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Fire in the hole!
~ Boyd's most famous quote.
Truth always sounds like lies to a sinner.
~ Boyd Crowder.
You looking for this? Disposed of murder victims for money, well, that leaves a bad taste in a Christian's mouth. Small town don't run on a 24-hour news cycle. A small town never forgets. Now, word's gonna burn through these hills in Harlan like a wildfire. People of Harlan County, rich and poor, will marvel at your debasement and venality. They will spit venom when they speak your name. And they will take your suicide as the last pact of a coward. Now your reputation is ruined, your good word worthless, but death will not be the end of your suffering. For generations your children, and your children's children will have a mark against their name, and that will be your legacy.
~ Boyd, to Lee Paxton, before he kills him.
I am the outlaw, and this is my world, and my world has a high cost of living.
~ Boyd Crowder.

Boyd Crowder is the main antagonist of Elmore Leonard' neo-western novella Fire in the Hole and its adapted TV series Justified, and a minor character in its sequel TV series Justified: City Primeval.

He is a career criminal from Harlan, Kentucky, the son of drug lord Bo Crowder and cousin of Johnny Crowder. He's also the former owner of a local watering hole as well as his own group of thugs. He's Raylan Givens' former friend/colleague at mining and archenemy.

He is played by Walton Goggins, who also played Shane Vendrell in The Shield, Walter Stans in Predators, Billy Crash in Django Unchained, El Cameleón in Machete Kills, Laugher in American Ultra, Chris Mannix in The Hateful Eight, Lee Russell in Vice Principals, Mathias Vogel in Tomb Raider, Sonny Birch in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Hendricks in Spirit Untamed and The Ghoul in Fallout.


Biography[]

Early life[]

Boyd was born and raised in the Harlan, Kentucky area. His father came from a long line of criminals who dominated Harlan, Bo Crowder, Boyd's father, specifically became the most powerful boss in the city. Through his brothers, cousins and father, Boyd became involved in crime from an early age and closely observed how this world worked.

Eventually, Boyd met Raylan Givens, son of Arlo Givens who was an associate of Bo Crowder. The two young boys worked in the Harlan coal mines, becoming best friends. One day, the two almost died in one of the mine explosions, and this event linked them for life.

After Raylan left Harlan to become a federal marshal, Boyd also left town and joined the United States Army in Afghanistan. After a few years, Boyd returned to Harlan. After being arrested for failing to pay his fees, Boyd served a sentence in federal prison and for years built a relationship with neo-Nazis and white supremacists. Many of Boyd's criminal cousins and brothers overlooked this sudden partnership, believing that Boyd was too smart to submit to a new belief so quickly and was probably just gathering followers for his criminal endeavors. Although this was true, Boyd never admitted it. He began robbing banks and committing various types of criminal acts until the beginning of the first season of Justified.

Justified[]

Season 1[]

At the beginning of the series, Boyd is taking a new member of the neo-Nazis on a tour of the city. He then decides to blow up a church because its pastor grows and sells marijuana. After that, he kills the new member because he thinks he is a federal informant. The next day, Boyd meets Raylan again after years, who has just been relocated to Kentucky after killing a criminal in a public place in Miami. Although they still respect each other, Raylan and Boyd are on opposite sides of the law, which puts them at odds. Boyd threatens to go after Raylan if he doesn't leave town within twenty-four hours, just like Raylan did to Tommy Bucks in Miami before killing him.

The next night, he takes Ava hostage and makes her call Raylan knowing that he will run to save her. At Ava's house, Raylan and Boyd confront each other, both armed and ready to kill each other. Raylan shoots first and decides to hit his old friend in a non-vital spot. After being arrested and taken to a hospital, Boyd claims to have been born a new man. God had given him a new chance. Raylan visits Boyd a few times in prison during this period.

Upon leaving prison, Boyd was greeted by his father, Bo, who had been released from prison a few weeks earlier. Bo hopes that Boyd will want to join him, but Boyd takes a different path and forms a cult of sorts in the woods with old friends and followers. His pseudo-religion follows Boyd's orders without hesitation, and he becomes a kind of vigilante who wants to prevent Harlan from being corrupted. This includes coming into conflict with his own father who made a deal with his associate Gio Reyes. Gio intends to transport heroin to Harlan through Bo. After blowing up a shipment of Gio's, Boyd declares war on his own father's organization. Bo decides to punish Boyd by killing all of his cult members, making Boyd question God's plan for him. Wanting revenge, he decides to team up with Raylan to go after Bo, who at this point is already being hunted by Gio after he accused him of not being able to keep control of Harlan and his own son.

Arriving at Bo's old hideout, Boyd comes face to face with his father, about to kill him. However, at that moment, Bo is killed by Gio's two henchmen and nephews, Pilar and Ernesto. Shocked, Boyd is also injured by a gunshot, and takes shelter in the cabin with Ava and Raylan. While Raylan leaves to confront the two Reyes, Ava runs away and Boyd decides to go after Pilar, responsible for his father's death. When confronted about her actions, Boyd claims that he was the one who should have killed his father. Raylan gets in his friend's way, preventing him from going after Pilar. But Boyd says if Raylan really is his only friend in the world, he'll let him go. Raylan stays behind, watching Boyd flee in a car after Pilar.

Season 2[]

After being prevented by Raylan from killing Pilar, Boyd fled from authorities and refused to give a statement about the cabin shooting. Raylan, after searching for him, discovers that Crowder is working in the Harlan coal mines again. According to Boyd, he wants to leave crime behind and live in peace. He also started living with Ada, and paying rent to maintain the house. Still, Boyd is constantly recognized at the mine, and many of his colleagues fear him. Eventually, Boyd is approached by three of his colleagues to steal the mine boss's safe. Boyd tries to fight the urge to commit the criminal act again, but his three colleagues force him to. Under pressure, Boyd betrays them to the mine and uses dynamite to trick them into blowing up part of the mine.

The mine bosses, high up at the Black Pike company, hire Boyd as personal security for the company representative in Harlan. Initially, Boyd appears to accept the Black Pike contract for the money and out of loyalty. However, he soon reveals his own intentions by making a secret deal with Mags Bennet to take control of Harlan. Boyd decides to return to his life of crime, gathering allies like his cousin Johnny Crowder and Devil. He goes to war with the Bennets, and even steals their marijuana. During this period, Boyd also becomes romantically involved with Ava after months of sexual tension.

After Ava is shot by Dickie Bennet, Boyd seeks revenge and saves Raylan Givens' life after finding Dickie torturing him with a baseball bat. Raylan, in turn, stops Boyd from killing Dickie because he wants to use him to break into the Bennets' hideout and save the life of a girl named Loretta McCready. According to Raylan, he will use Dickie for this purpose and then return him to Boyd to kill him. Boyd lets Raylan go, believing in his promise. With Mags Bennet's death, he takes over a large part of Harlan's criminal world.

Season 3[]

Months after the war between Crowders and Bennets, Boyd is at the federal building in Lexington on his way to visit Raylan. In the meeting room, they both have a heated argument, ending with a physical fight where Boyd wins, considering that Raylan was still injured from the shootout with the Bennets. Either way, Boyd is arrested, just as he wanted. Boyd wanted to interrogate Dickie Bennet in prison, to find out the location of the supposed three million dollars that Megs Bennet had hidden before she died. These millions were the Bennets' savings from a lifetime of crime, and Boyd wants that money to invest in his new criminal empire. In prison, he interrogates Dickie, and discovers that the money is with Ellstin Limehouse. A local crime boss and leader of a black Kentucky community, located in Noble's Holler.

Knowing that Limehouse will never hand over the money to Boyd, he tries to become his partner, with the two having periodic meetings on the outskirts of the city. In the meantime, a member of the Dixie Mafia, Robert Quarles, comes from Detroit to seize power from Harlan and expand his business. After some confrontations with Boyd, Robert convinces a dissatisfied Devil to betray Boyd's organization and try to kill him. However, Devil is quickly betrayed by his partner, Johnny, and Boyd kills him. He and Arlo bury Devil in the woods, near a lake, as Boyd refused to dispose of the body methodically as he considered Devil a friend.

For the rest of the season, Boyd and Quarles fight a cold war for control of Harlan in a sheriff election. Ultimately, after much corruption and reverse engineering, Crowder's voter, Shelby, wins the election and becomes sheriff of Harlan. After losing everything and being threatened by Boyd, Quarles becomes desperate and seeks Limehouse's assistance. Things heat up after he tries to kill Boyd, and makes dirty deals with Wynn Duffy. After problems with Arlo, Shelby calls Boyd and tells him that the feds are looking for Devil's body in the woods. This information had apparently been given by Limehouse because of a deal he made with Raylan. Boyd is arrested after finding Devil's body. He and Raylan argue at the federal building in Lexington, with Arlo taking the blame for Devil's murder at the end of the season, and with Boyd being freed and embraced by Ava.

Season 4[]

Months after the war with Quarles, Boyd continues to invest in his criminal presence in Harlan. After his Oxy business declines due to the sermons of a priest named Billy St. Cyr, Boyd decides to do something about it. Furthermore, during this period, Boyd welcomes his old friend from the military police into his operation, a man named Colton. Boyd shows extreme trust in Colt, due to the fact that they both served together in Afghanistan. After some time, Boyd confronts Billy at his church, daring him to be bitten by a snake. Due to the actions of Billy's sister, Cassie, the young pastor believes he has God's protection due to the countless acts of danger he puts himself in during his preaching. However, many of the results of these acts are Cassie's work. Because he believes he is protected by God, Billy accepts Boyd's challenge and is bitten by the snake, only then to die from its venom.

Looking for a house in Harlan, and looking to move up in life, Boyd decides to make some deals with Wynn Duffy, an associate of the Detroit Mafia. Boyd is tasked with looking for an alleged criminal who came into conflict with the head of the Detroit mafia decades ago, named Drew Thompson, who by now must have another identity. Boyd spends the rest of the season searching for Drew, which leads to him clashing with Raylan Givens numerous times. Furthermore, Boyd's friend Colt fails to kill a prostitute named Ellen May. This causes numerous problems as Ellen May witnessed the murder of Delroy Baker, the previous boss of the house of prostitution where Ellen May works and who was abusive towards her. In search of Drew, Boyd also comes into contact with some of Harlan's corrupt philanthropists, who force him to do dirty work for them. However, Boyd manages to blackmail them all and use them as puppets.

After finding Drew Thompson, who was Harlan County's own sheriff this whole time, Shelby, Boyd tries to deliver him to Detroit before the feds take him out of the county. However, Boyd's plan turns against him, even more so after failing to recover Ellen May who was under the protection of Ellstin Limehouse. Boyd is also betrayed by his own cousin, Johnny Crowder, who is exiled from the family business. With Colt's death, and with Drew and Ellen May under federal protection, Boyd is forced to find Delroy's body before the cops find it based on Ellen May's information. Boyd tries to make a deal with Lee Paxton, one of the real estate bosses he had blackmailed before.

But once again, Boyd's plan goes awry, as Ava tries to move Delroy's body alone and is caught by the cops. With Ava arrested, a heartbroken Boyd is forced to make a deal with Wynn Duffy, now representing the Detroit mob, to move heroin into Harlan. Something that Boyd never imagined himself doing, since in the first season he had exploded a shipment of heroin trying to stop it from being sold in the county.

Season 5[]

With Ava's arrest, Boyd is forced to team up with Wynn Duffy in his heroin business. However, after their shipment is stolen, Boyd and Duffy visit Detroit in order to resolve the issue with the Dixie Mafia. However, it now finds itself at war with the Canadians. Dixie Mafia leader Sammy Tonin is killed by his henchman, Ethan Picker, in front of Boyd and Wynn. Picker reveals that he killed Sammy because of a secret agreement he made with the Canadians, with the only way to end the war being by killing Tonin and Picker leading what was left of the Dixie Mafia after the war. Boyd and Duffy don't share Picker's vision, and so they meet with their Canadian contacts to secure a new heroin pipeline. The Canadians refuse to be directly involved in Boyd and Duffy's business, but offer a contact in Mexico.

Boyd later visits the mansion of Harlan's Illuminati member Lee Paxton. After begging on his knees for Lee to intervene in Ava's case in prison, Paxton refuses, and Boyd almost beats him to death. Lee's wife, Mara, sees everything and is coerced by Boyd into saying nothing. Boyd bitterly regrets this decision later, as Ava's case would now become more complicated. At the hospital where Paxton is being treated, Boyd meets with Mara, who promises not to say anything to the police if Boyd pays her. Boyd also discovers that the Canadians' shipment was attacked.

As the season progresses, Ava's situation gets worse, but Boyd has his own problems to deal with. While Dewey Crowe discovers that the brothel Boyd sold him was worth much less, Boyd also investigates the nature of the attack on his shipments alongside Wynn Duffy. The investigation leads him to discover that his cousin Johnny Crowe is responsible for the attacks. Some time later, Boyd and Johnny meet in prison while visiting Ava, and their hostility increases. Boyd also sabotages Lee Paxton's influence in the town by having the corrupt sheriff, Nick Mooney, find dead bodies that Boyd himself had planted in one of Paxton's funeral homes. After this, Boyd breaks into Paxton's house, and kills him in his own bed. Boyd later visits Gunnar Swift, a white supremacist whom Boyd knew from years ago. He asks Gunnar's sister, who is trapped in the same place as Ava, for a favor to protect her. However, Gunnar sabotages the plan, making his sister make Ava a target of her associates in prison because Boyd abandoned the cause of white supremacists and became a traitor.

Boyd, after recruiting Deryl Crowe and his family through Dewey, breaks into Gunnar's warehouse and forces him to accept his deal to protect Ava. With his new Crowe associates, Boyd goes to Mexico in an attempt to secure his new heroin contact. However, at the contact's mansion, Johnny is already there. Boyd and Johnny argue, and after being taken to the desert, Boyd kills Johnny and a huge gunfight ensues. With the shipment in hand, they travel through the desert, and are even approached by corrupt police officers. Boyd suspects that Deryl has his own plans with the heroine, but decides to let Crowe play his own game. Tension between the two increases, even more so after Dewey steals the shipment and ruins Deryl's plans to use the shipment to coerce Boyd into taking him on as his associate. At this point, Duffy's bosses and associates, Picker, and Katherine Hale arrive in Harlan. They express concern about leaving the heroine's protection to the Crowes, and they are proven right. Tired of being accused by Picker, Boyd kills him with a bomb hidden in a cigarette pack. Furious, the Mexican contacts, led by Alberto, seek to kill Boyd. After a tense confrontation at Boyd's bar, and then at Ava's house, where Boyd is taken hostage by Alberto. He is only saved by Tim and Rachel, federal agents. With Deryl's death, and the end of the heroine's plot, Boyd decides to withdraw from his criminal business. Later, Boyd discovers that Ava was released from prison under curious circumstances. However, Katherine Hale and Wynn Duffy offer him one more job, robbing a bank. Boyd accepts with a smile.

Season 6[]

???

Justified: City Primeval[]

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Personality[]

I've been accused of being a lot of things... inarticulate ain't one of them.
~ Boyd Crowder

Boyd is a highly intelligent, idealistic, perceptive, sagacious, and well-versed individual. Growing up around several other stronger and more brutal criminals, Boyd always tried to use other beliefs and people to come out on top. For example, at the beginning of the series he becomes involved with neo-Nazis, although it is clear to all his relatives and close friends that Boyd does not believe in any of his associates' beliefs and only uses them to rob banks. Still, Boyd shows traits of redemption, loyalty, and honesty when he commits himself to evangelism and abandons a life of crime to found his own pseudo-church in the wilds of Harlan. Throughout the series, he takes on different roles as he tries to change his life, from a miner to a private security guard. Still, Boyd can't escape himself, and who he is. Ultimately, he embraces his crime boss persona, and does whatever it takes to protect the interests of his organization and his allies.

Still, it's clear that much of what Boyd does is to protect Harlan County as a whole. In his view, it is better for him to be in control of the city than another criminal from outside trying to tarnish the local culture. In any case, Boyd is not completely against the materialistic expansionism coming from outside the county, as he defends the Black Pipe company in the second season.

At the beginning of the series, Boyd completely values the loyalty of his companions and associates. However, after being betrayed countless times, he becomes increasingly violent and suspicious of everyone around him, especially those who come from outside the county. Boyd appears to have an aversion to authority, considering that his entire life he has been underestimated and disregarded by his father, his country (in the army), and brothers. Because of this, Crowder carries with him a feeling of rebellion against local institutions, other crime bosses, and even people closest to him. Over the course of the story, he learns to mask such controlling intentions repressed by years of mediocrity, using the justification that he is just defending the good people in Harlan.

His years in the army seem to have given Boyd an air of sinicism and dry sarcasm, as he constantly makes fun of the contradictions created by Harlan's federal and governmental activities personified in Raylan Givens, his former best friend and rival. Boyd is a compulsive reader, constantly using phrases from famous authors during his speeches to victims, rivals, and audiences. He is often outrageous when at war with a rival gang or boss, and seems to expect his enemies to initially underestimate him until he shows who he really is. Crowder became bitter and cautious about religion after the demise of his church, believing that God had abandoned him and left him to his fate.

Boyd is generally calm, and prefers to talk to his enemies rather than try to intimidate them. However, depending on the situation, Boyd can become extremely hostile towards those he considers inferior, especially those who disrespect him and his family name. He also has a very high dress sense, preferring to wear dark suits and formal jackets. Boyd can also easily take advantage of an unsuspecting person, such as when he sold a bar to Dewey Crowe for a much higher price than the place would normally be worth. Although Crowder has a very high opinion of himself, at several points in the series his instinct for self-preservation speaks much louder than what he feels for those around him. Because of this, Boyd usually ends up alone, due to the choices and the way he preferred to live. This is in contrast to Justified's protagonist, Raylan Givens, and they both share many personality characteristics, although they would never admit it.

Quotes[]

I guess that depends on your definition of friend. He's a nice enough fella, but I wouldn't ask to borrow his corduroy jacket.
~ Boyd Crowder
You figured you'd drive south anyway, rip off the simple people? Well we ain't that simple.
~ Boyd Crowder
A man who speaks out of both sides of his mouth deserves to have it permanently shut.
~ Boyd Crowder
You shoulda been on the other side, with me and your daddy. You'd still be able to shoot people, and be an asshole... your two favorite activities.
~ Boyd Crowder
Well cousin Johnny, Ava and I have been trying to put together a puzzle and it seems you have some of the missing pieces. Why don't you start from the beginning?
~ Boyd Crowder
It's good to know we both speak the same tongues.
~ Boyd Crowder
People in Harlan County still party on Friday and Saturday night, and get saved on Sunday morning.
~ Boyd Crowder
Which one of you two ass holes is trying to set me up? Salt? Or Pepper?
~ Boyd Crowder
Raylan, if a book could only be judged by its cover, you'd be a best seller.
~ Boyd Crowder
Well Johnny I wasn't ready to start this show but since you already pulled back the curtains kindly do what this man asked.
~ Boyd Crowder

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • Justified is based off of Elmore Leonard's short story, Fire in the Hole, and, in keeping with the short, Boyd supposed to die at the end of the pilot episode. However, due to Walton Goggins' performance as well strong audience reactions, Boyd was kept alive after shooting in the episode "Riverbrook" and given a bigger role.
  • Walton Goggins had originally agreed to be on the show at the request of his friend, Timothy Olyphant, who plays Raylan Givens.
  • After Raylan, Boyd has the second-highest kill of any character on the show, having killed a total of twenty people throughout the show's run. Raylan's count stands at 28.
  • Boyd has the second highest amount of episode appearances, after Raylan (being absent for four episodes of Season One). Following Walton's promotion to main cast at the start of the second season, Boyd appears in every episode across the last five seasons of the show.
    • Along with Raylan and Ava, Crowder is one of three characters to appear in every episode of a season, save for Season 1.
    • Out of all of Justified's villains, Boyd has the most appearances.
  • Excluding City Primeval, Boyd, Raylan and Ava are the only characters who appear in every season premiere, with only Raylan appearing in the City Primeval premiere, before appearing together with Boyd in the finale of the miniseries.
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