At first blush, Juno Temple and Jennifer Jason Leigh's "Fargo" Season 5 characters feel familiar. Temple's housewife Dorothy "Dot" Lyon seems as bumbling as William H. Macy's Jerry Lundegaard in the original film. Leigh's disapproving mother-in-law Lorraine Lyon might be another comically mean Wade Gustafson. Then, the penny drops and the fifth installment of creator Noah Hawley's comedy-crime epic bares its teeth — and its heart.
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"Fargo" Season 5 airs Tuesdays on FX and streams the following day on Hulu. Temple, best known for her Emmy-nominated turn as Keeley Jones in "Ted Lasso," leads the eight-episode installment as Dot, a devoted mother with a dark past involving Sheriff Roy Tillman (Jon Hamm), a self-proclaimed Constitutional lawman.
For her part, Oscar nominee Jennifer Jason Leigh returns to the Coen Brothers' universe for the first time since 1994's "The Hudsucker Proxy" as Lorraine, CEO of the largest debt collection agency in the country. She's ruthless, hilarious and something more: "She and Dot have a lot more in common than she ever would acknowledge," says Leigh.
Wide Open Country sat down with Juno Temple and Jennifer Jason Leigh to talk about the ways in which their characters depart from familiar "Fargo" types and what it's like working with Noah Hawley, whom Temple calls "an incredible balancer." Plus, the actresses open up about filming in Calgary in the wintertime and the camaraderie—and safety emails—that followed each bitterly cold day on set.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Wide Open Country: Dot is in the Jerry Lundegaard and Lester Nygaard class of "Fargo" characters whose desperation turns dangerous. But the fact that she's a woman in peril gives it such a different shade.
Juno Temple: She's protecting the thing that matters to her the most, which is her family and home. It is her safe place. It is her one thing that she will defend in any way that she can.
There are things that we're going to find out about Dot throughout this chapter of "Fargo" that will explain, also, why she does it the way she does it. But she is genuinely doing it for the love of family. It is not a selfish decision.
WOC: Like Dot kind of performs helplessness to survive, Jennifer, Lorraine is another side of that coin. She performs power, right down to that grand, Mid-Atlantic accent she puts on. It makes her meanness so exquisite. But it's contrived, right?
Jennifer Jason Leigh: Yes. Lorraine does really want to project power and strength and family. But her version of family leaves a lot to be desired. [Laughs] She's so hard on Dot, and yet she's very protective of her family, too. It means everything to her. I think that she and Dot have a lot more in common than she ever would acknowledge.
Juno Temple as Dot Lyon and Sienna King as Scotty Lyon in "Fargo" Episode 1. (Michelle Faye/FX)
WOC: In addition to writing every episode, Noah Hawley directs the first two. What is it like working on one of his sets?
Juno Temple: Oh man, nobody knows it better. Any questions you have, any guidance you need — he has all of the answers. That, I think, is so helpful for an actor when you're not entirely sure. The rhythm of the dialogue is so specific. He writes certain words into the dialogue that make it so Minnesotan and make it so not sound like the world that we would talk about in everyday life because we're not from there.
But also, tonally, with the comedy and darkness going on, he's an incredible balancer for you. For me, as an actor, I can sometimes find things emotional that my character is not allowed to feel emotional about yet. And so the guidance that Noah gives you, with a true understanding of when your character is allowed to let that out, or when they have to keep it close to home, or when they're going to shift in a way that's going to affect the other character in the room — he will guide you through all of it, but also let you try it yourself, too. So you feel very free, but at the same time, you don't panic about asking questions.
Jennifer Jason Leigh: And he gives great notes and very specific direction that doesn't overwhelm you. It's so, so helpful and clarifying. And his dialogue is...
Juno Temple: Genius.
Jennifer Jason Leigh: So brilliant.
Juno Temple as Dot Lyon and Jennifer Jason Leigh as Lorraine Lyon in "Fargo" Episode 2. (Michelle Faye/FX)
WOC: Finally, Warren Littlefield, an executive producer on "Fargo," said that filming in Calgary in the wintertime was a bonding experience. Do you agree?
Juno Temple: Definitely. And the crew on this show are next-level. It's like this camaraderie of help with every department. You help each other get through every moment because it's a new kind of terrain and weather to experience.
Jennifer Jason Leigh: I mean, we would get emails about how to walk because it was so icy and dangerous. [Laughs]
Juno Temple: I saw the Northern Lights above my house outside Calgary! That was, like, a magical thing to see.
"Fargo" Season 5 premieres with two episodes on Tuesday, Nov. 21 at 10pm ET/PT on FX and streams the following day on Hulu. New episodes drop Tuesdays.
