9 Famous TV Characters Who Were Originally Much Smaller Roles

5. Boyd Crowder - Justified

The Character: Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins) is Harlan County's resident outlaw with a gift for the gab. Boyd has aligned himself white supremacists, the Dixie mafia, the Mexican drug cartel, and yet he always seems to come out on top. He also shares a complicated past with U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant), the man dead-set on putting him behind bars or in the ground.

What Almost Happened? The pilot episode for Justified was based on the Elmore Leonard short story, Fire in the Hole. Originally, the ending of the pilot followed the story closely in which Givens shoots and kills Crowder. According to Goggins, he accept the role as a favor to his friend Olyphant, thinking it would go no further. However, his performance was so well received that the pilot was re-shot so Boyd survived the gunshot.

How'd It Turn Out? Great. It's easy to see how Goggins' performance saved the character. With Boyd, he created such a unique and charming villain who stole just about every scene he appeared in. There's no way the show's creators could have known so early on that the relationship between Raylan and Boyd would become pivotal for the series.