Who is Vivian Olyphant? Meet Timothy Olyphant's Daughter and 'Justified: City Primeval' Co-Star

Timothy Olyphant is dusting off his cowboy hat to once again take on the role of the rugged and gritty U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens in new spinoff series, Justified: City Primeval.

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Olyphant made a name for himself through his convincing portrayal of the smoldering lawman who enforces his "own brand of justice" over six seasons of Justified. The original series followed Givens after he's removed from his post in Miami and must return to his hometown in rural Harlan County, Kentucky.

Based on three novels and a short story by Elmore Leonard featuring Givens, the award-winning series allowed viewers to watch the gunslinger grapple with shootouts, crime rings and relationships. It ended in 2015, with Givens relocating back to Miami to be near his young daughter and ex-wife, Winona (Natalie Zea). 

Justified: City Primeval picks up a decade after the original series ended, with a story based on Leonard's novel City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit. 

The U.S. marshal has left his hometown behind to focus on being a father. But a chance encounter forces the rigid lawman to travel to Detroit, where he faces a violent and sociopathic criminal known as the Oklahoma Wildman (Boyd Holbrook).

While Olyphant is the only member of the original Justified to return, another familiar face will be among the cast. Olyphant's own daughter, Vivian, plays Givens' daughter, Willa, in the new spinoff. 

So, who is Vivian Olyphant? Here's everything we know about the Olyphant family and what it was like for Vivian to work on set with her father:

Meet the Olyphant Family 

Timothy Olyphant was just a self-proclaimed "artsy-jock" on the swim team when he met his college sweetheart, Alexis Knief. They both attended the University of Southern California and tied the knot in 1991, only a few years after the pair graduated. 

Now, they've been married for more than three decades and still manage to make it work. He told Women's Health in 2011 the secret to a lasting relationship is the person. 

"You have to be with the right person, and you both have to be willing to do the work, day in and day out, to make it happen," he said. 

They waited eight years to start having kids and now have three adult children together: Grace, Henry and Vivian.

While the children were growing up, the Santa Clarita Diet star told Ellen DeGeneres in 2014 that having a famous dad didn't impress them much.

"As they get older, it's kind of sad that they still don't think I'm cool," he said jokingly. "And now that they're older, it depresses me a little bit, and I find myself trying to impress them, and it's pathetic."

But now, the couple are enjoying an empty nest as their children start their careers. Grace is a marketing professional and stylist, even dressing her sister and father for the Justified: City Primeval 2023 Television Critics Association panel.

On Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend, Olyphant said now that his children are grown, the roles are reversed and he's become impressed with them. 

"Throughout their childhood, I thought they'd be average," he said. "Now that they're a little older, I'm impressed, and I say to my wife, 'You did a good job. Thanks for raising those kids.'"

Making a Name for Herself 

When Olyphant and the showrunners for the new Justified spinoff first started to conceive the eight-episode limited series, they didn't originally plan for the Emmy-winning actor's daughter to star as his character's daughter. 

Showrunner Dave Andron told Entertainment Weekly he was actually terrified when Olyphant suggested she audition. 

"Tim was like, 'I'm going to put my daughter on tape for the role of my daughter.' And we were like, 'This is a no-win. This is brutal. If it's not good, what are we going to do?'" he said. "And she was great. They had a ball doing it, and it was a lot of fun." 

Though this is Vivian's first professional role, she's wanted to be an actress since she was a kid. And she apparently takes after her father when it comes to her acting skills. The older Olyphant said on an episode of Late Night With Seth Meyers that Vivian was a natural on set. 

"It was an incredible experience," Olyphant said. "She was remarkable, and it was a joy to work with her. She worked very hard. She auditioned for it, and I wasn't surprised that they hired her, and it was really special."

Vivian said during the TCA panel in January that she was excited to work with her father for her first credited role. 

"Even just preparing for the audition was a joy, and if that was just the case, if I didn't get the job, then I would be happy with that," she said. "But I really liked working with him." 

The Mandalorian star spoke specifically about watching Vivian perform an emotional scene with Holbrook, who plays the show's eccentric antagonist. 

"Those scenes, working with the two of them, it was really quite moving," the actor told Meyers.

Working With Dad

Though the Deadwood star is also credited as the executive director, the show's entire production didn't go smoothly with the two Olyphants. The seasoned Olyphant said he had to make sure his daughter took his scene suggestions seriously. 

"Do you know what it's like to have to whisper to your daughter, like, 'You can't talk to me like that' on the set of your own show?" he said. "It's terrible! I was like, 'Nobody talks to me like that!'"

And Andron confirmed that Vivian wasn't always receptive to her dad's feedback.

"It took about eight minutes on set for her to say, 'Dad, stop. Don't give me notes. Don't tell me what to do,'" Andron said.

And Vivian may also have picked up on her father's dry sense of humor. Timothy Olyphant told Meyers that she played pranks on him with the cast and crew while they were filming.

"She did all that bullshit where she'd write, like, 'favorite Olyphant' on a big board and put my name and her name," he said. "I lost in a landslide. Like, a landslide! There was like one Star Wars geek that voted for me. ... It was terrible!"

But overall, both Olyphants agreed it was a fun opportunity that deepened their relationship. 

"I felt like we kept a good balance about being professional but also really enjoying this experience, because not many people get to work with their parents," Vivian said at TCA. "I thought we kept a good balance of professionalism and fun. Work hard, play hard." 

Justified: City Primeval premiered on FX on July 18. New episodes drop weekly and are available for streaming next day on Hulu.

READ MORE: Timothy Olyphant and the New 'Justified' Crew Were Caught in a Shootout During Filming