How a Guest Role on Damage Led to Timothy Olyphant's Warranted Casting

Although Wes isn't the most memorable character in 'Damages' - he's a possibly sleazy guy who meets Ellen as part of a bereavement counseling in the second season and mostly disappears after this season's finale - it certainly added new layers of drama to the show's slow-burning mystery. The character also, apparently, got the Olyphant gig on "Justified." According to The Guardian, the relationship the actor established with the network while working on "Damages" is what ultimately landed him the pilot for Graham Yost's Western series. "I had a great time on 'Damages,' and the more time I spent talking to the 'Justified' people, the more I felt they understood how to let really good drama happen," the actor told the point. sales during the first season of "Justified."

According to Business Insider, the two shows even shared a studio at Sony, and at one point "Damages" co-creator Todd Kessler talked about bringing Olyphant back for future seasons . "This pilot he's in is actually for FX," Kessler said when news of the actor's casting in "Justified" broke, "so it couldn't be more auspicious to bring him back for our season as well. ."

This pilot ended up keeping him busy enough. Ultimately, Olyphant only appeared in two more episodes of "Damages," but "Justified" went on to make its own mark on cable TV, earning eight Emmy nominations and plenty of accolades over the course of its life. its six seasons. While the series pulled off a near-perfect ending, it's also set for a return: the series will continue as a miniseries with "Justified: City Primeval," which is currently in production.