Star Olyphant in the U.S. Marshal’s office during the day’s first scene. “The magic is gone,” says director Adam Arkin between two of many takes before he leaves video village to encourage Olyphant, Erica Tazel and Rick Gomez to liven up again.
Before Olyphant returns to the set, he jokes to the 10 people in video village at the time — one of whom is former U.S. Marshal Charles Almanza, the series’ technical adviser — “Whenever [my character] Raylan is thinking about getting laid during all this stuff, Charlie’s like, ‘Now you’re thinking like a cop!’ ”
Searcy gets his makeup touched up before running through a scene in which his character is recovering from being shot. “Nick, bring up the energy,” instructs director Adam Arkin. “You seem like you’re almost dead.”
After shooting within a prison facility the entire season, Carter (who plays Ava Crowder) is ecstatic to film outside — even on a cold, dreary night. Alone with Olyphant on the bridge in Piru, she says the scene is a preview of the final season.
The crew uses stand-in Kraus to light and prep a short scene in which Raylan Skypes with his wife, Winona Hawkins (Natalie Zea). Arkin offers to have someone read Zea’s lines, but Olyphant declines. On the fifth take, Arkin is satisfied: “There was a little more in that one.”
Sitting next to Pitts (who plays Deputy U.S. Marshal Tim Gutterson), Tazel is aware of the show’s sobering end: “I’m already having flashbacks, even though we have 13 more to shoot. But this time next year, it will be a different dance.”
Olyphant discusses his character’s direction between takes with the episode’s writers, Andron (left) and Golan (right). Before the three walk to the next stage, the actor offers changes to an upcoming scene. “I'm telling you this so that you can think about [the notes] on the way over,” he tells Andron.
Arkin (left), who has acted on the show and directed eight episodes, says Justified is the closest he has felt to a directorial home. He is content with a hospital scene involving Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Art Mullen (Searcy) and appreciates the production’s measured pace: “It doesn’t feel like we’ve had a gun to our head in terms of the schedule today.”
"Tim [Olyphant] and Walton [Goggins, who plays Boyd Crowder] have strong views on their characters, about where they think they should go," says Golan.
Olyphant snaps a picture of writer Golan (right) with Gomez (left) as the crew sets up the next scene.
Andron says the wildest feedback he has received about the show was when friends of friends told him they were naming their child Raylan.