Did you have a hand in developing Ty Walker?
A little bit. These guys dont need much help, and I didnt want to
I just didnt want to hurt the show. Theyve built something over the past five seasons, and they deserve a fair and complete send-off. I just didnt want to be the weak link or distraction, although I wanted to be on it. Tims very active in helping actors find little things that people might not have considered. There were a few things
the beard is something that I had for Hand of God, and I was afraid that by the time we finished Justified I wouldnt have time to grow it back before it was time to [resume Hand of God]. I said, What if I just keep it, just let it keep growing? Just little things like that, little ideas, but they are very receptive to it.
Ty seems to have an allergy issue, too.
I guess I never thought of it as an allergy
I just came in blowing my nose one time, and I thought it would be sort of funny. I dont think hes disrespectful; hes just confident. I dont think he underestimates the [locals] at all, because a lot of tough soldiers come from hillbilly country, and hed be aware of that. Its just one of those little things that humanize the moment.
His military background humanizes him, too. You can imagine that he and his cohorts have seen a lot of bad things what we know happened to Choo-Choo, for example and you can see how they chose this path, hiring themselves out as mercenaries.
I agree. When [Justified showrunner] Graham [Yost] called and told me a little about the guy, I immediately called some ex-military friends of mine. I didnt know Id be in a suit and sort of a sleek front man, and not do a whole lot of actual military things. I was getting ready, and I wanted to do that because you just instinctively have a lot of sympathy for our [military veterans]. The things we expect them to do and then the very little help they get when they return. Its kind of a stunning behavior, isnt it, on the part of us? Its like Yeah, yeah we need to mold you into this weapon, where you can do incredible things and still stand upright, see yourself in the mirror, and just come along. Yeah, youll be fine. Good luck. Come on, snap out of it. Not to say its an excuse for any kind of bad behavior, but it certainly makes it seem understandable. This is what these men are good at, and lets at least do it together. Im sure there was a lot of legit stuff at first, and then they just fell in with the guys who arent so legit.