20 More TV Acting Performances That Are Totally Flawless

Deadwood may still be the show people associate with the great (and frequently underrated) Timothy Olyphant, but his best role by a country mile belongs to his turn as Raylan Givens, an unconventional U.S Marshall who finds himself reassigned to his old hometown and forced to confront the local criminals.

A lot of Givens' traits are well-established stereotypes of the crime-drama genre, considering his disdain for playing by the rules and his inability to stop himself interfering with his own work. But when you mix Olyphant's charismatic magnetism with Givens' stylish, 19th century lawman aesthetic, what you have is a character who can't be described as anything other than "iconic."

With an intimidating glare hiding a great deal of empathy and secrets, Olyphant makes Givens every bit as complicated and flawed as he is in Elmore Leonard's brilliant source material. Case in point: Leonard himself declared Olyphant's portrayal of his greatest character to be "perfect."

It doesn't get any better than that.