Raylan Givens
Encyclopedia
Raylan Givens is a fictional character
created by American
novel
ist and screenwriter
Elmore Leonard
.
Givens is a Deputy U.S. Marshal
and initially appeared in the novels Pronto
and Riding the Rap
. Leonard later penned the short story "Fire in the Hole". which became the basis for the television series Justified
. In April 2011, Leonard revealed in an interview that the success of Justified had inspired him to begin work on a new novel about the character, with the title Raylan.
. He is a native of Harlan County, Kentucky
. Raylan likes ice cream as mentioned on Justified. He has an intuition about people and their criminal intentions which usually leads to him shooting them despite his best efforts to resolve things peacefully. While Raylan is righteous he is not a by the book saint and has been known to corner certain adversaries with every intention to kill them. This is the very thing that lands Raylan back in Harlan at the start of Season One of Justified. In the novels, his hat is described as a flat-brimmed hat akin to the kind worn by the police officers in the photo of Lee Harvey Oswald's murder. According to the novel Pronto
, before he became a deputy marshal Givens served in the Marines. After proving himself in the field as an officer of the law, Givens became a shooting instructor at the US Marshals Service Basic Training Academy
. Givens was an expert marksman with a handgun and an expert at the fast draw.
Raylan Givens was first portrayed by actor James LeGros
in a 1997 television adaptation of Pronto. In early 2010, the FX Network premiered the television show Justified
starring Timothy Olyphant
in the role of Givens.
On his weblog, Elmore Leonard showed trepidation about the television show getting the correct hat for the character.
While the show Justified does not get the hat exactly correct, Leonard considers the show's portrayal of Givens to be perfect.
Givens is native to rural eastern Kentucky
mining hometown of Harlan County
but is assigned to Miami Beach, Florida
in the novels Pronto and Riding the Rap. For the short story "Fire in the Hole," Leonard has Givens returning to his roots and being assigned to Kentucky as a punishment for his actions in the previous novels.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
created by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
ist and screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
Elmore Leonard
Elmore Leonard
Elmore John Leonard Jr. , better known as Elmore Leonard, is an American novelist and screenwriter. His earliest published novels in the 1950s were westerns, but Leonard went on to specialize in crime fiction and suspense thrillers, many of which have been adapted into motion pictures.Among his...
.
Givens is a Deputy U.S. Marshal
United States Marshals Service
The United States Marshals Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice . The office of U.S. Marshal is the oldest federal law enforcement office in the United States; it was created by the Judiciary Act of 1789...
and initially appeared in the novels Pronto
Pronto (novel)
Pronto is a crime novel written by Elmore Leonard. Leonard introduces three main characters and gets them moving against each other. Harry is constantly reminiscing about World War II. Tommy carries a picture of the old crime boss Frank Costello in his wallet. Raylan is a detective cowboy...
and Riding the Rap
Riding the Rap
Riding the Rap is a 1995 crime fiction novel by Elmore Leonard. It is the sequel to Leonard's Pronto, released in 1993. Like Pronto, Riding the Rap centers around 67 year-old Harry Arno, World War II veteran and book maker, who has been skimming from the mob for decades...
. Leonard later penned the short story "Fire in the Hole". which became the basis for the television series Justified
Justified (TV series)
Justified is an American television drama series created by Graham Yost. It is based on Elmore Leonard's novels Pronto and Riding the Rap and his short story "Fire in the Hole". Its central character is Raylan Givens, a deputy U.S. Marshal. The series is set in the city of Lexington, Kentucky...
. In April 2011, Leonard revealed in an interview that the success of Justified had inspired him to begin work on a new novel about the character, with the title Raylan.
Depiction
In the novel Pronto, Givens is described as about forty years old, thin and rangy, and perpetually wearing a Cowboy hatCowboy hat
The cowboy hat is a high-crowned, wide-brimmed hat best known as the defining piece of attire for the North American cowboy. Today it is worn by many people, and is particularly associated with ranch workers in the western and southern United States, western Canada and northern Mexico, with...
. He is a native of Harlan County, Kentucky
Harlan County, Kentucky
Harlan County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It was formed in 1819. As of 2000, the population was 33,200. Its county seat is Harlan...
. Raylan likes ice cream as mentioned on Justified. He has an intuition about people and their criminal intentions which usually leads to him shooting them despite his best efforts to resolve things peacefully. While Raylan is righteous he is not a by the book saint and has been known to corner certain adversaries with every intention to kill them. This is the very thing that lands Raylan back in Harlan at the start of Season One of Justified. In the novels, his hat is described as a flat-brimmed hat akin to the kind worn by the police officers in the photo of Lee Harvey Oswald's murder. According to the novel Pronto
Pronto (novel)
Pronto is a crime novel written by Elmore Leonard. Leonard introduces three main characters and gets them moving against each other. Harry is constantly reminiscing about World War II. Tommy carries a picture of the old crime boss Frank Costello in his wallet. Raylan is a detective cowboy...
, before he became a deputy marshal Givens served in the Marines. After proving himself in the field as an officer of the law, Givens became a shooting instructor at the US Marshals Service Basic Training Academy
Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center serves as an interagency law enforcement training organization for 90 United States government federal law enforcement agencies.-Location:...
. Givens was an expert marksman with a handgun and an expert at the fast draw.
Raylan Givens was first portrayed by actor James LeGros
James LeGros
James LeGros is an American film and television actor. He is known as a star of independent films with a diversified body of work in the early to mid 1990s.-Personal life:...
in a 1997 television adaptation of Pronto. In early 2010, the FX Network premiered the television show Justified
Justified (TV series)
Justified is an American television drama series created by Graham Yost. It is based on Elmore Leonard's novels Pronto and Riding the Rap and his short story "Fire in the Hole". Its central character is Raylan Givens, a deputy U.S. Marshal. The series is set in the city of Lexington, Kentucky...
starring Timothy Olyphant
Timothy Olyphant
Timothy David Olyphant is an American actor whose notable roles in television drama series include Deadwood as Seth Bullock, Justified as Raylan Givens, The Office as Danny Cordray, and Damages as Wes Krulik...
in the role of Givens.
On his weblog, Elmore Leonard showed trepidation about the television show getting the correct hat for the character.
While the show Justified does not get the hat exactly correct, Leonard considers the show's portrayal of Givens to be perfect.
Givens is native to rural eastern Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
mining hometown of Harlan County
Harlan County, Kentucky
Harlan County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It was formed in 1819. As of 2000, the population was 33,200. Its county seat is Harlan...
but is assigned to Miami Beach, Florida
Miami Beach, Florida
Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on a barrier island between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the latter which separates the Beach from Miami city proper...
in the novels Pronto and Riding the Rap. For the short story "Fire in the Hole," Leonard has Givens returning to his roots and being assigned to Kentucky as a punishment for his actions in the previous novels.