The two have worked together several times since, including on “Justified.” He got small parts in Tony Scott’s 1990 “Days of Thunder” and Barbra Streisand’s 1991 drama “Prince of Tides” and hit pay dirt as the villainous Frank Bennett in 1991’s “Fried Green Tomatoes,” directed by Jon Avnet. After graduation, he tried his luck in New York for several years, got married and then moved back to North Carolina in 1989 when his wife became pregnant with Chloe, who is now an actress. Searcy began acting while attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “Art has a great deal of funny banter with Raylan, and then, in the next encounter, he can just unload on him,” Yost said. That Searcy can do both comedy and drama has been a huge advantage for the writers. So in the second season we made Art run! For the next two years, we’ve had to endure Nick complaining about it.” “We have used things from Nick’s life in the show,” noted Yost.

“From the moment I read Elmore Leonard’s novella, I knew I wanted Nick to play Art Mullen,” said Yost by email. “For 15 years, I had written him saying, ‘Don’t you ever think about me? I felt we were friends.’ ” “We have been friends ever since,” said Searcy. Searcy knew “Justified” executive producer/writer Graham Yost from “From the Earth to the Moon.” Like many top character actors, Searcy has worked with a wide assortment of directors and producers over the years. “He has the same kind of country sense of humor, a certain sarcasm,” explained Searcy, who hails from Cullowhee, N.C. When he first read a script of “Justified,” based on the Elmore Leonard novella “Fire in the Hole,” Searcy knew Mullen would be a perfect fit. “It’s my philosophy, when you are doing a TV series, I think it’s better off the closer you can make the character to yourself,” said Searcy. Spend time with the actor and you’ll quickly see the parallels between Searcy and Art Mullen.

Death by Nicholas Searcy