Like much of the public, Patrick Wilson was skeptical when first hearing Fargo was being adapted into a TV series. "I remember when the show was announced, like a lot of people, I was like, 'Aw, c'mon! Really? It will never work. How are you gonna do it?'" Wilson recently told GQ. Then Wilson watched the television adaptation of the acclaimed 1995 Coen Brothers' classic.
"Of course when I saw it I was like, "Oh, right! OK. I get it now," says the actor, who stars in the second season of FX's Fargo, one of the best-acted, well written, and beautifully shot TV shows in recent memory.
In its mini-series format, Fargo—which returns for a second season on October 12 and features the likes of Kirsten Dunst, Ted Danson, Nick Offerman, and Jesse Plemons—tells a brand-new tale this go-round: that of a small-town murder and a web of individuals, including a Native American crime syndicate, converging upon each other with violent and dark (or darkly funny) results. Wilson takes on the role of police officer Lou Solverson, previously portrayed by Keith Carradine in Season One, but from the storyline to the more hyperactive cinematography and editing, just about everything feels different this time.
Wilson, 42, long known as a superb character actor with an independent film streak, was practically buzzing when we spoke with him about the upcoming season of Fargo, the caveats of the "golden age" of TV, and a memorable compliment he received from his hero Michael Keaton.
GQ: Let's start off with your feelings about Fargo **as a film. **
Fargo is one of my favorite movies. It just is and always has been since it came out. I have such reverence for it. And I remember when the show was announced like everybody, or at least like a lot of people I was like, "Aw, c'mon! Really? It will never work. How are you gonna do it?" And then when I saw Billy Bob [Thornton] signed on I was like "Really? It must be really good if he's gonna do it." I actually didn't see it until I got offered the job. Not out of arrogance but out of ignorance; I don't watch a lot of TV. When I got the job I was telling my wife and she hadn't seen it either. But one of our very good friends who sees every single TV show, he goes "Oh my god! It's the best show on TV. You've got to do it!" And he doesn't say that lightly. I was like, "Wait. What?"
And then obviously you watched it.
Right. And of course when I saw it I was like, "Oh, right! OK. I get it." We're not just recreating the movie. We're taking the tone and making our own stories here. It was just one of those very few shows that is met with both critical and commercial success. It's still the water-cooler conversation show, but it was really well acted and directed. It was just wonderful TV. And then once I saw that carried on to this season and I could see the Coen Brothers references throughout the whole season, it was pretty exciting. It felt like you were in great hands.
Take me through your thoughts when first reading the script for Season Two. It's amazing how [Fargo creator] Noah Hawley is able to retain a similar feel from Season One while definitively changing things up this time.
Honestly, when I first read it I hadn't seen the series yet. So I only went on the first couple of episodes I read, and I was trying to figure out where it was going. I felt like there were a lot of balls in the air, and you always kind of wonder how they're going to fall [laughs]. 'Cause every time you're juggling the balls have got to come down: "So what's going to happen here?" When I started to get into Episodes Three and Four I started to go, "OK, I see where he's going. I think?" And then I talked to Noah about it and he sort of explained to me his idea of what was going to happen with the series. I loved what he had written. It just keeps blossoming, and that's also the thing about Lou: The deeper we got with Lou, the more I loved him and what he stood for. It only gets better.
I agree about Lou. He's a really great character, if only because so much of his emotion requires the audience interpreting his body language. That must be a tough task for you as an actor.
It is. It's usually not seen in the flashy roles. Look, I'll give you a side-note—and I'm not one to toot my own horn. Here's some shameless name-dropping. One of my absolute heroes is Michael Keaton, and several months ago, we were talking about [the 2006 film I starred in], Little Children. He could have done the whole, "Hey, loved that movie. Great job in it!" But he was very specific. He said, "Those guys are hard to play. The guys who look like they don't do anything. And to keep him active was a real testament to you. Congratulations!" I felt like he got it. Some people don't get it.
And the thing with Lou is, when I start confronting some of these villains, the criminals, who are these big, broad, crazy fun characters, you've got to play the other side. You can't walk in there like a bull in a china shop. You've got to ground it and ground the scene. I think so much of that is done with the script, but I relish that. I love playing really tiny, small beats where I can talk to the director and be like, "Are you in there? Do you see it? Do you need more?" You've got to work together. If you're acting small and you're in a wide shot, forget it. You've got to be on the same page with what you're shooting. It is a very conscious choice. That's something that I loved about Lou—when he does let it loose, you'll see it. But a lot of it is about stillness.
Tell me about your experience working with Ted Danson, who plays your father-in-law and fellow police officer this season.
He's great. If we had more time I'd make more fun of him and make more jokes, but he's fantastic. We had an absolute blast together from day one. We just smiled at each other and started laughing: "We've got these guys. This is gonna be great." It really is a great son-in-law, father-in-law relationship. And then we have these wonderful moments that you'll see, in Episode Two and Three when it becomes just the two of us in a very grounded scene. Our characters, we have a common bond: He's a war veteran and I'm a war veteran. Different wars, similar experience. That will keep them together throughout the whole series.
But yeah, Ted is so good. There's not a bad take with him. He's so solid. And he's fun. And oh my God, that laugh. I can hear it in my sleep.
Lastly, so much has been made about the best writing right now being on TV. I particularly enjoy the miniseries format, as it feels like an extended movie where plotlines are really allowed to develop.
As a guy who does a lot of independent movies, I'm not the one to say, "TV is where it's at, man! That's where all the great writing is!" That's a blanket statement. There's some really bad TV, just like there's some really bad films. I think it varies. I know specifically with this show, when you've got basically a 10-hour movie and one season they can concentrate on that and not feel like they've got to keep the ball up in the air for the next installment. I think Noah is very masterful in the way he can weave all these storylines together and keep it contained.
But I also think we're kind of late to the party in America over this. In England they've always had these wonderful miniseries and the actors go back and forth, and there was never this divide between TV and film. You just did everything. They've been doing that for years over there. It also relates to the studio system. I can draw on my own experience. Like Little Children—this wouldn't be done on a studio scale. You just would not have a $25 million adult drama. That's why people who want to make those really rich character pieces go to where they can make them.
