Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Stick season 1, episode 8.Timothy Olyphant made his first full appearance in Apple TV+‘sStick, and Clark Ross is easily his least likable TV character in years.Timothy Olyphant has had an unprecedented TV streakever since he starred inDeadwood: the actor has almost never been in anything bad. Part of that is just the quality of shows he’s part of, but it’s also partly due to the likability of Olyphant’s characters.
Olyphant has long been part of thecast ofStick, which has topped Apple TV+’s streaming charts for weeks now. Olyphant’s character, Clark Ross, only made his real appearance in episode 8, though.Stickmarked Olyphant’s first return to a live-action comedy show since a 2020 episode ofCurb Your Enthusiasm, but it was also his most unlikable TV character to date.
Timothy Olyphant Plays Stick’s Villain Clark Ross
Clark Ross Destroyed Pryce’s Golf Career & Is Generally A Huge Jerk
Timothy Olyphant’s character, Clark Ross, had only appeared in commercials for the ReadySafe invitational and in stories aboutPryce’s (Owen Wilson) golf career. For instance,we learned from Mitts (Marc Maron) that Clark caused Pryce’s meltdown at Sawgrass by saying something incredibly rude about his recently deceased son, Jett.Stickepisode 8, however, was the first time Clark actually got to interact with other characters.
AsStickepisode 8 proved, everything about Clark Ross is loathsome. He’s fake - from his tan to his “from the heart” speeches - he’s rude to his fans, he’s cocky, and he’s a massive, cruel jerk to Pryce in particular.We also learned that all of Clark’s successes - from a new golf academy to a steak house - stem from how he sabotaged Pryce at Sawgrass.
Luckily, as soon as we learned how much Clark sucks,Stickalso showed us him getting his comeuppance.Pryce, Mitts, Santi (Peter Dager), Elena (Mariana Treviño), and Zero (Lilli Kay) hustled Clark into giving Santi an exemption to play in the ReadySafe invitational. Pryce even got a chance to show that Clark couldn’t get to him anymore, and that he was a better golfer all along.
It’s also pretty clear that Clark is the main villain ofStick.Now that Santi has his exemption, the final two episodes ofStickare going to be a proxy battle between Pryce and Clark to see who is the better golf instructor. Clark, in his infinite cruelty, will likely have some way of sabotaging Pryce and Santi as well, which will help endStickwith a bang.
Clark Ross Is Timothy Olyphant’s Least Likable TV Role In Over A Decade
Olyphant Mostly Plays Heroes Or Anti-Heroes On TV, But Stick Makes Him Outright Hateable
Clark Ross is such an unlikable jerk inStickthat it’s easily Timothy Olyphant’s most irksome character in a decade. For the most part, Olyphant has played either heroes or anti-heroes on television, but even his more outright villainous characters aren’t necessarily unlikable. Even his villains inScream 2andLive Free or Die Hardweren’t people who you just wanted to punch in the face, but Clark is.
Even the characters who Olyphant plays that aren’t inherently good or evil, like Dick Wickware inFargo, have some redeeming qualities to them. Olyphant has also had some truly unlikable characters in the past.The fictionalized version ofOlyphant inThe Grinder, for instance, is one of the show’s most easy-to-hate villains. So is his character onThe Office, Danny Cordray, who had a brief relationship with Pam.
Clark Ross honestly may be the most unlikable character Olyphant has ever played. Almost everyone else has some redeeming quality, whether it be humor or Olyphant’s magnetic charm.The only role that really comes close isDamages, where Olyphant played the slimy, manipulative Wes Krulik. Even he, however, was later somewhat redeemed, whereas Clark is just despicable through and through.
Clark Ross honestly may be the most unlikable character Olyphant has ever played.
Regardless,it’s clear thatStickis a real break from Olyphant’s trend of playing characters with magnetic, likable personalities. It’s also a reminder of just how versatile Olyphant is: he’s known for his charm, but when a role demands he play a vile, irritating jerk, he’s just as convincing as he is playing Raylan Givens. Even Olyphant’s smile isn’t enough to make Clark feel less slimy.
Stick Is The Second Time Timothy Olyphant Has Played The Main Villain In 2025
Olyphant Also Played Vincent, A Dirty Cop, In Tom Hardy’s Havoc
Interestingly enough,Stickisn’t the first time Timothy Olyphant has played a main villain even this year. Olyphant also starred in thecast ofHavocalongside Tom Hardy.Olyphant played Vincent, a dirty cop who was trying to steal a shipment of cocaine from Hardy’s character, Patrick Walker. While it was a movie and not a show, it was an example of Olyphant playing an easy-to-hate villain.
Stickis also just the latest example of an ongoing trend for Timothy Olyphant,Recently, Olyphant has been taking on more villainous roles in movies and shows likeHavoc,Stick,Terminator: Zero, and evenTales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. He may even be playing villians in his upcoming series:Alien: Earthand the Anya Taylor-Joy-led showLucky, though details on both are sparse.
Though Olyphant has a history of playing good guys on television and bad guys in the movies, shows likeStickhave started to turn that around.Olyphant seems to be branching out quite a bit, and he’s taking on roles that challenge what audiences think of him. We already know, for example, that he’splaying a criminal instead of a lawman inLucky.
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Regardless of what Timothy Olyphant does next, one thing is clear: he can elevate whatever show he’s in with just a handful of scenes.Stickwas floundering for a while there, but now that it has a villain to rally against in the form of Clark, the show is actually finding its groove. If Olyphant’s effect onStickis anything to go by, then his next few TV shows are going to be special.
