'It was the scariest goddamn thing': Timothy Olyphant's terrifying shooting incident on 'Justified: City Primeval' set

On a balmy Chicago night last summer, something unthinkable happened on the set of FX’s limited series Justified: City Primeval. As Timothy Olyphant revealed on Conan O’Brien's podcast, the harrowing experience of having three cars crash through barricades and firing at least 100 rounds near Douglass Park still resonates with him.

"It Was So Frightening": Olyphant's Close Call with Death

Olyphant's recollection paints a terrifying picture of the incident, "It was the scariest goddamn thing. It went on forever." The situation escalated when the cars ignored a closed-road sign, crashing through the show's barricades. Olyphant managed to spot the shooters in one of the cars, armed with modified pistols and machine guns. "I assumed one was going to hit me. You’re just waiting," he said.

As reported by Deadline, Olyphant's quick thinking led to a heroic moment. Grabbing a production assistant named Ashley, he threw her out of the way, saving her life. In his own words, "The reason I know her name is that I apparently saved her life."

Safety Concerns and a War Zone: A Reevaluation of Production Practices

The traumatic event left a lasting impact on Olyphant, leading him to question the production's safety protocols. "We were a little understaffed," he confessed, referring to the lack of law enforcement on set. One cop at the scene described it as a "war zone."

Olyphant went on to voice his concern the next day, discussing the possibility of shutting down production. "I don't want to shoot. I'm assuming the crew doesn't want to shoot," he stressed, emphasizing the emotional weight of the incident.

The experience serves as a sobering reminder of the real dangers that can lurk behind the scenes of our favorite shows. Justified: City Primeval got released on July 18, 2023, but Olyphant's candid account of the frightening experience has surely left a mark on both him and the production team. The eight-episode series, a spinoff of FX’s 2010–15 hit Justified, is filled with intrigue and action but now carries with it a behind-the-scenes story that is as dramatic as the plot itself.

In a world where the boundaries between reality and fiction blur, Olyphant's harrowing tale underscores the importance of safety, caution, and the human instinct to protect one another in the most unexpected circumstances.

Several parts of the text in this article, including the title, were generated with the help of an AI tool.