Trivia

Swam competitively while attending the University of Southern California (US National Finalist in the 200m individual medley)

Before he got work as an actor, he started his career performing stand-up comedy in New York City and Boston, where Dave Attell, Louis C.K., Sarah Silverman, Jay Mohr and Dave Chappelle were other new comedians on the scene.

He was considered for the role of Tony Stark in Iron Man (2008).

Is very good friends with Conan O'Brien and is a frequent guest on his talk show.

Timothy was classmates with actor Jeremy Renner during their high school years, in Modesto, Ca. Both attended Beyer High School, during the 1980s, although they were not in the same graduating class.

Graduated from USC in 1990 in the same class as actor/comedian Will Ferrell and singer Macy Gray. All three received Bachelor of Arts degrees: Olyphant studied fine arts, while Ferrell earned his degree in sports information and Macy Gray earned hers in screenwriting.

Has three children with his wife Alexis: a daughter Grace (born 1999), a son named Henry (born 2001) and a daughter named Vivian (born 2003).

His maternal great-grandfather, Abraham Gideon, was a Jewish immigrant from Tula, Russia. Timothy's other ancestry is mostly English, along with German, Scottish, Dutch, and Irish. Through his father, Timothy is a four times great-grandson of industrialist Cornelius Vanderbilt, and a three times great-grandson of his son, William Henry Vanderbilt, who vastly expanded the Vanderbilt family fortune. Timothy's paternal grandmother, Adele Sloane Hammond, was the sister of music producer John Hammond and the sister-in-law of musician Benny Goodman. Another of Timothy's four times great-grandfathers, Dr. David Olyphant, born in Scotland, served as director-general of Southern hospitals during the American Revolutionary War. His third great-grandfather, David Olyphant, and great-great-grandfather, Robert Morrison Olyphant, were both prominent businessmen.

Read sports for Los Angeles radio station Indie 103.1 on its morning show until the departure of Joe Escalante in 2008.

He was raised in Modesto, California and attended the University of Southern California.

When he was in his early 20s, Olyphant and his roommate sent an unsolicited audition tape to Fox, offering to host a late night talk show, even though neither had any experience in the entertainment industry. They advertised their services for $100 a day.

His older brother, Andy Olyphant, is an A & R executive for Warner Bros. Records. His younger brother, Matt Olyphant, was the lead singer for Fetish.

Turned down the role of Dominic Toretto in The Fast and the Furious (2001), the role went to Vin Diesel.

He is a third cousin, once removed, of journalist Anderson Cooper, a second cousin, twice removed, of Anderson's mother, Gloria Vanderbilt, and a fourth cousin of filmmaker James Vanderbilt. Timothy's three times paternal great-grandparents, William Henry Vanderbilt and Maria Louisa Kissam, were also the two times maternal great-grandparents of Anderson Cooper and the three times paternal great-grandparents of James Vanderbilt.

Studied at the William Esper Studio in New York.

While at the University of Southern California, he studied fine art and theater.

1986 graduate of Fred C. Beyer High School, Modesto, California.

Lives in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Wears veneers to give the impression of longer teeth.

Timothy, cast his own daughter Vivian Olyphant as her debut casting, as his daughter in the series Justified: City Primeval (2023).