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| “ | Did you wake up this morning thinking today was another opportunity to mess up some bad guy's day? I did. | „ |
| ~ Raylan Givens. |
| “ | He pulled first; It's justified. | „ |
| ~ Raylan Givens on shooting Tommy Bucks. |
Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens is the main protagonist of the FX tv series Justified and Justified: City Primeval, but initially appeared in the novel Pronto and Riding the Rap written by Elmore Leonard.
He was portrayed by James LeGros in 1997 television adaptation of Pronto, and by Timothy Olyphant (who also played Agent 47 in the titular 2007 film and Cobb Vanth in The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, and voiced the Spirit of the West in Rango and Grinch in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3) and Danny Wildman young in the FX series Justified.
History
Background
He is a 19th-century style lawman in 21st-century Kentucky. He is a quirky, dedicated marshal who, having committed a justified killing in Florida (he shot a mob hit man who had just drawn a gun on him with intent to kill, although Raylan was hoping he would draw his weapon to give him an excuse to shoot him.), has been re-assigned to his hometown in Kentucky.
Having grown up in Harlan County and having spent much of his life trying to escape from it, Raylan is not pleased to be sent back there. Ghosts from his past — including his ex-wife, a former friend now involved in criminal militia activity, a criminal father, and his own persistent anger management issues — all come back to haunt him. With the deaths of his father (Arlo), his step-mother (Helen) and mother (Frances), Raylan and his daughter are the only living members of the Givens family.
Biography
Novels
In the novels, Raylan's background is shown in that he is native of Harlan County, and that he was in the United States Marine Corps before being being assigned as weapons instructor at the U.S. Marshals Service Basic Training in Georgia. Though a U.S. Marshal, Givens has the intention to kill his adversaries on most occasions despite acting righteous. Due to his actions, Givens is assigned to his home town as punishment in the short story "Fire in the Hole".
Justified
Early Life
Raylan Givens was born in 1970, Harlan, Kentucky to Arlo and Frances Givens, and was also raised by his maternal aunt, Helen. As a child, Raylan was abused by his father Arlo, a criminal who remained emotionally distant from his son, who would often run away from home to his aunt. When his mother passed away, Helen married Arlo, becoming Raylan's stepmother and continued to raise him. Due to his father being a criminal, Raylan became familiar with the criminal element in Harlan, which became useful to him when he was older. Raylan later became a coal miner in his late teens alongside his childhood friend Boyd Crowder, but would leave off to college due to being disgusted by his home town's corruption and crime.
Joining the Deputy U.S. Marshals, Raylan would spend much of his career pursuing fugitives, with most of them being his former childhood friends. Law enforcement would send Givens across the states on several assignments, and was later assigned as the U.S. Marshal weapons instructor due to being an expert marksman. In Georgia while instructing, Raylan met Art Mullen, who would become his boss and somewhat of a mentor. While continuing his service, Raylan met a woman named Winona, and the two married before getting a divorce after she had an affair with the realtor Gary Hawkins. Despite his divorce, Givens remained in the force and was transferred to Miami, Florida. Before the events of the series, Raylan became known for his Western attire, which made him appear as a cowboy or a gunslinger for his marksmanship, and was determined to stop criminals and fugitives to protect the innocent.
Quotes
| “ | Ever get the feeling God's laughing at you? | „ |
| ~ Raylan to Art Mullen. |
| “ | You make me pull, and I'll put you down. | „ |
| ~ Raylan to Boyd Crowder. |
| “ | I've shot people I liked more for less. | „ |
| ~ Raylan Givens. |
| “ | Dear Lord, before we eat this meal, we ask forgiveness for our sins, especially Boyd, who blew up a black church with a rocket launcher, and afterwards, he shot his associate, Jared Hale, in the back of the head out on Tates Creek Bridge. Let the image of Jared's brain matter on that windshield not dampen our appetites, but may the knowledge of Boyds past sins help guide these men. May this food provide them with all the nourishment they need. But if it does not, may they find comfort in knowing that the United States marshals service is offering $50,000 to any individual providing information that'll put Boyd back in prison. Cash or check. We can make it out to them or to Jesus, whoever they want. In Your name, we pray. Amen. | „ |
| ~ Raylan to Boyd's congregation. |
| “ | If you run into an asshole in the morning, you ran into an asshole. If you run into assholes all day, you're the asshole. | „ |
| ~ Raylan to Jodie Adair. |
| “ | You're not gonna say anything, hmm? Just lie there and wait me out. Doc says you've been in and out and there's a chance you'd sleep all the time I was here, but we both know you're too mean to go that easy, so come on. Give me something. I ain't asking for an apology. Hell, that'd take too long, and I don't want any fatherly advice. Figure if you had any worth giving, you wouldn't be circling the drain in a prison infirmary. Just give me something. Who's Drew Thompson? Not for me, for your grandkids. They can grow up with a chief deputy for a daddy, hear stories about their granddaddy who wasn't just a son of a b**ch. | „ |
| ~ Raylan to his father. |
Trivia
- He has appeared in every episode of the series.