The Big Picture

The characters in Fargo have unique accents that are bigger and more musical than expected, giving the actors a greater appreciation for dialect and a challenge worth diving into. The tone and humor of the series, including the surprises and twists, feel similar to the original film, creating its own universe that is a pleasure to watch and act in. Juno Temple’s character Dot is not a victim but a fighter who will keep going until she wins, earning respect for her loyalty and love for her family.

The latest installment of the FX series Fargo: Year 5 is set in Minnesota and North Dakota in 2019 and follows Dorothy “Dot” Lyon (Juno Temple) as she finds herself in a bit of trouble involving her past. Being on the radar of North Dakota Sheriff Roy Tillman (Jon Hamm), someone she very much does not want back in her life, has turned Dot’s simple Midwestern existence upside down, leading her to want to fight for her family by any means necessary. And at the same time, she’s trying to protect her family from her past, her mother-in-law Lorraine (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is threatening her present due to sheer disapproval of her son’s choice in a wife.

During this interview with Collider, Leigh spoke about the love she has for her formidable character, who she’d also find scary to be around, while Temple talked about getting to play such a fantastic “badass ninja momma” in Dot, and why she’s not a victim even though she’s been victimized. They both also talked about the appreciation they have for the world of Fargo and the original movie, now being a part of it themselves.

Fargo Various chronicles of deception, intrigue, and murder in and around frozen Minnesota. All of these tales mysteriously lead back one way or another to Fargo, North Dakota. Release Date April 15, 2014 Main Genre Crime Rating TV-MA Seasons 5 Studio FX

Collider: I love this show and I love both of you in this show. Juno, to start with a bit of a silly question, who would you say is the best person to rely on for home defense, your character in this season’s Fargo or Kevin McCallister from Home Alone?

JUNO TEMPLE: It depends on who you’re fending off, actually, and who you’re trying to keep out, right? Can you imagine the two of them together? It would be a fortress.

I’d watch that.

TEMPLE: Yeah.

Juno Temple and Jennifer Jason Leigh Share an Appreciation for the ‘Fargo’ Movie
Image via FX

For each of you, how did working on this series change your thoughts and feelings about the film? Does it change your perspective once you’ve had the opportunity to play in that world for yourselves?

TEMPLE: For me, it doesn’t necessarily change the perspective, but I learned so much. For example, in the original film, the two prostitutes that are talking, when Frances McDormand is interviewing them, they are the two characters in the movie that are actually from Minnesota. When you listen to their accent, them being a standard, if you thought you were being over the top with the accent, you’re like, “Oh, no, I’m not, actually.” Their accent is so brilliant and so musical and so much bigger than you would expect. It means you’re not going over the top with it. But I have a real appreciation for dialect and understanding where different dialects come from, to go into that accent. Also, that kind of dark humor is an experience, as an actor, that’s such a thrill. It’s not easy. It’s a challenge and it’s scary, but at the same time, it’s a challenge so worth diving into.

JENNIFER JASON LEIGH: It’s very similar for me. I love the original film, and this [season] of Fargo feels very similar to me, in the humor and the tone and the violence, and the surprises and the twists. Even some of the characters, though they go off into very different directions than the film, the base of it feels very germane. The tone of Fargo is so incredibly specific, and it’s such a pleasure to watch and to act in. It’s its own universe, really.

Juno, what did you love about Dot from day one, and what was the key for you in finding who she is? She’s just such a fantastic character.

TEMPLE: She truly is, right? My immediate answer is everything. I loved her from page one, getting to know how much she loves her family and how much that means to her, and her daughter and her husband, played by two such extraordinary humans, David [Rysdahl] and Sienna [King]. They were like a safe word for me on this job, actually. For Dot, that is something that she will do anything to keep safe and to protect. That was one aspect of her that I loved a lot – the loyalty and the love to her family, in a way that isn’t a Christmas card, it’s truth. But then, she also has a lot of things that I was learning about her, that audiences are gonna learn about her with this installment too. There are layers that she keeps unpacking, but wants to keep hidden because of a past that she doesn’t want to come back to ruin her future or change the journey of it. That was something that I was so excited to play with. Also, I got to learn about a past that Noah [Hawley] had come up with for Dot, that isn’t necessarily gonna go anywhere for anybody else, but for me, helped me understand where she came from to where she is now. Having that mapped out really intricately and beautifully pieced together woman that never ceases to surprise you and is just a badass ninja momma, I would absolutely love to have her in my life. It was a privilege and the most extraordinary challenge and wonder to get to play her.

Jennifer Jason Leigh Enjoyed Playing Someone as Formidable as Lorraine Lyon
Image via FX

Jennifer, did you like Lorraine? Is she someone that was just an absolute blast to play? How did you feel about her?

LEIGH: I love her. Just to be able to have her wit and brilliance and determination and clarity, whether you agree with her or not, and how ferocious she is and protective she is, she’s formidable. When I read that very first episode, I was just astounded. I did not expect the journey, with where it starts and where it ends. I couldn’t wait to read the next one, and that experience never ended for me. Every time we would get a script, even when we were already shooting because we didn’t have them all when we started the project, you just couldn’t wait. You would read it so fast that you almost felt like you devoured it, and then you had to start all over again.

She seems like somebody that I would not want to look me straight in the eye because I would just want to show myself out of the room.

LEIGH: Yeah, I’d be very afraid of Lorraine, myself. It’s also really fun to play someone that you really don’t possess inside you. That’s challenging and scary, but really, really fun.

Juno Temple’s ‘Fargo’ Character Is a Fighter, Not a Victim
Image via FX

Juno, hiding bruises seems like a metaphor for what Dot has been going through, hiding all these layers of herself. Do you see her as someone who, while victimized, is not a victim? Is it fair to say that when she’s backed in a corner, she’s just not gonna stop fighting?

TEMPLE: Yeah, absolutely. I don’t think she’s a victim, at all. I think she will keep fighting and keep fighting until she doesn’t have to fight anymore because she won. That’s the kind of woman, the kind of mother, the kind of wife, the kind of daughter-in-law, the kind of friend that she would want to be in the world, and I have such respect for her for that.

I love everything about her, from when she’s sitting there with the whole slow-motion fight going on around her to you guys doing the insane Christmas moment as a gun-toting family in front of the tree. Were you always thinking, “Oh, my God, what are we doing”?

TEMPLE: Yes! And also, you go, “Oh, my God, this is America!”

LEIGH: Yeah, this is America.

Fargo: Year 5 airs on FX and is available to stream on Hulu. Check out this Season 5 teaser:

Watch at Hulu