The squirrel, presumably, was watching.
When Noah Hawley began casting Fargo 's first season, nobody expected it to work. A TV adaptation of the Coen brothers' beloved film? Starring Martin Freeman —the gentle, hapless Bilbo Baggins—as a cold-blooded killer? And Billy Bob Thornton as a philosophical, devilish drifter with a bowl cut? fargo: season 1 cast
It sounded like a disaster.
Then he walked out, leaving a single peanut on the table. The squirrel, presumably, was watching
Thornton, meanwhile, arrived each day in character as Lorne Malvo—refusing to speak to anyone except in low, rumbling riddles. He once whispered to a prop master, "The squirrel knows. Burn the acorns." No one was sure if he was joking. Then he walked out, leaving a single peanut on the table
Freeman looked at Tolman. Tolman looked at Odenkirk. Odenkirk laughed.
But Freeman, desperate to break typecasting, begged for the role of Lester Nygaard. He studied Midwestern manners until his natural British charm curdled into passive aggression. On set, between takes, he’d apologize to crew members for "being so horrible."