(PCM) The new FX series “Fargo” is based on the theme characters and humor of the 1996 film by the same name. FX is presenting a 10 episode all-new story which began on April 15. Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, who wrote and directed the film, are executive producers for the limited series, written by Noah Hawley.
Bob Odenkirk portrays Deputy Bill Oswalt, who is suddenly thrust into a position of power following the events of the premiere episode which he may or may not be able to properly handle (blood and gore are not really his thing).”Keep in mind it was purely by this horrifying incident that he became sheriff. It doesn’t seem like he was really planning on it. He’s not seen this; it’s not a part of his life and he’s been able to avoid this kind of violence and horror”
We were curious about the direction that his character will take in the upcoming episodes of the series to which Odenkirk responded “You started to scratch the surface of what Bill thinks his job is, which is I think his notion of to protect and serve, the motto of many police departments, I think he takes the protect part a little too far. He’s literally wanting to protect these people, in this case Lester, from suspicion. You know what I mean? Like I think he thinks it’s his job to believe in his local community, and in this case, he’s defending this person he’s known his whole life from even being investigated. I think he’s a frustration if you’re the character of Molly, but he’s a good guy. He just wants to believe in the goodness of his community and that’s a good instinct for a police officer to have, so it’s a conflict and it will put him in a vice as time goes by in this show. That’s all I can say, an emotional vice.”
As an actor Odenkirk is most well-known for his role as attorney Saul Goodman in AMC’s “Breaking Bad” and will be tackling the role yet again for the series spin-off “Better Call Saul” later this year. Odenkirk comments on the difference between his character in “Fargo” and his character in “Breaking Bad”, “One of the reasons I was interested in it truly was how different he is from “Saul.” This guy is, he’s defiant, innocent and he’s fighting like hell to hang on to his innocence about the people around him; and then “Saul” is cynical and clever and he’s ahead of everyone and builds behind everyone and trying to maintain that. So, yes, just having played “Saul,” I was eager to play something like this and this is a great part for that reason.”
“The similarities were these are amazing casts of people who are completely professional and grateful to be working in this area. I know I’ve been lucky. I know that this isn’t the norm, so I got to be real careful not to get deluded by these wonderful experiences that I’ve had in the last two years, or four or five years if you include Breaking Bad and Nebraska and Spectacular Now and now Fargo. These casts—maybe one of the reasons is most of those casts, not Spectacular Now, but most of the casts including Fargo are veterans. Do you know what I mean? They really know to appreciate good writing because they’ve seen not so good writing. ”
Many people were concerned about the story of “Fargo” being adapted for TV to which Odenkirk replied “I got the script and my first instinct on it was “please don’t ruin the movie I loved,” and I would say by about page eight or nine of reading of the script, I felt, oh man, this is great. This is everything good. They took all the great vibe from the movie. They took the darkness and the comedy and they, well they, Noah Hawley is the writer and he did all this work and he took what you can take and not take the specifics of the movie; and I could just tell it was very entertaining, so I wanted to go in on it and I just worked on my part and went in and I read for it and hoped that I would get it and I did.”
Odenkirk has also attained much success as a comedy writer working on shows such as “Saturday Night Live” and “Mr. Show”. “My challenge with Breaking Bad and with Fargo was how do I do this part as written literally word for word it was my goal and is my goal, and how do I make those words come to life and be a character and be natural and what do those words mean. I really take them apart, so really I approach these shows purely as an actor and it’s been refreshing and a new way to look at acting. I think it’s allowed me to be a much better actor than I was when I was constantly messing around with the words because I was either the writer on the project or I felt like it was my job.”
He goes on to say “I think the signal is sent to the viewer that this is a performance, this is a story that you’re being told and you’re not forced to wallow in sort of up close darkness and it’s allowed to be a story point and oftentimes I think a darkly funny one and that comes from the Coen Bros., that tone. It’s a little bit of a distance, honestly, on the violence; it’s not asking you to feel the pain. It’s more like you watch it as a story point and it’s gruesome and it shocks you, but it makes you laugh.”
We laughed a bit about nailing that Minnesota accent. “I will just say I hope I did a good job. Everyone in the whole cast from the get go was extremely thoughtful about trying to do a good job with our accents. One of the things we all agreed and we had two different voice coaches, one was on set. One of the things, you notice if you watch videos on YouTube of Minnesotans and the Minnesota accent is that it fluctuates; it comes and goes. It’s not strong all the time and it’s like it can be very strong on some words and then it can kind of be gone completely on other words or even a sentence and so that’s a tough one to do. It’s tough to get it right, but I think what we all tried to do is to not push it too hard.”
Odenkirk claims that he did not bring a whole lot to the character other than what was written except “I put the moustache on and I got the Super Cuts haircut, those weren’t in the script, but other than that, I did it the way it was written to me. You’d have to ask Noah Hawley if I added something that he didn’t write or intend. I know that he changed things in later episodes and he was writing Episode 8, 9, and 10 when we were shooting the first couple and so maybe I did spin the character; I don’t know. That would have to be something he’d have to answer, but the only things I added were the moustache and the Super Cuts haircut and everyone was very accepting of that.”
Each and every actor has a different approach to the roles they portray. Odenkirk told us “I think one of the things I would say is I always try to see my character’s side of whatever is happening, whether it’s “Saul Goodman” on Breaking Bad or in this case “Bill Oswalt,” who is as you can see not helping “Molly” with her investigation, but who has I think a laudable point of view. It might be misguided in this instance, but he’s trying to protect the community and he’s trying to maintain his own faith in the community and the people around him. That’s not helping, but this is what he’s doing, so I love playing “Bill Oswalt.” It’s really a great part and you’ll see as it plays out that it has all these layers to it.”
We also touched on some of the major difference between comedy and drama. Odenkirk replied, “My experience, and it might be just the kind of comedy that I do, which is usually sketch comedy, is that there’s a lot more texture and sort of subplot in drama than in comedy. In comedy you can read the script and you can know the motivations and the reason for the character very quickly and off a simple quick first read. With drama my experiences, and it comes off Breaking Bad, is as you read the dialog, which at first might look like just argument or obfuscation or something, you start to see these inner drives of the characters that were planted there by the writers; and so it’s a more focused and it reveals itself to you, whereas comedy is just kind of right there when you first read it.”
Odenkirk also added “when things get dark around me in character, I find moments to play things to make things funny. It’s good; it’s something to play against. It’s really a great vibe to have around you and find these funny little moments, so I think I’ll be making it funny.”
We commented that Odernkirk’s use of comedic timing and placement is spot-on to which he responded ” there is a challenge and it is a conscious effort that you have to make or I have to make to try to get it to the right place, so that it belongs in the world that I’m playing in and isn’t outsized too big. I think sometimes I do feel constrained and I want to be funny. I’ve had actually one or two instances where I asked if I could just do a silly version of the scene and then I just do a really crazy version and it’s like I have to get that out of my system; and then I can go back to playing it in a more restrained and lower key manner. But I do enjoy doing both and I think one of the fun things about doing a drama is that you can modulate to a very low level your turns and twists and your little spins and you can get a big laugh out of small choices.”
“Fargo” explores themes that can showcase the viewers fascination with taking a peek at the dark side of humanity. Odenkirk reveals “I think people from the safety of their homes are fascinated with watching brutality and the kind of heightened pure evil that Billy Bob [Thornton] plays and this is entertaining and thankfully I think a little unreal. I think everybody feels that and that’s what makes it okay. It’s fun because we all agree that there’s an artifice to it, so yes I do think people are entertained by that it’s clear; and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it as long as it establishes its rules and it establishes its reality/unreality quotient or scale and then sticks to it. I think the show does that and does it very well and that’s a tribute to Noah Hawley. That’s not an easy thing to get right.”
We asked Odenkirk to reflect on some of the more memorable scenes or experiences while working on Fargo. He told us “I have some scenes that in the latter half of the season that took some concentration and effort, but that’s incredibly rewarding. I think that acting is no fun unless it’s hard. I’m not titillated by acting or being an actor unless I have to work hard because otherwise you’re just a prop that talks, but if you have to struggle to feel those feelings and to understand where the person is, the character you’re playing, and you can feel like you can get there with some truth and dignity for the character, even if it’s an undignified scenario or situation, then that can feel really great. It really can be a trip into another person’s experience and it’s really rewarding.”
He also added “The scene where we confront “Lester” in his house and I’m sort of begrudgingly doing it; “Molly” is forcing me to question him. It was on the episode two nights ago. It was so fun to play because I’m not helping and if you watch me in it, my character “Bill” is kind of distracted the whole time; you don’t get a whole lot of it, but when I played it, it was really funny. Martin, I think I almost made him laugh because he’s very in focus and intensive character, because he can feel this pressure coming at him. Meanwhile, I’m looking around the room drinking the grapes drink, talking about Hubba Bubba. Totally my brain is like there’s like a couple of gnats in my head flying around. He’s not present really. That was really fun to play.”
When asked what direction his character will be taking throughout the rest of the series Odenkirk replied “I actually don’t like to know anything about where it’s going. I feel like my job as an actor is to play the character in the moment that I am doing and not have a sense of what could happen next and be as surprised as the character is by that when it happens and not lay any groundwork that comes from foresight that a real person wouldn’t have about their fortunes.”
Of course, we had to ask some details about the upcoming “Better Call Saul” and how it will compare to “Fargo”. Odenkirk tells us “First of all, I haven’t read anything from Better Call Saul, so I don’t know anything except the vibe I’ve gotten. I guess I’d have to say the vibe I’ve gotten is that that show is going to be pretty intense and dark, so I think Fargo might be more overtly comic and lighter than Saul, but that’s just conjecture based on guesswork based on wishes on the wind.”
Odenkirk then reveals “I love Fargo. I had so much fun making it and we could all tell we were making something pretty great around, I’d say, week three or four, and it’s so nice when it turns out and everyone is hoping that it’ll turn out and working towards that. But the vibe around it was so good and it just got better as we made it, so I’m thrilled that it’s playing well for people”.
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