What drew Bob Odenkirk to star in Fargo? He talked about this and more on a conference call with members of the press including Hypable.
Bob Odenkirk stars as Bill Oswalt in Fargo, a limited TV series adaptation of the film of the same name from Joel and Ethan Coen. Odenkirk’s career started in comedy, but in recent years he’s taken on more and more dramatic projects like Breaking Bad, Nebraska, The Spectacular Now, and now Fargo.
With those great roles in the past and the Breaking Bad spinoff Better Call Saul in the future, Odenkirk spoke about what attracted him to Fargo.
“To do Fargo, I love the movie. 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.
“And then I was just surprised at how it grew over time as we were shooting it and how my part, Bill Oswalt, without giving away too many spoilers or any spoilers, he gets to go somewhere emotionally and it’s pretty great.”
As much success as Odenkirk has had as an actor, he’s been a successful writer too. He talked about whether or not he ever thought about getting in the writers’ room on some of the great shows he’s been on like Fargo and Breaking Bad.
“No. I am tempted to stay away from that writers’ room on these complex dramatic shows that I’m a part of. I have too much respect for the sweat and suffering of these guys, who’ve written these shows and they just put so much into it, I’m a little bit intimidated by their talents to be honest.
“It started with Breaking Bad, was getting a script and not attempting to manipulate the words at all. 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.”
“The writing is what draws me to them. I do think I probably relate to the stories being told in those projects and to the people being presented in those stories, so yes, you’re right. These are Midwestern stories and Midwestern people and I relate to them. I always, by the way, I always feel like I don’t know what Vince [Gilligan] is going to decide, but on this new show, I always felt Saul was from Chicago originally. Of course, I sound like a Chicagoan, so that probably forces his hand. But anyhow, yes, I relate to those people and I’m one of those people and that’s probably why I’m attracted to these.”
Odenkirk also offered an update on the Breaking Bad spinoff Better Call Saul and if it will compare to Fargo‘s ability to balance drama and comedy in a way that most TV shows don’t.
“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.
“But the thing is, 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.”
He also teased some big scenes he has coming up and how they were challenging for him.
“I have some scenes 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.
“So, yes, I would say there are some scenes in eight, nine, and ten that where you see a whole ‘nother side of Bill and those were work, but they were great. I’m not intimidated by it; I’m thankful for it.”