Timothy Olyphant returns as Raylan Givens in Justified: City Primeval with a cast of new and familiar faces joining him in the Justified spinoff.
Warning! Contains spoilers for the Justified: City Primeval season 1 finale! The Justified: City Primeval cast helps bring the FX spinoff series to life, with US Marshal Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) returning alongside a few familiar faces as well as a lot of exciting new characters. The new adventure set in the Justified universe finds the cowboy-hat-wearing lawman taking on a case in Detroit where he comes up against a reckless and deadly outlaw. While the show was more of a new Raylan adventure rather than a continuation of the Justified series, the Justified: City Primeval cast is a solid ensemble to carry on the franchise.
Justified premiered in 2010 and was based on the short story "Fire in the Hole" by Elmore Leonard. It follows Givens, a Miami Marshal who is reassigned to his home state of Kentucky where he comes up against the local criminal element which includes some people from his past. Likewise, Justified: City Primeval is based on a Leonard novel, though interestingly, not one that originally featured the character of Raylan Givens. However, this new story is perfectly suited to the Justified brand as it mixes the tone of a Western with a gritty modern crime setting. The result is an exciting return for Olyphant's Raylan Givens that's made all the better by the rest of the ensemble Justified: City Primeval cast.
Timothy Olyphant As Raylan Givens
Timothy Olyphant leads the cast of Justified: City Primeval, returning to his Emmy-nominated role as U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens. Olyphant got his start in Hollywood with standout roles in the 90s in movies like Scream 2 and Go. Olyphant stepped into the role of Raylan effortlessly, bringing a charming cowboy swagger that felt reminiscent of some classic Clint Eastwood Western characters. Olyphant's talent for playing a Western lawman type ended up becoming a trend in some of his most recent starring roles.
Though Raylan does not appear in the novel City Primeval, he seems to be stepping into the role of Raymond Cruz from that story. Justified: City Primeval finds Raylan dealing with raising his young rebellious daughter as his lawman occupation strains their relationship. Soon he is dragged into a new problem while passing through Detroit that puts him in the crosshairs of a murder while also dealing with the Albanian mob, crooked cops, and a new love interest.
Prior to Justified, Olyphant lead the HBO Western drama Deadwood as Seth Bullock, a similarly hot-headed lawman. Recently, he played a Marshal in Fargo season 4 as well as Cobb Vanth in The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. He also appeared as TV cowboy James Stacy in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Recently, Olyphant starred in the Prime Video series Daisy Jones and the Six and will soon be seen alongside Tom Hardy in the Netflix action movie Havoc as well as Steven Soderbergh's limited series Full Circle.
Boyd Holbrook As Clement Mansell
Boyd Holbrook joins the Justified: City Primeval cast as the villain of the spinoff, Clint Mansell. Mansell will murder someone on a whim and without thinking, and his hair-trigger temper kicks off the season 1 story. However, he is also more intelligent as his reckless behavior seems to imply, able to keep himself one step ahead of the law and find loopholes to avoid getting arrested. However, his real dream is making music though he proves to be overly sensitive about what people might think of his potential as a rockstar.
Holbrook made his movie debut in the Oscar-winning Milk with Sean Penn. He found his breakout role in the first season of Narcos and has since starred in movies like Gone Girl, Predators, and Logan. He most recently appeared in the cast of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and will next appear alongside Austin Butler and Tom Hardy in The Bikeriders.
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor As Carolyn Wilder
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor stars as Carolyn Wilder in the Justified: City Primeval cast. Wilder is a defense lawyer who is hired by Mansell. She is tough and has a particular problem with Raylan's perceived habit of taking the law into his own hands. Regardless, the two form a romantic relationship as Wilder attempts to bury her troubled past and pursue her career ambitions
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor recently earned her first Oscar nomination for her performance in King Richard opposite Will Smith. Ellis-Taylor has also had a trend in her career of appearing in a number of music biopics, including Ray, Notorious, and Get on Up. She will next be seen in Ava DuVernay's Origin and the musical version of The Color Purple.
Vondie Curtis-Hall As Sweety
Vondie Curtis-Hall joins the Justified: City Primeval cast as Sweety. Elmore L Sweetie as a local Detroit bar owner and criminal who has a criminal past with Mansell. When Mansell reenters his life with a valuable bit of information, Sweetie attempts to get rich before riding himself of Mansell for good.
Curtis-Hall is a veteran actor who made his first on-screen movie appearance in Eddie Murphy's comedy classic Coming to America. He has starred in movies such as Die Hard 2 and Crooklyn, but fans likely know him best for his role as Ben Urich in the first season of Netflix's Daredevil series.
Marin Ireland As Maureen Downey
Marin Ireland is Maureen Downey in the Justified: City Primeval cast. Maureen is a fellow Detroit cop who works alongside Raylan that's dedicated both to her career and being a caring wife and mother. However, when a high-profile case falls on her shoulders, Maureen proves she is willing to bend the law in order to look good to her superiors.
Ireland was working alongside the Justified: City Primeval team on the Prime Video series Sneaky Pete prior to joining the cast of the Justified spinoff. She has also appeared on shows like Y: The Last Man and The Umbrella Academy as well as movies like Hell or High Water and Martin Scorsese's The Irishman.
Victor Williams As Wendell Robinson
Victor Williams stars in the Justified: City Primeval cast as Wendell Robinson. Wendell is another Detroit detective who Raylan is teamed with when he is asked to assist on the local case. He is a veteran cop who is not as eager and motivated as his younger colleagues and has a certain weariness when it comes to the job after all these years.
Williams is an actor with a long career working on a wide variety of shows prior to joining the Justified spinoff cast. Most recently, he was a recurring star o the thriller series The Affair. Audiences might know him best as Doug's best friend Deacon on the sitcom The King of Queens starring Kevin James.
Adelaide Clemens As Sandy Stanton
Adelaide Clemens joins the cast of Justified: City Primeval as Sandy Stanton. Though not nearly as bloodthirsty, Sandy is Mansell's partner in crime as well as his girlfriend. Along with hiding him from the law when they are on the hunt for him, Sandy is a key part of Mansell's robbery schemes, finding and seducing wealthy men who can be targeted. However, while Sandy is a willing participant of these crimes, she is scared by what Mansell is capable of.
Prior to her part in Justified: City Primeval, Adelaide Clemens has starred in acclaimed series including the underrated Rectify as Tawney Talbot and recently alongside Andrew Garfield in the true-crime thriller Under the Banner of Heaven.
Walton Goggins As Boyd Crowder
The biggest surprise cameo in the Justified: City Primeval cast is Walton Goggins returning as outlaw Boyd Crowder. A veteran of the small screen outside Justified, Walton Goggins is known for standout performances in multiple shows including Sons of Anarchy and The Shield. Goggins was the second lead in the series with much of Justified focusing on his life as a criminal in Harlan County.
The Justified finale ended with Boyd behind bar which is where the audience finds him in Justified: City Primeval. After giving a sermon in the prison church in which he claims he is being transferred due to a life-threatening illness, Boyd reveals an elaborate escape plan with the help of a female guard he has formed a romance with. The end of Justified: City Primeval hints at a new story with Raylan chasing down his own adversary.
Natalie Zea As Winona Hawkins
The Justified: City Primeval cast included a surprise cameo from the original Jusitifed when Natalie Zea reprised her roles as Winona Hawkins. The finale of Justified: City Primeval finds Raylan returning to Miami and reuniting with his daughter. He also sees his ex-wife Winona who had an on-again-off-agin relationship throughout their lives.
Though they made plans to give their relationship another try after Willa was born, the time-jump in the Justified finale revealed it didn't work out and Winona found a new man. Raylan's job was the main reason for their problems, so she has mixed feelings when he tells her he is retiring in the sequel's finale. The final Justified: City Primeval scene between Raylan and Winona is willed with a sadness of what might have been.
Matt Craven As Dan Grant
Dan Grant was first introduced in the Justified pilot as Raylan's boss in Miami who send Raylan to Kentucky after a questionable shooting incident. Dan is brought back in Justified: City Primeval as he is retiring from his position as Deputy Marshal and even entertains the idea of recommending Raylan for the job only to have Raylan quit. Reprising the role of Dan Grant from the original Justified is Canadian character actor Matt Craven.
David Koechner As Greg Sutter
Another quick cameo in Justified: City Primeval is from David Koechner as Marshal Greg Sutter. Keochner guest-starred on season 5 of Justified as Sutter who was a Miami Marshal who Raylan worked alongside when he was in town on a case. Sutter returned in the Justified final or a quick appearance showing that Raylan was working in the Miami office alongside Sutter now. The Justified: City Primeval finale finds Sutter still working for the Miami office as he gives a speech at Dan Grant's retirement party.
Justified: City Primeval Supporting Cast
Vivian Olyphant As Willa Givens: Olyphant is the real-life daughter of the show's star Timothy Olyphant, appropriately playing the daughter of Raylan Givens in this spinoff series. Willa Givens first appeared in Justified season 4 as an infant before being seen as a young child during the time jump in the show's series finale. The new show picks up with her now a teenager on a road trip with her lawman father which gets interrupted by him being brought in on the case in Detroit. Justified: City Primeval marks Vivian Olyphant's onscreen debut.
Alexander Pobutsky As Skender Luljuraj: Skender is a wealthy Albanian who becomes the target of Mansell's latest scheme when he is roped in by Sandy and convinced that he wants to marry her. While he is duped into this trap set by Mansell, Skender also has some powerful friends who have his back. Pobutsky is a relative newcomer with small roles on Daisy Jones and the Six and The Blacklist.
David Cross As Burt Dickey: Dickey is a wealthy businessman who becomes a target of blackmail by Mansell and Sweetie. Cross is a comedian and actor who starred in the Mr. Show alongside Bob Odenkirk. He is also known for playing Tobias Funke on Arrested Development and for his long career as a stand-up comedian.
Keith David As Judge Alvin Guy: Alvin Guy is a Detroit judge with a controversial reputation. It is a run-in Guy has with Mansell that kicks off the action of the story. Keith David is a veteran actor who has appeared in such classic movies as Platoon, The Thing, and Requiem for a Dream. recently, he appeared in Jordan Peele's Nope.
Paul Calderon As Raymond Cruz: Though Raylan Givens takes over as the main character of Justified: City Primeval, the main character from the original novel does make an appearance. Raymond Cruz is brought into the story as a retired Detroit cop who tried to bring Mansell down years ago and who Raylan seeks out for advice. In a fun connection in the Elmore Leonardo universe, Calderon played Raymond Cruz in the film adaptation of Leonard's Out of Sight, making Justified: City Primeval a pseudo-sequel to Out of Sight.
