Latest news with #Olyphant
Wales Online
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Wales Online
Timothy Olyphant's life from early careers to marriage to college sweetheart
Timothy Olyphant's life from surprising early careers to marriage to college sweetheart Timothy Olyphant has had a fascinating life both on and off the screen, from his marriage to his connection to one of the richest families in America Actor Timothy Olyphant has enjoyed a captivating journey long before securing career-defining parts in Deadwood and Justified. Since then, he's garnered roles in significant productions including The Mandalorian, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Daisy Jones and the Six in recent years. Nevertheless, his upcoming performance in Noah Hawley's chilling precursor to the Alien franchise, Alien: Earth, might prove to be his most remarkable to date. Olyphant takes on the role of Kirsh, another of the series' notoriously unsettling androids, working alongside an outstanding ensemble cast featuring emerging talent Sydney Chandler, Alex Lawther, Essie Davis and Babou Ceesay. Yet what details can we uncover about the actor's existence beyond the camera? Continue reading to learn more. Timothy Olyphant as the series' latest android, Kirsh (Image: FX) Article continues below Ozark breakout teams with Marvel legend for thrilling crime drama already getting rave response READ MORE: Birth and connection to mega-rich family Olyphant, 57, was actually born in Honolulu, Hawaii, though he and his relatives relocated to Modesto, California when he reached the age of two. The performer recently disclosed he's a descendant of the affluent Vanderbilt dynasty of New York, making him also connected to CNN presenter Anderson Cooper. When questioned about this link by the Hollywood Reporter, he jested: "You're goddamn right I am, and somebody owes me money." Timothy Olyphant is related to Anderson Cooper through a shared connection to the Vanderbilt family (Image: GETTY) His fourth great-grandfather on his paternal side was industrial tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt. Nevertheless, Olyphant appears not to have inherited much from this family tie and acknowledges he's never encountered his relative, Cooper. "It's on my to-do list to head to upstate New York and see if I can get the keys to the house," he added. "I've never met Anderson. I assume that's just because I keep missing the family reunions due to work and the kids. But now that I'm an empty-nester, I hope we'll be having drinks soon." The actor has been married to his college sweetheart Alexis Knief since 1991 (Image: GETTY) Marriage to college sweetheart Olyphant not only wed his university girlfriend, Alexis Knief, in 1991, but they've remained together ever since for more than three decades. They have also welcomed three children throughout the years, including daughter Vivan who played his Justified character Raylan Givens's daughter Willa in the follow-up miniseries Justified: City Primeval. Alexis has backed her husband's career by bringing up their family away from the public eye. Revealing the secret to their relationship's endurance, Olyphant told Women's Health in 2011: "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 has also praised her for keeping him grounded and regularly mentions her witty sense of humour during interviews. He briefly tried a career as a stand-up comedian (Image: GETTY) Watch Alien: Earth on Disney+ with two months free This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more From £89.90 Disney+ Get Disney+ here Product Description Sign up to Disney+'s annual Standard or Premium plan and get the equivalent of two months free. Avoid surprise price hikes by locking in your subscription costs for a year and stream hundreds of beloved films and hit shows, such as Alien: Earth from 13th August. Other careers Before establishing himself as an actor, Olyphant pursued a couple of vastly different careers that might surprise some admirers. Following competitive swimming throughout his youth, he worked as a swimming instructor at Irvine Novaquatics. Nevertheless, he soon chose to relocate to New York to explore different opportunities, including a short period as a stand-up comedian. Regrettably, his unconventional comedic style didn't resonate with the audience and he found the erratic schedules of comedians challenging. "I'd always heard that you're just going to bomb for a while," he confessed to Marc Maron on the WTF podcast. Catch Olyphant in new episodes of Alien: Earth every Wednesday (Image: FX) "I felt like I had a couple of shows right out of the gate where I was like, 'This is easy. This is great.' And then the bombing started." Article continues below In addition to acting, Olyphant has pursued his love for sport. From 2006 to 2008, he contributed offbeat sports reports via phone to Joe Escalante's morning radio show in Los Angeles, where director David Lynch served as the station's weatherman. He has also participated in several celebrity tennis tournaments. Alien: Earth continues Wednesdays on Disney+.
Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Timothy Olyphant's life from marriage to college sweetheart to connection to one of America's richest families
TV and film actor Timothy Olyphant has landed his latest role in the critically acclaimed series Alien: Earth Actor Timothy Olyphant has had a fascinating life even before he landed star-making roles in Deadwood and Justified. He's since scored appearances in major projects such as The Mandalorian, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Daisy Jones & the Six in recent years. However, his latest performance, in Noah Hawley's terrifying prelude to the Alien franchise, Alien: Earth, could be his most impressive yet. Olyphant portrays another of the series' infamously creepy androids, Kirsh, alongside a stellar cast including rising star Sydney Chandler, Alex Lawther, Essie Davis and Babou Ceesay. But what do we know about the actor's life away from the screens? Read on to discover more. Birth and connection to mega-rich family Olyphant was actually born in Honolulu, Hawaii though he and his family moved to Modesto, California when he was two. The star recently revealed he's a descendant of the wealthy Vanderbilt family of New York, and thus also related to CNN anchor Anderson Cooper. When probed about the connection by the Hollywood Reporter, he quipped: 'You're goddamn right I am, and somebody owes me money." His fourth great-grandfather on his father's side was business magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt. However, Olyphant doesn't seem to have inherited much from the family connection and admits he hasn't met his cousin, Cooper. "It's on my to-do list to head to upstate New York and see if I can get the keys to the house," he added. "I've never met Anderson. I assume that's just because I keep missing the family reunions due to work and the kids. But now that I'm an empty-nester, I hope we'll be having drinks soon." Marriage to college sweetheart Olyphant not only married his college girlfriend, Alexis Knief, in 1991, but they've stayed together ever since for over three decades. They have also welcomed three children over the years, including daughter Vivan who portrayed his Justified character Raylan Givens's daughter Willa in the sequel miniseries Justified: City Primeval. Alexis has supported her husband's career by raising their family away from the spotlight. Sharing the secret to their romance's longevity, Olyphant shared to Women's Health in 2011: '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 has also credited her for keeping him grounded and frequently mentions her sharp sense of humour in interviews. Other careers Before finding his feet as an actor, Olyphant had a couple of very different careers that could come as a surprise to some fans. After swimming competitively throughout his childhood, he worked as a swimming coach at Irvine Novaquatics. However, he soon decided to move to New York to explore other possibilities, including a brief stint as a stand-up comedian. Unfortunately, it didn't last long as his off-the-wall material didn't connect with the crowd and he struggled with comics' 'awful' schedules. 'I'd always heard that you're just going to bomb for a while,' he told Marc Maron on the WTF podcast. 'I felt like I had a couple of shows right out of the gate where I was like, 'This is easy. This is great.' And then the bombing started.' Olyphant has also explored his passion for sport outside of his acting career. From 2006 to 2008, he phone into Joe Escalante's morning radio show in Los Angeles with unconventional sports reports. Director David Lynch was the station's weatherman. He has also competed in a number of celebrity tennis tournaments.
UPI
11-08-2025
- Entertainment
- UPI
'Alien: Earth' star Timothy Olyphant: Scary AI tech is on our doorstep
1 of 5 | Left to right, Jonathan Ajayi, Adarsh Gourav, Sydney Chandler, Timothy Olyphant, Kit Young, Erana James and Lily Newmark star in "Alien: Earth," premiering Tuesday. Photo courtesy of FX NEW YORK, Aug. 11 (UPI) -- Justified and Deadwood icon Timothy Olyphant says playing the synthetic Kirsh on Alien: Earth made him realize just how fast artificial intelligence technology is advancing in the real world. "You can get [news] articles read by AI. It has gotten so good so quickly, those voices, where, in the beginning, you could tell there was an odd rhythm to them, and I remember thinking, 'Oh, so, this really is a thing where there could just be people around that aren't human and appear human in almost every way, that we probably don't have to dress it up much [for the show],'" Olyphant told UPI in a recent Zoom interview. "But it never occurred to me, the idea of putting people's brains and memories into synthetic bodies was on our doorstep and it appears as though it might be on our doorstep," he laughed. "And that's really quite shocking." Premiering Tuesday on Hulu and FX in North America, and Disney+ internationally, the eight-episode series was created by Noah Hawley and takes place two years before the events of the 1979 sci-fi classic Alien, in a universe where corporations are more powerful than countries. Olyphant stars as Kirsh, a synthetic at Prodigy's futuristic Neverland Research Island facility, where a group of humanoid robots with human consciousness are charged with finding and neutralizing the terrifying monsters who escape a spaceship crash on Earth. The ensemble includes Sydney Chandler, Samuel Blenkin, Babou Ceesay, Alex Lawther, Essie Davis and David Rysdahl. "Well, it feels like he appears to be some kind of mentor. Chief scientist, I think, is his official title," Olyphant said about Kirsh. "I'm also just not sure you can trust him." At the end of the first episode, Kirsh delivers a chilling speech in which he warns about humans' precarious places in the food chain. "It was just a great piece of writing," Olyphant said. "I always tell Noah he could gift wrap those pages before he sends them to me," he added. "It's fun to get that material in your inbox and it makes memorizing the lines just really enjoyable. Just rehearsing it is fun. By the time you show up on set, it's kind of playtime and just working off of Sydney and that was easy." Into the Badlands alum Ceesay plays Morrow, a cyborg security officer who was onboard the Weyland-Yutani ship that crashes and isn't initially forthcoming about what the vessel was transporting. "He's got trauma. He's got a vision in his head for what his life is going to mean and be," Ceesay said. "In terms of trying to get into that, as Tim said, it's just the writing is so incredible," he said. "You just turn up and play the scene and work with the other actor." The Witcher and Peaky Blinders actor Blenkin described his character Boy Kavalier as a "horrible, horrible man who is the CEO of Prodigy Corporation, which is one of the newest of the five companies that rule the Earth." "Governments? Don't need those. It's companies now. He sees himself as a rule breaker. Not just a competitor, but the person who is going to absolutely change the world," Blenkin said. "He is one of those people who, no matter how stupid the idea is, no matter how insane the choice is, he's convinced it's the best for humanity because he's the most intelligent person on the planet," he added. "It was really fun to play somebody with that kind of blind ego." Blenkin said Hawley's writing blends the character's mixed motivations of power and discovery. "There's a little bit of both of those things at play and, as the season goes on, I think what happens is that the deeper, darker emotional motivations of what drives those people starts to get revealed," he added. "It's a great arc for a character." Asked by UPI at a separate virtual press conference if the stars felt like filming together in Thailand, away from their loved ones, made them closer as a cast, Olyphant replied: "It was a special one, special place. Good time on set. Good time off the set. Really. The people in front of the camera, the people behind the camera. This was a good one." Lawther, who plays human soldier and medic Hermit, agreed. "It did bond us as a cast. I think for most of us, it was our first time in Thailand. We were there for longer than six months in the end," he said. "Although we were far away from home, we were really welcomed. It was a quite extraordinary host country to be working in." The country's heat and humidity also influenced the show's story-lines and actors' performances, Lawther added. "There's a lot of sweat in this show and that's, in part, thanks to the makeup department. But I'm sure a good 50 percent of that has to do with the 90 percent humidity of Thailand's climate. Then we had the quite extraordinary outdoor locations in Krabi and the jungle on the water, which lends itself to visually something quite dramatic." Blenkin also noted that the show depicts a version of Earth where humans are "fighting humidity at every moment." "So, you've got these fantastic figures who are kind of cleaning mold off the surface of the facility," Blenkin said. "There's this feeling that there's a rot at the center of this that's not really going to go away, which I feel like is a really interesting parallel to the themes of the series," Blenkin added. "And, obviously, the humidity in Thailand made that feel very real. There wasn't much acting required." Ceesay called Thailand one of his favorite places on Earth. "I had the privilege of having my family there, as well. But we did develop incredible bonds because you're far away from home," he said. "You're all together in one place. It's not often that you enjoy yourself so much on set and working, but that you also have such a phenomenal group of people outside of it." Selena Gomez, Jeremy Allen White attend Disney Upfront Left to right, Martin Short, Selena Gomez and Steve Martin arrive on the red carpet at the 2025 Disney Upfront at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City on May 13, 2025. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Two Lackawanna County towns grapple with flood zone designation
OLYPHANT — Standing in front of a pit on Lackawanna Avenue where he hopes to invest nearly $2 million into storefronts and apartments, developer John Wilkens lamented the impact of a longtime flood zone designation covering much of downtown Olyphant and hindering development. 'This issue stops any new development dead in its tracks,' he said. Wilkens, a New Jersey-based developer working with local developer Adam Guiffrida on multiple projects in Olyphant, acquired the former Sullum's Bridals at 129-131 Lackawanna Ave. in 2023 for $210,000 with plans to tear down the dilapidated building and construct a new three-story, mixed-use property in its place consisting of two first-floor retail shops and 12 apartments on the second and third floors. However, despite the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers building Olyphant a $23.5 million levee system along the Lackawanna River on the town's northern end less than 20 years ago, the levee is not recognized by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Without accreditation from FEMA, the levee effectively didn't exist when the agency calculated Olyphant's risk of a 100-year flood and designated its downtown as a 'Special Flood Hazard Area,' or SFHA, meaning the agency considers downtown Olyphant to have a 1% chance of flooding in any given year. The Lackawanna River flows near the lot of the former Atlantic Veal and Lamb slaughterhouse in Olyphant Tuesday, June 17, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) That designation means home and business owners with structures in the high-risk areas who hold mortgages from federally regulated or insured lenders are required to buy flood insurance and adhere to floodplain management regulations, according to FEMA. For Wilkens, those regulations quintuple the cost to build a foundation for his building. 'When you go from budgeting about $150,000 for a foundation, and it takes you nine months to a year to get two or three bids in for what would be needed to satisfy all requirements, and it comes in at $760,000 as the best price, that, right there, just doesn't make it possible,' he said. A fence keeps pedestrians from accessing the property at W. Lackawanna Ave. in Olyphant Tuesday, June 17, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) With a background in the insurance industry, Wilkens said his rates could range from about $6,000 on a preferred rate to about $14,500 annually. If Olyphant were reduced to a moderate flood hazard area, the figure would fall to about $3,000, he said. Olyphant was trying to seek a FEMA grant aimed at working with local governments to reduce hazard risks, but in April, President Donald Trump's administration, under Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, canceled the program, calling it 'wasteful' and 'politicized.' Similarly, several miles to the north in Mayfield, Mayor Al Chelik was unsure about the status of the borough's $2.34 million in federal funding to bolster its nearly 60-year-old levee as a step toward removing its downtown from the same high-risk flood zone designation. Although the $2.34 million would address the levee itself by effectively raising it several feet, the borough would still potentially need millions of dollars more to address the infrastructure at two of its bridges crossing the Lackawanna River. 'It's devastating' The Army Corps of Engineers finished a levee outlining Olyphant's northernmost section in 2006 for $23.5 million, but shortly after it was built, FEMA calculated the levee could not handle the Lackawanna River during a major flood event. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina's devastation in August 2005, FEMA conducted a nationwide push to evaluate flood vulnerability and determined that a flood would likely bring 20% more water through Olyphant than previously estimated, which the agency determined Olyphant's then-newly built levee couldn't handle. The decision came shortly after the corps had turned over the levee to Olyphant. A FEMA flood zone encompasses much of downtown Olyphant. (SCREENSHOT VIA FEMA'S NATIONAL FLOOD HAZARD LAYER VIEWER) Plans for the mile-long levee in the borough began in the mid-1980s after a Lackawanna River flood swept through the northernmost end of the town. The Army Corps of Engineers agreed to build the levee in 1998, and construction began in 2002. Olyphant contributed about $3 million toward the project. The Lackawanna River flows between Blakely, left, and Olyphant boroughs Tuesday, June 17, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) The borough had hoped for funding through FEMA's Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, but that was killed, council President Jimmy Baldan said. 'That was one avenue, and now we stand at trying to find new ways to help the situation,' he said. 'We were doing the application process and follow-ups, and then it just stopped.' In a May 30 email provided by Wilkens from the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency as he sought remedies from the flood zone, a state official said the BRIC program was concluded, and the borough did not complete a Flood Mitigation Assistance Grant Program application due to National Flood Insurance Program, or NFIP, requirements in the grant program. The FMA is a competitive program that provides funding to state, territory and local governments and federally recognized Tribal Nations for projects that reduce or eliminate the risk of repetitive flood damage to buildings insured by the NFIP, according to FEMA. The NFIP is a FEMA-managed program that provides flood insurance to property owners, renters and businesses, as well as working with communities that are required to adopt and enforce floodplain management regulations that help mitigate flooding effects, according to FEMA. Olyphant is now in the process of sending a letter to the Army Corps of Engineers to find out what it needs to do to get its levee accredited, Baldan said. 'If we have any possible avenue to be able to get that accredited, what that will do for our residents that live down by the river their whole lives, is that they would be taken out of that floodplain,' he said. 'We are working toward finding a way to take that worry away.' Wilkens commended Olyphant officials for their work with FEMA and PEMA to look for funding opportunities to get the levee accredited. 'So, FEMA, we're at a time frame where we're not too optimistic that they're going to be the ones that can help us out,' Wilkens said. 'We're really hopeful that we can just gain as much attention as possible to the situation and get both local and state representation — our elected officials — involved to become aware of what the residents and business owners are facing.' An aerial view shows the former Sullum's Bridals property as empty lot on W. Lackawanna Ave. in Olyphant Tuesday, June 17, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) With 'the right attention,' Wilkens believes Olyphant could be lifted out of the flood zone. 'Here we are, 20 years later, and we're hoping to bring some attention to this issue,' he said. 'Get the right politicians involved, or whoever can step up and shed some light on it.' He was aware of the levee when he acquired the property, but knowing about the nearly $24 million investment into the levee, Wilkens said he was optimistic that it was on the radar of officials, or that something was already in the works. A fence keeps pedestrians from accessing the property at W. Lackawanna Ave. in Olyphant Tuesday, June 17, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) If it weren't for the increased costs of building in the flood zone, Wilkens said his building, a projected $1.7 million investment, would be 'pretty much completed.' 'It's devastating,' he said. 'Once you're told, 'Well, here's the roadblock that we're running into all of a sudden,' it takes your breath away.' 'A mess' In Mayfield, Chelik is waiting to hear the status of a $2.34 million federal grant secured by former U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright to improve their levee, which was built in 1968. The grant required a 10% match, and Mayfield secured about $229,000 from another grant to cover that cost. 'We don't know the status of that grant now with the Trump administration,' he said. The levee runs parallel to Penn Avenue along the Lackawanna River, Powderly Creek and Hosey Creek. Like Olyphant, Mayfield's levee is not accredited. The Lackawanna River flows through Mayfield Wednesday, June 18, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) The mayor hopes levee improvements could remove his borough's downtown from its flood zone designation that went into effect in August 2020. 'We have not had a flood in Mayfield since the levee was built,' Chelik said. 'We've never come really close, but they are going on this 100-year flood analysis, and they said our levee doesn't meet that standard.' There are 264 residences within Mayfield's flood zone that are required to pay for flood insurance with their mortgages, with rates ranging from around $500 to a couple thousand dollars a year, Chelik said. A FEMA flood zone spans a stretch of Mayfield along the Lackawanna River. (SCREENSHOT VIA FEMA'S NATIONAL FLOOD HAZARD LAYER VIEWER) The grant is supposed to cover the cost of raising the height of their levee several feet by adding metal walls, he said. The borough can't use additional dirt or gravel to build up the levee because they can't build laterally, so instead they would use the metal walls, he said. A guage to measure the water level of the Lackawanna River is placed near the Chestnut St. Bridge in Mayfield Wednesday, June 18, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) However, even with those upgrades, based on the borough's calculations with a study funded through a $51,948 grant, simply improving the levee still won't save residents from having to pay flood insurance due to the Chestnut and Poplar street bridges, Chelik said. In 2005, the state Department of Environmental Protection spent $463,500 to improve the system at Hosey Creek and to put in a flood wall system at the Chestnut Street bridge, including installing a trench across the road to mount the walls in the event of a flood and an accompanying shed to store them when not in use. If the town raises the height of the levee, it would need new flood walls with a new trench, he said. 'If that trench cost, say it was $350,000 in 2005, you could quadruple that now just for us to put a new trench in with new panels,' Chelik said. * A vehicle drives across the Chestnut St. bridge, over the Lackawanna River, in Mayfield Wednesday, June 18, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) * A vehicle drives across the Chestnut St. bridge, over the Lackawanna River, in Mayfield Wednesday, June 18, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) Show Caption 1 of 2 A vehicle drives across the Chestnut St. bridge, over the Lackawanna River, in Mayfield Wednesday, June 18, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) Expand Less than half a mile downstream on the Lackawanna River, the Poplar Street bridge 'presents an entirely different scenario,' he said. The borough has concrete walls going north and south of the bridge extending for about a block, he said. 'What do we do with those? Do we have to raise those? How are we going to raise those?' Chelik said. 'We're in a mess.' Chelik hopes to use the $2.34 million in federal funds to address the levee and then seek additional money for the bridges. 'We haven't heard from PEMA in awhile, so we're getting a little nervous,' he said. By removing the flood zone designation, Chelik believes it could spur new investment into Mayfield, which has two large lots zoned for commercial use at Penn Avenue and Poplar Street. He envisioned a commercial use or apartments. 'Nobody is going to touch those two lots,' he said. 'It's prohibitive for anyone to try to do anything in downtown Mayfield.'
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Yahoo
Man charged after power line fire at pot growing operation
DURYEA, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Drug charges were filed Monday against a Massachusetts man after a burning power line in Duryea led police to a marijuana grow operation back in August of 2024, according to court records. Police say after investigating arching wires that caused a fire, along with a smell of natural gas, they discovered an alleged marijuana grow operation inside a home in the 200 block of Marcy Street. The fire department, along with the police department, made forced entry into the home to ensure the safety of anyone potentially living in the residence after a smell of natural gas near the gas meter, according to the affidavit. Lackawanna DA confirms 3 teens in custody after Olyphant shooting Police say that when inside the home, they found over 600 marijuana plants growing. Police, along with members of the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, later returned with a search warrant and said they found 'what appeared to be an extensive marijuana grow operation'. Police say they found heaters, fans, Co2 tanks, and air filtration systems. A PPL representative who responded to the scene said the amount of power being drawn by items in the home is what caused the line to catch fire, according to court records. According to police, by using evidence found in the home, they identified Minchao Yu, 43, with a last known address of Allston, Massachusetts, as the homeowner and used Yu's bank records to trace various building materials of the grow operation to Yu. Yu has not been arrested and is facing charges of manufacturing, possessing with intent to deliver a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, and risking a catastrophe. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
