Timothy Olyphant, known for his chiseled features and roles that range from the swaggering gunslinger Raylan Givens in Justified to the relaxed dad in Netflix's Santa Clarita Diet, has built a career on choosing jobs that don't just challenge him but also add layers to his versatile acting chops. Can you imagine this actor with his signature deadpan delivery in a world of neon underglow, NOS, and skydiving cars? Well, you might be surprised to learn that the Go star was once up for the role Vin Diesel iconically claimed in the Fast and the Furious franchise. And he's now weighing in on how the franchise might’ve played out if he had accepted the part.
For over 20 years, the Fast and the Furious movies have been known for showcasing Vin Diesel's role as Dominic Toretto. This character always puts family first, even amid fast car chases and daring heists. Amid a chat with Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused Podcast, Timothy Olyphant talked about turning down that role. The host wondered if the series would have reached its tenth film (which is somehow possibly a trilogy?) if he had played the lead. He responded thoughtfully:
I’m gonna give them the benefit of the doubt, that, no, they would not. I haven’t seen those movies, but they're so part of the culture that I know what they are, and it feels like part of what makes that… he [Diesel] is huge… he is unlike anything out there. I remember thinking, ‘I can’t make this work. [laughs] Why would I be in this?’ at the time, but it seems like they got the right guy.
The 55-year-old actor continued by drawing parallels with another action role he took on that, ironically, had also been intended for Vin Diesel. He said:
I felt the same way when I was doing “Hitman,” but there I was getting paid. So, fuck, who knows?"
It's fascinating to hear Timothy Olyphant's perspective on what could've been a career-defining role for him. Vin Diesel's larger-than-life presence in the Fast and the Furious series has indeed set the tone, but one can't help but ponder the kind of subtleties the Dream Catcher alum might have brought to the part. It, of course, isn’t his only Hollywood “what if.” In the same interview, the actor touched on his brush with J.J. Abrams's Star Trek and Iron Man.
Think about this: In an alternate 2023, maybe there's no Fast X, and the Rayland performer isn't the face of the incredible Justified: City Primeval cast. Fortunately, he never took on the role of Dom Toretto, so both stars have found their rightful roles. Still, it's intriguing to imagine the Mandalorian alum (who could be returning for Dave Filoni's Star Wars Movie) taking over some of the best Dom moments or saying classic lines, like: "I live my life a quarter-mile at a time. Nothing else matters: not the mortgage, not the store, not my team, and all their bullshit. For those ten seconds or less, I’m free." Something tells me that as good an actor as the Scream 2 alum is, he wouldn’t have brought the same insane intensity as Vin Diesel. Perhaps, all things happen for a reason.
Those looking to revisit 2001's The Fast and the Furious -- albeit sans Timothy Olyphant -- can stream it with a Netflix subscription. Tune into Justified: City Primeval on FX to catch Olyphant's newest show, and know that you can also stream it with a Hulu subscription.
