Note: This interview was conducted before the SAG-AFTRA strike. The following “Full Circle” interview with Timothy Olyphant discusses spoilers through Episode 3.
As Steven Soderbergh’s series “Full Circle” unravels a deeply woven web of secrets and deception for its viewers, the Max series drops a bomb in Episode 3 by revealing Nicky’s true connection to the Browne family — a revelation that raises the stakes for one particular member of the family.
While Nicky, who was accidentally kidnapped in place of Jared, has been stealing Jared’s clothing and other personal items for an unknown reason, a visit from Nicky’s mom, Charisse, to the Mel’s office unveils the identity of Nicky’s father as Jared’s father, Derek (Timothy Olyphant). Charisse, who hints that she is in a financial agreement that necessitates her silence, explains that she and Nicky have an arrangement for them to live apart, though his mental health struggles led him to have somewhat of an obsession with his father.
The revelation, of course, retroactively raises the stakes for Derek on the night of the kidnapping after he confirmed one son was safe while the other’s life was on the chopping block. As Derek makes several sketchy phone calls referring to a “family matter” throughout the evening, Olyphant confirms his character knew the boy on the other line was his son when Nicky tells the Browne family to “call Charisse.”
“I remember shooting the scene with the kidnappers [and] there’s a name that the kid says on the line,” Olyphant told TheWrap. “It seems to me, he’s put two and two together at that point, if he hadn’t already.”
While Sam (Claire Danes) and her parents (Dennis Quaid and Suzanne Savoy) make the decision to put their money on the line to save a teenage boy with their moral compass, Derek heads out into the mission armed with the pressure to save his other son — a reality unknown to the rest of the family.
“What’s fascinating is that it’s hard to read early on what’s driving him,” Olyphant continued. “Is what’s driving him to save his kid is what or is it to keep the secret buried? Is he putting himself out there in a heroic sort of gesture because it’s the right thing to do, or it’s because he’s still trying to hold on to maybe he can save his ass, and this ‘never happened’ kind of feeling?”
Though only “two words” characterized Olyphant’s initial interest in the project — “Steven Soderbergh” — the “Justified” actor found himself quickly entangled in the script for the six-episode limited series, which he read within a 24-hour period before immediately reading the first few again.
For Olyphant, Derek and the other characters are “full of contradictions,” prompting him to dive into what Derek’s “version of the truth” was.
“One thing that might have been a somewhat worthwhile question is, ‘what’s his memory of how things went?’ because memory is an unreliable narrator,” Olyphant said. “It’s been my experience in any relationship, when you look back at moments that are contentious, it’s always surprising to me how many people have different recollections of how things went, and why things went, and what was the issue at the time.”
“Full Circle” is now streaming on Max.
