaptation Dreamcatcher or A Man Apart. Television has been a better medium for Olyphant than the big screen, where he got to work with great material on shows like Deadwood and Justified.
He gave film stardom another spin in the late 2000s, with Olyphant playing the main villain in Live Free or Die Hard and fronting video game adaptation Hitman. The latter was the bigger test for the star, being his first big action solo film.
Hitman grossed over $100 million worldwide (or $166 million, when adjusted for inflation) according to Box Office Mojo, earning over four times its budget. However, it was critically reviled and currently stands at 16% on Rotten Tomatoes, though Roger Ebert liked it a lot; the late, great critic gave the R-rated actioner three stars.
Timothy Olyphant Hated Making Hitman
On paper, 2007’s Hitman should have been a major win for Olyphant. Sure, the reviews were rough, but it was a comfortable success both in theaters and on DVD. It also proved that audiences would buy him as an action star. The trouble is, Olyphant hated making Hitman and didn’t want to return for sequels.
There were early signs that Olyphant wasn’t keen on returning, such as a 2009 interview with ComingSoon.net. This saw the actor giving rather unenthusiastic responses when asked if he would be back as Agent 47, stating, “If they want me to do another one, I suppose they could have me, yes.”
The star does go on to say he appreciated the opportunity of Hitman, but in a later Rolling Stone interview, he got real candid. Olyphant only took Hitman after Deadwood was canceled, hated being away from his family in Bulgaria, and having to shave his head every day to complete Agent 47’s signature look.
Timothy Olyphant Took Hitman Purely For The Payday
Olyphant may have seen Hitman as a good opportunity to test out an action role, but it was in no way a passion project. At the time, he was riding high off the success and acclaim of Deadwood, to the point where he bought a nice house following the show’s third season.
As he later recounted to Rolling Stone, he soon learned Deadwood had been canceled. That’s when fate intervened, with Fox offering him both Live Free or Die Hard and Hitman around the same time. Badly in need of cash, Olyphant said yes to both Fox movies despite having no interest in either.
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 f***ing 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.
Olyphant disliked the experience of Hitman to such a degree it made him reassess his career and where he was heading. He specifically recalled the feeling of being on location filming it, and how he needed to work harder to avoid ending up in such a miserable situation.
Find yourself bald in Bulgaria doing some pile of s***, that will get you up a little earlier in the morning and make you work a little harder.
In the aftermath of Hitman, Olyphant still stuck with genre fare, but in better-reviewed projects like A Perfect Getaway and The Crazies remake. Olyphant soon moved on to Justified, with this six-season modern Western reinventing his career and giving him his most iconic character in Marshal Raylan Givens.
Rupert Friend Replaced Olyphant In Hitman: Agent 47
Presumably due to Olyphant’s reluctance, a sequel to Hitman took almost a decade to arrive. Paul Walker was the original actor cast for Hitman: Agent 47, but his tragic death in a car accident in 2013 saw the role fall to Rupert Friend instead.
Agent 47 billed itself as a soft reboot, but in reality, there’s nothing to say it’s not a direct sequel. On the whole, Friend did a better job with the role than Olyphant, feeling closer in spirit to the character from the games while making Agent 47 likable enough to root for.
The sequel felt like a strange mix of the original and a Terminator movie, with 47 tasked with saving a young woman from a near-unstoppable foe. The film was still a success, earning well over double its $35 million budget, but it didn’t feel like a faithful Hitman movie either, nor did it excite audiences enough for another sequel.
Timothy Olyphant Was Right To Quit Hitman
Olyphant’s career has gone from strength to strength following Hitman, and the star is more in demand than ever. That’s thanks to the career course correction the film inspired, even though he essentially walked away from what could have become a major franchise for him.
In truth, Olyphant was totally right to walk away from Hitman, since he was miscast in the role. The star feels too restrained and awkward as Agent 47, where he has to temper down his natural charisma, while his efforts to look intimidating while wielding a gun never truly convince.
That’s not to say Olyphant is bad in Hitman. He throws himself into the action and manages to wring droplets of emotion out of a very clichéd script. There’s just a sense he’s not comfortable as Agent 47 or knows what emotional register to aim for with the film. With that in mind, exiting the Hitman franchise was best.
Source: Box Office Mojo, Rotten Tomatoes, RogerEbert.com, ComingSoon.net, Rolling Stone
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
