'Dynamo' actress Aunjanue Ellis plays fierce Detroit lawyer in 'Justified: City Primeval'

In an early scene of FX’s “Justified: City Primeval,” Aunjanue Ellis’ character, Detroit defense attorney Carolyn Wilder, cross-examines Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) about his treatment of a Black defendant.

“I call him out for overreach and potentially being abusive of his power, and particularly in this moment that we're having (in the real world), where these kinds of things are coming to light,”’ says Ellis of the riveting face-off (during an interview conducted before the current SAG-AFTRA strike). Speaking for a moment as Carolyn chastising Raylan, she adds: “The things that you think you were doing, that in your world are cowboyish and cute, that don't work here. That don’t fly here. She stands up to that.”

Formidable and fearless, Carolyn, as brought to life by Ellis, leaves no doubt that the deputy U.S. marshal — who spent six angry, sexy seasons as the focus of the original “Justified” series — has met his match.

Sparks fly between the two lead characters throughout the eight-episode revival of the 2010-15 show. Like its predecessor, the new series deftly captures the unvarnished, brutal and sometimes funny tone of legendary Detroit novelist Elmore Leonard’s work.

According to Ellis, it was fun to play opposite Olyphant’s iconic lawman in the Motor City-set “Justified: City Primeval."

“For me, what ensured that it didn't become corny, for lack of a better word, is that I had a great time working with (Olyphant) and I just felt mad comfortable” says the 2022 Academy Award nominee.

“Just being Carolyn with him. (She and Raylan) have something in common. There's a sort of agreement that they have that the law does not necessarily bring justice. … They see sometimes the futility of it, the, unjust part of the law, particularly for her as a Black woman in America. And I think that shared agreement makes them meet at this place that I think is really interesting. So it goes beyond a meet-cute kind of thing.”

A skillful attorney burdened with financial troubles caused by the fraudulent schemes of her ex-husband, Carolyn is protective of her father figure, bar owner and former bass player Marcus (Sweety) Sweeton (Detroit native Vondie Curtis-Hall). That bond draws her into representing a vicious criminal, Clement Mansell (Boyd Holbrook), who’s on a dangerous collision course with Raylan.

Carolyn is the sort of complicated character that Ellis relishes portraying — and that the longtime actress is finally getting more opportunities to tackle since emerging over the past few years with a dazzling run of roles.

A string of successes

In 2019, Ellis was nominated as best lead actress in a limited series or movie for director Ava DuVernay’s heart-wrenching look at the Central Park Five, “When They See Us,” on Netflix. Two years later, she was competing again, this time as best actress in a drama for HBO’s “Lovecraft Country.”

Next came her Oscar nod for supporting actress for playing Oracene Price, the mother of tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams in “King Richard." That performance earned her several other nominations and honors during the 2022 awards season.

One of her favorite recent projects was the 2020 Lifetime movie “The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel.” In it, she played demanding, brilliant choir director and matriarch Mattie Moss Clark,  whose five daughters became international gospel stars.

Like “Justified: City Primeval, it, too, was set in Detroit, hometown of the renowned music family.

When asked whether she has a personal connection to the Motor City, Ellis, who was born in San Francisco and raised in Mississippi, says: “Well, in my own imagination, I do. My music life is in Detroit, ensconced in Detroit, and I say that because the makers of the music that I love so much and is so dear to me, sonically and personally, they come from Detroit.”

Although she doesn’t have any relatives here, she adds: “My ear has lived in Detroit. ... My ear and my heart.”

'A character and not an accessory'

Ellis describes the challenge of becoming Carolyn as “bringing this new sort of energy to this very established world.” As she puts it: “So, how do you enter it and maintain your singularity as a character? And at the same time, making sure that the story is told in a ‘Justified’ way?”

She credits Olyphant and showrunners and executive producers Michael Dinner and Dave Andro — all alums of the original “Justified” — with giving her creative space while at the same time preserving Leonard’s tone in a story that mashes up Raylan with a book he didn’t even appear in: 1980’s “City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit.”

Describing Olyphant’s commitment to staying true to Leonard’s style, she says,  “When I tell you that he carries that (Leonard) world on his back on his show, not just on his back, it's like, within his veins. ... He is a Leonard purist, he really, really is. And he is very intentional about making sure that what we are doing stays in what that show was doing, stays in that world. He really comes to work every day to honor Elmore Leonard.”

Dinner describes Ellis’ character as “really important because she opens Raylan’s eyes” and intrigues him by going toe-to-toe with him professionally. “This is a woman who is a dynamo. I mean, the actress is a dynamo,” he says.

Ellis admits that her key concern was ensuring “Carolyn was somebody who was a character and not an accessory” to the story, which falls into the action-drama genre that so often makes women one-dimensional figures.

“That is primary for me. … (In) my professional life, you know, I have not necessarily been the lead of a lot of these things. So sometimes you have to fight to not be the purse, to not be the wallet, to not be the shoes, to make sure that you have a singular voice.”

Says Ellis firmly: “I wanted to feel the fullness of her at all times.”

Speaking of fully developed roles, Ellis has several more of them on the way. She will star in DuVernay’s film adaption of “Caste,” the acclaimed book by Pulitzer winner Isabel Wilkerson on racism in America and how it relates to artificial hierarchies of discrimination around the globe.

She also will appear in the film version Colson Whitehead’s best-selling novel “The Nickel Boys” and the big-screen adaptation of “The Color Purple” musical. And she is co-starring with Uzo Adubo and Sanaa Latham in "The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat," which is about three longtime friends nicknamed after the essential Motown girl group.

“Last year, I had a great time doing a lot of great stuff,” she says. “’Justified’ was certainly one of those things."

Now all she wants for her career and her craft is more of the same. “Yeah, I want it to continue,” says Ellis of a future filled with substantial parts. “Yeah, keep it coming.”

Contact Detroit Free Press pop culture critic Julie Hinds at jhinds@freepress.com.

'Justified: City Primeval'

10 p.m. Tuesdays

FX (also streaming on Hulu)

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Aunjanue Ellis is 'a character and not an accessory' in 'Justified' revival