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The set was muddy and flooded.
Olyphant was still in his sheriff costume, including Stetson, long coat, and fake mustache.
How does it feel to be back inDeadwood?So far, so good.
Ive got one day left and Ive enjoyed it.
Its lovely to see everybody, all these lovely, wonderful people who gave me so many wonderful memories.
Its also fun to be able to have other people verify your memory of how things were.
You know, where you get to say, Oh, this is how I felt.
This is what it was like.
Your old colleague Jim Beaver told me he came here to visit.
I asked, How was it?
and he said, Its odd.
Its not that I felt unwelcome, its just this wasnt my place anymore.Yeah, I totally get it.
Of course, he mightve felt differently if he actually was on the call sheet!
I suppose when youre not on the call sheet, it changes the vibe.
A lot of people did come back, though.Fucking Larry Cedar was out there today, playing background.
[Garret] Dillahunt snuck in.
I heard Dillahunt was in this.
He didnt even get top drunk!
Talk about a reason to call your agent.
Hey, why am I not Drunk Number One?
I still got one more day.
Did you have to get reacclimated at all?I didnt.
I just showed up and started going.
I didnt really have to prepare or anything.
I showed up, put the hat on, and started saying what they told me to say.
Is that all it takes?
Do the wardrobe and the mustache do part of the work for you?Yeah, definitely.
Its a curious game, being back here.
You expressed surprise at having been cast as Seth Bullock.
Yeah, thats about how I remember it!
Memorys never a reliable narrator, but that sounds about right, your account of it.
It worked out pretty well for you, didnt it?
The straight-man thing?Sure.
I mean, I kept working.
And you added something to your repertoire.Which is?
Now you’ve got the option to play the Spirit of the West if you want to.
You even did the voice of a cartoon character whosbasically Clint Eastwood inRango.That I did, thats true!
I eventually got to do another job with humor!
Well, more than one, obviously.Santa Clarita Dietis a comedy.
At least, thats what I thought.
What did you take away from this experience that changed you?Thats a lot to answer.
Every time I was in a jam, I just thought,What would David do?Literally that.
I just asked myself,What would David do?and then I did that.
I started waking up a little earlier in the morning afterDeadwoodended.
I really approached the job in a different way.
When someone like Milch wasnt around all the time, I realized what an opportunity Id been given.
When he wasnt around, what was missing?Well, hes a force of nature.
Hes the thing you strive for.
Hes done the work, but hes also willing to throw it all out the window.
I saw a guy who so trusted his unconscious, his gut instinct.
A guy who was so willing to justgowith things on a whim.
Its striking to me how self-deprecating you are about your work on this show.
I thought what I was doing was somewhere between mediocrity and just okay.
The one thing I always felt I was really good at was paying attention and really listening to David.
I really soaked in the experience and got a ton out of it.
And it was the gift that just kept giving.
I felt like I took it to every job.
I kept relying on it, I kept leaning on it, I kept being inspired by it.
Can we talk about the way you denigrate your own performance?
Because thats not something I run into very often.What, my performance on this show?
Sometimes you make it sound like you didnt know what you were doing.I do sometimes feel that way.
Thats not easy to do, and I hope you dont discount that.Well, I appreciate everything you say.
I dont take it lightly.
Id had a lot of swings at the plate.
There was a certain level of confidence that I didnt have before.
It was a totally different animal, a different beast.
By the time that gig came around, I wasnt looking for answers anymore.
I was enjoying dying on my own sword.
But Seth was a lead, and certain kinds of responsibilities came with it.
By the time I got toJustified, I felt like I was just having a ball with the job.
Not just that particular job, but acting.
As someone once said, the nail doesnt have to be the house.
I always wanted to work with David again, but I wasnt so keen on doingDeadwoodagain.
What are you gonna do?
You mean doing another season?Yeah.
I was always like,If were gonna do it, letsdoit.But that wasnt in the cards.
Otherwise, what are we gonna do?
Were all gonna venture to look younger?
I heard John Hawkes say something, I was like, Ive been saying that for ten years!
I got that from you!
He used to always say those kinds of things.
Ive stolen most of them.
School was in session on this show, and I just sat back.
They knew every trick in the book.
Its been amazing to watch Molly [Parker] and Anna [Gunn] and Paula [Malcomson].
They were great then, now theyre incredible.
Total command, each one of them.
Look at her fuckin taking over.
Just look!Hawkes?
Theyve all just done such great work since we wrapped however many years ago.
And then, of course, the older group are just as good as they always were.
Everybody knows how to steal a scene.
Fucking sleight-of-hand magicians, all of them.
Along those lines, I got to watch you shoot a few scenes in this movie.
Do the hard work, and then let it go.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
