There are interviews, and then there are interviews with Timothy Olyphant. This reminder arrives rather quickly as we settle in for a discussion ostensibly centered on the acclaimed revival of his hit FX series Justified, subtitled City Primeval, and the Emmy buzz surrounding it and his performance. On this week’s Little Gold Men (listen or read below), Olyphant proves far less interested in campaign-friendly sound bites. He’d rather just shoot the shit a bit and see where the conversation takes us.

So that’s what we do. A veteran screen actor who broke out in HBO’s Emmy-winning Deadwood, Olyphant is coming off of an impressive doubleheader this season, between the welcome return of Raylan Givens in the new Justified and his expertly suave turn in Steven Soderbergh’s Max mystery, Full Circle. We chat about both shows. He’s speaking from Los Angeles, on a brief break from shooting Noah Hawley’s upcoming Alien series in Thailand. We chat about that too. Olyphant may joke that he’s reached his ceiling in terms of acting ability, but the fact is that as new kinds of opportunities come his way, the work is getting richer, weirder, and deeper.

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In Thailand, Olyphant met up with his beloved Justified costar, Walton Goggins, who was in production out there on The White Lotus. He reminisces about that before responding to Goggins’s recent reveal that the two experienced a falling-out a decade or so ago. Like a lot of our interview, his insights on the matter are off-the-cuff, admirably candid, and in spikily good humor—important to note because, though it may not always read this way, he’s got a big smile on his face throughout. Because of the frank honesty that came before, when Olyphant says, “I’ve always adored that guy and I love working with him,” you believe him.

Vanity Fair: I hear you’re taking a little break from life in Thailand right now, where you’re shooting the new Alien series. I’m sure you cannot talk much about it, but—

Timothy Olyphant: I’ll tell you whatever you want to know. Go ahead, hit me.

Well, how’s it going, working with Noah Hawley and all that?

There’s nothing wrong with that. I don’t know if you’re familiar, but he’s very good at what he does. Very good.

We talk about him on this podcast from time to time.

Oh, really? He makes the Little Gold Men cut?

He makes some things that may or may not be in the Little Gold Men conversation, yes—as do you, by the way.

Well, that’s nice to hear.

I’ve been a fan of Justified for a long time. Since we’re already talking about the awards nature of this show, perhaps—I feel like this is a show that was often underrated in that regard.

David, I’m not going to argue with you. If you say it was underrated, I’m just going to take your word for it.

Let’s put it another way. The show had a great run initially. It was a critical hit. There were a lot of fans, obviously enough for it to come back so many years later. How did you observe its initial run? Did you feel like perhaps it wasn’t fully embraced in that part of the industry?

I thought we deserved a lot more awards and acclaim and popularity. [Pause] I’m just joking. [Laughs.]

Damn, and I was nodding too.

You were right there. You were right there with me, David! I love you. You know what? I don’t care what they say about you. I say you’re a good dude.

What are they saying about me?

Listen, that’s another podcast. When I think about the whole deal, I had a ball making [Justified]. It was a great gig. I was living and working in LA. It was a steady gig. It was a ton of fun. One of those gigs you can’t believe you’re getting paid for. I felt very lucky to do it as long as we did.

You’ve said that you always knew you’d bring Raylan back at some point. What about him felt like the kind of character who could live on TV in that way?

Elmore [Leonard] has got a timeless quality to his work and I felt there was a character that could age well, meaning he could come along for the ride with the times. You could keep revisiting him. I just thought there was a lot of room to play around with the genre—not unlike what they do when you see those Bond films and they keep doing them and they keep bringing them back. They have the luxury of bringing along with them the baggage they want and reinventing the parts they aren’t so proud of. I thought we could potentially play a similar game.

You’ve also done it before with Deadwood and the follow-up movie. You’ve already brought a character back.

I had such a great time doing Deadwood. I went into [the movie] so grudgingly and it was such a rewarding experience that it also made this one a little easier to jump into.

What about it felt different?

We all liked each other. We all had a ball doing it and it didn’t disappoint. It was very satisfying to do it again. Did I answer your question or did I dance around it?

Maybe a little dancing, but not too much dancing.

You just tell me, David. What am I up for, by the way? This is a show about awards. Is it a drama series or is it a limited series?

It’s a drama series, because you’ve played him before, so—

Oh, is that the deal? I like it, I like that you know the rules. You know your rules. [Laughs.] I just like to know the landscape.

I like that you like to know. Not everyone likes to know!

And by the way, let me be clear, as they say, it’s an honor just to be snubbed. You know what I’m saying?

We should say, you have been nominated for this role before. It is important to note that.

Why is it important to note, by the way?

Well, you said it’s an honor to be snubbed. You weren’t snubbed every time. I’m just clarifying.

By the way, and I’m not saying I’m not putting a negative or positive spin on it—snubbed five out of six seasons.

Yes, thank you.

How do we feel about that? You appreciate that info?

As I said at the beginning, I think that that underserved the show and you. I feel like we’re getting to your real feeling about this, Timothy.

Listen, I’m with you. By the way, I’ve listened to the show Little Gold Men, but I don’t think we talk about Little Gold Men enough. Are you guys taking notes? Do you take listener feedback?

We do.

Okay. I feel like you should just lean into asking the guests like, “What do you think your chances are?” You know, those sorts of things that come out every year—who should win, who will win? Just make your guests answer those questions. Just throw out a name here. “Oh, Laura Dern, who do you think should win? Who do you think will win?” You know?

I can’t wait to hear her answer. Do you have an answer ready to go?

Oh, shoot. Go ahead. Ask me.

Drama actor.

Who should win?

Yeah.

Who’s that? There’s no nominations yet, right? Give me a list. Give me five names. Give me five strong names.

You know who is in the race this year? Walton Goggins for Fallout.

Oh, he should win and he will win it. Well, can you win for playing like—it feels like it’s a knock if it’s a video-game thing, so I’m going to say he should win, but I don’t think he will win. But I’ll vote for him, don’t get me wrong. I’ve seen it. He’s wonderful, although they made him look very unattractive and I think voters love that when an attractive person looks unattractive. But he’s not a victim. That could’ve helped.

Yeah, you might be right.

We got shot at when we were shooting Justified: City Primeval, and when the bullets were flying and I thought, “I think I might get killed,” I thought, “I wonder if that helps my Emmy chances.”

That’s the first thing that would come to mind.

Then I was like, “Well, do we have enough in the can? Maybe I just want to get wounded because if I get wounded, that helps with the sympathy vote.” But I didn’t get shot, so I’m reminding people we almost got shot because I feel like that could help. [Laughs.]

Do you generally pay attention to the landscape, to what’s going on in TV?

I’m going to say something pretentious. I really don’t watch a lot of television. It drives me crazy.

More of a film guy?

Well…

Or only if it’s directed by Steven Soderbergh.

Oh, I fucking love that guy. Does he listen to the podcast?

I can neither confirm nor deny, but we are big fans of Full Circle as well on this podcast, which you were also in, which is also eligible this season.

Eligible. How are we doing, though? Is there any heat?

I don’t want to make the Max folks mad at me, but it was a quieter debut, I think we can say, so we’ll see. But it’s a great show.

Well, listen, I’m not disappointed because let me tell you something, I got to go to work with him, so there’s no downside to that gig. That’s going to be one of those gigs that just keeps on giving. I just love that set. Oh, I know where we were talking, though. We were talking about all these amazing people that I get to work with on [Justified] and how the amazing writers on this show give those people. I got to do a scene with Paul Calderón. I got to work with Terry Kinney. I mean, everyone: Marin [Ireland], Norbert [Leo Butz], Victor Williams, I could have just done a whole show with Victor Williams. Vondie Curtis Hall, where is he on the “should win, will win”? That’s a hell of a performance.

I don’t have a list here. You’re on our list.

Well, I appreciate it because I like going to the party every year. I’d like to keep getting the invitation. Do you go to the Vanity Fair party?

I do. I cover the Oscars and then I go to the party.

You’ve never come up and said hello once.

Well, now I will. Now we’ve had this riveting introduction to one another, so we’ll be ready to go.

[Laughs.] Riveting, is it? That’s the word that comes to mind?

I’m having a good time!

Might as well have a good time. Is there another agenda other than that? We’re not convincing voters here though, right?

We might be. This is your platform to convince as you wish.

Let me tell the voters out there a little something. I’m not going to get any better, you know what I mean?

You didn’t tell Noah Hawley that, did you?

Oh, he knows that. But he’s like, “That’s fine. I don’t expect you to get any better.” He knows this is it. I don’t see myself becoming a better actor from 50s to 60s. We’re just steady.

Can I challenge that a little bit?

Oh, let’s hear it. You’re going to tell me I’m going to get better?

Well, you’re an actor who started a bit later than some, right?

It’s true. Thank God.

You’ve talked about how, when you walked onto Deadwood, there were a lot of nerves attached to that kind of experience being a new actor.

That’s true.

And I would describe the work that you’ve done the last few years as among the most exciting of your career. I mean that!

Thank you. I appreciate that. I don’t take that lightly. [Pause] I’m saying I don’t think I’ll get much better than this. Don’t get me wrong. I’ve worked very hard. I’m not going to sugarcoat it. If we were talking like a sport, I would be telling you I’ve worked very, very hard to try to make the game as effortless looking as possible and I’m proud of the work. I don’t know if it’ll ever get much better. I’ve also been very lucky with all these parts. They give me really amazing writing and it makes the job much easier.

I find it very refreshing that you don’t seem to have a jaded quality about it at all. Being at a Full Circle premiere with Steven Soderbergh, I saw you talk about how that meant a lot to you, to be able to be in that room.

Oh, my God. Well, yeah. This is not my own doing. I’ve been very blessed: I have a wife and children and brothers and buddies from high school who just hit me below the knees all the time. I have a lot of people in my life who say, “Tim, shut the fuck up,” and that I find very helpful.

Crucial quality.

I’m telling you, whether you’re in this business or not, those people are extremely important. This afternoon, I was having lunch with my wife and I caught myself saying—you’ll appreciate this—I can’t remember what we were talking about doing, but I said, “Well, I can’t do that.” She says, “Why?” I said, “I’ve got to do this interview.” She said, “With who?” I said, “It’s a Vanity Fair thing.” She said, “Oh, yeah, I have an interview with Vanity Fair tomorrow. Yours is today?” [Laughs] She gives me shit, and then I catch myself, see? I’m very lucky. As far as the work’s concerned, I’ve been doing it long enough to know they don’t just hand these kinds of shows out and they don’t hand out this material.

The fact is I enjoy these conversations. It reminds me that I have a very special job. I appreciate your awareness of my work. I mean, it just means a lot.

Given this kind of grounding force that you’re talking about in your life, the “shut the fuck up” brigade as I will call it, how do you find going to a very extensive Thailand shoot at this point in your career? Is it hard to be away from home?

Don’t tell Noah this, but if my kids were still living at home, I don’t think I would have done the job. I mean, Justified, Deadwood, Santa Clarita Diet, those really [kept] me here for a good stretch. When my children [were] somewhere between sixth grade and all the way through them leaving the house, I essentially got to work and live here in Los Angeles and be able to go to their tennis tournaments and take them to music classes and what not. Once they all left—and we hate them for it—it was a bit like, I just asked my wife, “You want to go to live in Bangkok for a few months?” If she says yeah, I’m in. It’s a really fun time. Don’t tell the kids, but they’re not that missed. We did Daisy Jones and lived in New Orleans for a couple months. [Justified] took us to Chicago. Full Circle, we lived in New York for a few months, and now we’re living in Bangkok and it’s been a ball.

We haven’t done this since I started acting, a willingness to kind of pick up and go. Bangkok’s really special. There’s a monster in [Alien], and the monster takes up a lot of screen time. That lets me go down to the beach. I got to go see my buddy Walton Goggins down there filming The White Lotus.

I saw. There were some theories of, “Oh, my God, is he a secret cameo on The White Lotus?” Of course, you’re also shooting your own major television series.

Yeah. They don’t let me on that show with this hair.

I don’t know. It feels a little White Lotus to me. Talking about Walton, you’re now coming on a year out of City Primeval. It premiered last summer and it ends on a cliff-hanger of Boyd Crowder’s potential return. I know you’ve talked about the desire to hopefully do more. How does the status of that look now that the show has aired?

I have no idea, but if somebody told me that they wanted to do it, I’d give it the old college try, to try to come up with something good. I stay in touch with everybody and we’d get together and say, “We should do something,” but it was hard to find the spark of what that thing was going to be. The book [City Primeval] provided the spark, and I remember thinking like, “If we can get the book, we could do a season, we could do a couple,” because once we get everyone back together, the conversation starts. We also don’t have the pressure of coming back right away every season the way a TV show does. I guess to answer your question, I hope it’s still part of the conversation. I would love it. I know Walton would love to do it. The fact that they let the writers put that sort of cliffhanger at the end of this, I assume that means they’re interested, but I don’t know. We probably spent way too much money.

Walton recently gave an interview talking a little bit about the end of Justified, and he talked about the fact that you guys weren’t really speaking much at that point.

What did he say? [Laughs.] Yeah, did he say why?

I can quote you. He said, “We were so deep into these people we were playing,” and they were so “polar opposite,” that you were both a bit obsessed with the character’s points of view and carrying the weight of the conflict. Can you share your perspective on that and, clearly, the eagerness that I’m detecting and in working with him again?

See, Walt’s a real actor. See, they should give him a trophy. Did you hear that? He sounded like an actor, didn’t he? [Laughs] You know what [I] was saying? “Walt, there’s no fucking character. It’s words on the page. Just come on, do what I’m asking you to do.” That was me. Me was like, “Walt, what are you talking about? What character? Come on.” What was the question, David?

Well, your perspective on that—and you’ve given it—and then how that I suppose relates to the eagerness in working with him again.

Okay, here’s my version. I adored working with Walt from the jump, but these actors, they’re a pain in the ass. [Grinning] They get really into their work! There was this thing where, as the show went on, and especially as the thing came to an end, where I would come from the writers’ room. They’d add things that were like, “Here’s what we need Walt to do in order to get to this finale we want.” Then Walt would say his character would never do that, and then I’d be like, “Goddamn it.” [Laughs] We’d get really frustrated with each other.

I also think looking back, people have a hard time saying goodbye. Every time I’m on the end of any shoot, the longer the shoot, the more you feel it. Everybody starts acting funny. Summer camp comes to an end. I’d love to say that I’m immune to that, but I’m not. I’m always aware that for everybody, it’s difficult to leave. Some people make it easier to walk away, whatever it is. I’ve always adored that guy and I love working with him, and he’s something special. It was fun to see him in this new job. I know he had a ball doing it. I’d work with him again in a heartbeat. And I’m assuming if we do it again, he’ll be more predisposed to listen to me. [Laughs.]

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.