125 Fun Facts About Fargo Movie

What does Jerry Lundegaard try to do once he thinks Wade will fund his land deal?

Call off the kidnapping is what he wants, but he has no way of reaching the two men he hired, and Jean is taken anyway.

Which two actors play the kidnappers Carl Showalter and Gaear Grimsrud?

Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare play opposites: Carl never stops talking, and Gaear answers four hours of it on the drive with a single word, 'No'.

What sets Carl Showalter off at the exit booth of an airport car park?

A four-dollar minimum charge: Carl says he has changed his mind about parking, loses the argument and pays up while calling the attendant 'King Clip-on Tie'.

Where does Jerry Lundegaard first meet the two men he hires as kidnappers?

A bar in Fargo, North Dakota: Carl complains that they were told 7:30 and have sat there an hour, while Jerry insists he was told 8:30.

Besides half the ransom, what does Jerry Lundegaard promise the kidnappers as payment?

A new Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera comes straight off the lot where Jerry works, and he tows it through the snow to their first meeting himself.

At their first meeting, what does Carl Showalter twice tell Jerry he is not going to do?

Debate him: Carl says it twice, then goes straight on to argue that the plan makes no sense, since Jerry is paying to have his own wife taken.

How much cash does Wade Gustafson bring to the ransom drop in Fargo?

$1 million is the figure Jerry gave Wade while telling the kidnappers the ransom was far smaller; Carl learns the truth only when he opens the case alone.

Who is Wade Gustafson to Jerry?

His father-in-law owns the dealership where Jerry works and insists on carrying the ransom himself, which is how the handover ends in gunfire.

Which mechanic on parole puts Jerry Lundegaard in touch with the two kidnappers?

Shep Proudfoot pays for the favour: once police have questioned him, he finds Carl in his apartment and whips him with Carl's own belt.

Where do Carl and Gaear hold Jean Lundegaard after the kidnapping?

A remote cabin in Moose Lake has a television that barely picks up a signal, and Carl is reduced to pounding the set with his fist and swearing at it.

Why does a state trooper stop Carl and Gaear?

The car has no temporary registration tags, so the trooper pulls the new car over; then he hears a whimper from the back seat, and Gaear shoots him.

Marge is the police chief of which Minnesota town?

Brainerd is where the three roadside murders happen, which is why a small-town police chief ends up unravelling a Minneapolis kidnapping.

When Marge Gunderson asks to sit down in Jerry's office, what does she say she is carrying?

Quite a load is her polite way of mentioning the pregnancy, and she has plopped into the chair before Jerry can answer.

Where does Carl meet Wade for the ransom handover?

A parking garage: Wade arrives with the briefcase, and before the handover is done both men have fired.

Why does Gaear Grimsrud chase down a passing car moments after shooting the state trooper?

Its occupants saw the body in their headlights as Carl was lifting it off the road; Gaear runs them down and shoots both, making it a triple murder.

Why does Gaear kill Carl?

They argue over who keeps the car: Gaear wants half its value, and Carl sneers that you can't split a car without a chainsaw and walks out.

What is Gaear doing when Marge finds him?

Feeding Carl's body into a woodchipper, he cannot hear her over the engine; she has to bellow twice and point to her police insignia before he turns and runs.

Where does Marge shoot Gaear as he tries to flee across the ice?

In the leg, after he ignores her shouts to halt; she then drives him in herself, wondering aloud how anyone could do all this.

Where do state police finally catch up with Jerry Lundegaard?

A motel outside Bismarck is as far as he gets: he checks in under a false name and is dragged back through the bathroom window in his underwear.

Marge's husband Norm learns his painting of a mallard has been chosen for what?

A 3-cent postage stamp seems a letdown to Norm until Marge points out that people need the little stamps every time the postal rate goes up.

Who plays Marge's husband Norm in Fargo?

John Carroll Lynch's Norm gets out of bed before dawn to cook for Marge, then has to come out again when her prowler needs a jump.

Fargo opens with on-screen text making which claim?

This is a true story, the caption says, adding that the names were changed at the survivors' request and the rest told exactly as it occurred, out of respect for the dead.

In 2015, how did Joel Coen describe the story told in Fargo?

Entirely fictional: 'It's completely made up,' he told the New York Times, after two decades in which the brothers had let audiences believe otherwise.

Fargo's end credits jokingly bill the actor playing 'Victim in Field' as which Minnesota music star?

Prince's symbol fills the credit, tipped on its side with a smiley face added; the body in the snow was really storyboard artist J. Todd Anderson.

While pretending to consult his boss over a customer's bill, what does Jerry Lundegaard really ask a colleague about?

Hockey tickets: he asks if the man has a spare for Sunday's Gophers game, then walks back and announces that his boss has agreed to knock off $100.

Besides Best Actress, in which category did Fargo win its other Academy Award?

Best Original Screenplay was the only Oscar the Coens took home themselves, though they had also directed, produced and edited the film.

Who was the cinematographer on Fargo?

Roger Deakins first shot for the Coens on Barton Fink, after Barry Sonnenfeld left to direct films of his own, and stayed with them for Fargo.

Whose roadside statue looms over the highway into Marge Gunderson's town in Fargo?

Paul Bunyan is the town's boast, as its welcome sign says, and the statue glares down at the kidnappers' car on the night of the first murders.

Where does young Scotty Lundegaard ask to go instead of finishing the family supper?

McDonald's: Wade grumbles that the boy has barely eaten, and Jean explains that he only goes there to see his friends.

Which singer does Carl Showalter take an escort to see in concert?

José Feliciano plays himself, a tiny figure on a far-off stage, while Carl tells his date this is an artist you can't complain about and shouts for a waiter.

Made for about $7 million, roughly how much did Fargo gross worldwide?

About $61 million came in, and although the film's humour leans on Minnesota accents, more than half of the total was taken outside North America.

In 2000 the American Film Institute ranked Fargo among the 100 best American films of which kind?

Comedies: the AFI put this tale of kidnap and murder at number 93 on its '100 Laughs' list, and left it off its list of 100 thrillers a year later.

What does the National Film Registry require before a film such as Fargo can be added?

Ten years since release is the registry's rule, so Fargo, which came out in 1996, went in at the first opportunity, in 2006.

Which future Sopranos star played Marge Gunderson in a 1997 TV pilot directed by Kathy Bates?

Edie Falco's Marge never got a series: the pilot, made without the Coens, went unseen until the Trio channel aired it in 2003 as 'Brilliant But Cancelled'.

Who created the FX anthology series Fargo, which premiered in 2014?

Noah Hawley wrote the series without the Coens, who had the choice of lending their names and became executive producers only after reading his script.

Which Coen brothers film, their last release before Fargo, was a costly box-office flop?

The Hudsucker Proxy was the brothers' biggest production to date and bombed in 1994; they followed it with a small crime story set in their home state.

Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter retells an urban legend about a woman seeking what from Fargo?

The ransom money buried in the snow was a North Dakota policeman's guess after Takako Konishi showed him a hand-drawn map in 2001; her death that month was ruled a suicide.

What does Jerry Lundegaard do when Marge returns to question him a second time?

Drives off mid-interview: he says he'll go and count the cars, and Marge, watching him leave the lot, gasps that he's 'fleein' the interview'.

When Jerry Lundegaard loses his temper under questioning, Marge says he has no call to get what with her?

Snippy is as close as Marge comes to anger: 'I'm just doing my job here,' she adds, and then calmly asks to speak to Mr. Gustafson instead.

Which Coen brothers leading lady once shared a New York flat with Frances McDormand?

Holly Hunter roomed with her after they met at Yale's drama school, and it was Hunter who first told her about 'two really weird guys' holding auditions.

Which award did Joel Coen win for Fargo at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival?

Best Director was all Fargo took home from Cannes; five years earlier the brothers' Barton Fink had won that prize and the Palme d'Or too.

What does Jerry Lundegaard say he will build on the land he asks Wade to finance?

A parking lot: Jerry wants $750,000 for it, and when he says 'a lot' Wade thinks he is talking about the money.

Where does Wade shoot Carl during the botched ransom handover?

In the jaw: the wound leaves Carl slurring his words through a bloodied mouth for the rest of the film.

Why does Gaear kill Jean?

She would not stay quiet: 'She started shrieking, you know' is the only explanation Gaear offers when Carl comes back and finds her dead.

With what weapon does Gaear kill Carl?

An axe: Carl storms out after one insult too many, and Gaear, who has barely spoken all week, runs out of the door after him.

Whose report of a boastful customer leads Marge Gunderson to the killers' hideout?

A local bartender tells police that a drinker called him a jerk and added that the last man who thought the same of him was dead.

What are the last words of Fargo, spoken in bed by Norm and then Marge?

'Two more months' is how long until the baby arrives; after a week of bodies, the film ends on the couple watching television in bed.

Which condition does Jerry Lundegaard claim the kidnappers have set for the ransom?

They will deal only with him, Jerry pleads, because Wade must never learn how small the real demand is; Wade answers that it's his money and he'll deliver it.

How does Jerry Lundegaard describe the colour of the new car he delivers to the kidnappers?

Burnt umber is Jerry's showroom name for it; the police, working from the dead trooper's notes, just call the car tan.

The Richfield car dealership seen in Fargo was later cleared for which retailer's headquarters?

Best Buy built its corporate campus on the site in the Minneapolis suburb of Richfield, so the lot where Jerry sold cars is long gone.

What is the name of the truck stop where Carl and Gaear spend a night with two call girls?

The Blue Ox puts Marge on the trail: the two women from that night remember the men saying they were headed for the Twin Cities.

After Jean Lundegaard bites his hand during the kidnapping, what does Gaear go looking for?

Unguent is the word he uses, to Carl's bafflement, and he is still picking through the medicine cabinet when Jean bursts out of the shower.

Marge warns the dealership's mechanic that a parole violation would send him back to which prison?

Stillwater: 'Put me back in Stillwater,' he snarls later, as he beats the man who brought the police to his door.

Which clue from the kidnappers' truck-stop stay leads Marge Gunderson to the Minneapolis dealership?

A call from the lobby phone went to a private Minneapolis number, which belonged to a mechanic on parole who worked at Wade's dealership.

How does Carl Showalter try to get out of trouble when a state trooper pulls him over?

He offers him cash, a banknote poking out of his wallet, and suggests they settle it on the spot; the trooper tells him to step out of the car.

Which word does Gaear Grimsrud sarcastically use for Carl after his attempt to handle the state trooper fails?

Smooth is Gaear's verdict on his partner, delivered moments after he has shot the trooper Carl failed to talk round.

When Gaear refuses to chat on the long drive, what does Carl Showalter vow to give him in return?

Total silence, announces Carl, a man who has not stopped talking for hours and who goes on talking even as he promises it.

Which fast-food chain supplies the lunch Norm brings Marge Gunderson at the police station?

Arby's: Marge first hands Norm a bag of night crawlers, and when he leans over to kiss her she protests that he has got Arby's all over her.

When Wade Gustafson decides he likes Jerry's land deal, what does he offer Jerry?

A finder's fee is all Wade and Stan put on the table, because they mean to buy the land themselves; Jerry needed the whole sum.

Which demand does Wade Gustafson keep shouting at Carl during the ransom handover?

'No Jean, no money!' is not what Carl came to hear: he was expecting Jerry with a briefcase, and he answers by shooting Wade.

In the joke Marge tells Lou, what does a man who can't afford personalised plates do?

Changes his name to match his licence number, runs the joke, which she offers Lou to soften having just corrected his police work.

What is Stan Grossman's role in Fargo's story?

Wade's accountant vets every deal before it reaches Wade, which is why Jerry tries to pitch his land scheme without Stan in the room.

Which two critics named Fargo the best film of 1996?

Siskel and Ebert each put it top of their 1996 lists, and Ebert closed his review by writing that films like Fargo were why he loved the movies.

Which future North Dakota governor joked to investors asking about Fargo that his firm used woodchippers, not shredders?

Doug Burgum was taking his Fargo firm Great Plains Software public, and every investor opened by asking about the film; he sold the company to Microsoft for $1.1 billion in 2001.

Fargo's home-video release was promoted with what novelty item?

A snow globe of the woodchipper scene went out with the home-video release; shake it and red flakes of "blood" swirl in with the snow.

Before phoning Wade to report the kidnapping he arranged, what does Jerry do alone at home?

Rehearses sounding distraught: Jerry tries out "it's Jean" and "it's my wife" in different tones of panic before he finally dials.

Fargo was produced by Working Title Films, the company behind Four Weddings and a Funeral, based in which country?

Britain's Working Title Films made Fargo, which is why this most Minnesotan of films is officially listed as a British-American co-production.

What is Jean Lundegaard doing when the masked kidnappers arrive at her house?

Watching morning TV, Jean looks up to see a masked man breaking in, runs straight into a second intruder, bites him and bolts upstairs.

Who won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for 1996, beating Fargo's nominee in that category?

Cuba Gooding Jr. won for Jerry Maguire, where his footballer's demand "Show me the money!" became a national catchphrase.

At which 1997 awards ceremony did Fargo win all six of its nominations, including Best Feature?

The Independent Spirit Awards gave Fargo's leading man their Best Male Lead prize, though the Oscars had filed the same performance under supporting actor.

Where were the first three seasons of the Fargo TV series filmed?

Calgary, Alberta, was chosen for its bleak prairie winters, which then turned on the crew: one cold snap froze the equipment solid and stopped filming.

Which actor won a Golden Globe as hitman Lorne Malvo in TV's Fargo?

Billy Bob Thornton's hitman meets a meek insurance salesman in a hospital, offers to kill the man's old bully and sets him on a path of destruction.

Which actor plays henpecked salesman Lester Nygaard in the Fargo TV series' first season?

Martin Freeman's Lester snaps in the first episode and kills his wife with a hammer, then spends the season lying his way out of it.

Which actress earned an Emmy nomination for her breakout role as Deputy Molly Solverson in the Fargo TV series?

Allison Tolman's Molly is the one officer who suspects Lester from the start, and spends the season being overruled by her new chief.

Which Better Call Saul star plays Bemidji police chief Bill Oswalt in the Fargo TV series?

Bob Odenkirk's Bill Oswalt is promoted to chief when his boss is shot, then waves off his deputy's suspicions and blames a passing drifter.

Which actress plays beautician Peggy Blumquist in the Fargo TV series, opposite her future husband Jesse Plemons?

Kirsten Dunst and Plemons played the season's hapless married couple, became a couple themselves the next year and married in 2022.

Which actress plays Gerhardt crime matriarch Floyd in the Fargo TV series' second season?

Jean Smart's Floyd takes charge of the family business when her husband has a stroke, while her sons jostle to take his place.

Which Cheers star plays Sheriff Hank Larsson in the Fargo TV series' second season?

Ted Danson's Hank Larsson fills his study with strange symbols, which turn out to be his attempt at a universal language to help people cooperate.

Which Succession actor plays Rye Gerhardt, the youngest brother, in the Fargo TV series?

Kieran Culkin's Rye shoots up a diner in the opening episode and is then run down by Peggy Blumquist's car, the accident that sets off the season's bloodshed.

One of the call girls tells Marge the bigger kidnapper looked like which advertising figure?

The Marlboro Man, she says, then admits she may only think so because he smoked Marlboros; all her friend can offer on the other man is "funny-looking".

Which Parks and Recreation star plays Karl Weathers in TV's Fargo?

Nick Offerman's Karl, the only lawyer in Luverne, talks an armed Gerhardt posse out of storming the police station where his client is held.

Which Scottish actor plays both feuding Stussy brothers in TV's Fargo?

Ewan McGregor plays wealthy Emmit and struggling Ray, who feels cheated over their father's inheritance: he ended up with the Corvette, his brother with the valuables.

At the first roadside crime scene, why does Marge suddenly double over in the snow?

Morning sickness, she tells her deputy, who had asked if she'd seen something down there; a moment later it has passed and she is hungry again.

What does Norm insist on cooking for Marge before she leaves for the early-morning crime scene?

Eggs: "Ya gotta eat a breakfast," Norm keeps saying, hauling himself out of bed before dawn to fix them while Marge tells him to go back to sleep.

Which unwanted extra does Jerry charge a furious customer for at the dealership?

TruCoat sealant: Jerry claims it was put on at the factory, pretends to go and plead with his boss, and comes back offering a hundred dollars off.

Which comedian plays crime boss Loy Cannon in the Fargo TV series' fourth season?

Chris Rock's Loy Cannon runs a Kansas City syndicate in 1950 and keeps the peace with a rival family by trading youngest sons with them.

Which food does Gaear keep demanding on the kidnappers' long drive to Minneapolis?

Pancakes: "Where is Pancakes House?" is almost all Gaear says on the drive, though the pair had eaten them for breakfast and Carl wants a steak and a beer.

Which Ted Lasso star plays housewife Dot Lyon in TV's Fargo?

Juno Temple's Dot seems an ordinary housewife until kidnappers come for her, she escapes, and the life she thought she had left behind catches up with her.

Which Mad Men star plays Sheriff Roy Tillman in TV's Fargo?

Jon Hamm's Roy Tillman is a North Dakota sheriff who hires a kidnapper to bring back the wife who fled him years earlier.

Which Stranger Things actor plays Gator Tillman in the Fargo TV series' fifth season?

Joe Keery's Gator walks off with the kidnapper his father hired, supposedly to pay him, then draws a gun behind his back, only to be overpowered as the man escapes.

What does Marge's deputy wrongly take the letters DLR in the dead trooper's citation book to be?

A partial plate number, he assumes, and has the state hunting for a tag starting DLR until Marge gently suggests the car simply had dealer plates.

Which old classmate tearfully tells Marge that his wife has died, a story she later learns is false?

Mike Yanagita never married the woman at all, and learning how smoothly he lied sends Marge back to question Jerry a second time.

Driving Gaear to jail, Marge says all the killing was for what?

A little bit of money, she says, adding that there's more to life than that and that it's a beautiful day; Gaear only stares out of the window.

Jerry's $320,000 GMAC loan is secured against what?

Cars that don't exist: the lender keeps ringing for serial numbers Jerry cannot supply, which is why he needs a ransom-sized sum in a hurry.

Under which shared alias did the Coen brothers edit Fargo?

Roderick Jaynes was Oscar-nominated for editing Fargo, and since he does not exist he could never have collected the award had he won.

Which Coen brothers remake first credited both of them as directors and producers?

The Ladykillers, their 2004 remake of the Ealing comedy, ended twenty years of films that billed Joel alone as director and Ethan alone as producer.

Fargo lost Best Picture, but which later Coen brothers film won it?

No Country for Old Men won Best Picture, Director and Adapted Screenplay in 2008, and this time both brothers were credited as directors, unlike on Fargo.

Which Shakespeare tragedy did Joel Coen film in 2021, his first feature without Ethan, with Frances McDormand co-starring?

Macbeth: McDormand had played Lady Macbeth in a school play at 14 and on stage at Berkeley Rep in 2016 before her husband filmed it with her in the role.

Frances McDormand grew up moving between small towns because her adoptive father did which job?

Minister: Vernon McDormand was a Disciples of Christ pastor who specialised in reviving struggling congregations, so the family kept moving from one small town to the next.

Frances McDormand won Emmys for producing and starring in which 2014 HBO miniseries?

Olive Kitteridge was McDormand's own project: she bought the rights to Elizabeth Strout's novel herself and then helped assemble the team that made it.

Fargo brought McDormand her first Best Actress Oscar; which 2020 film brought her third?

Nomadland also made her a Best Picture winner, because she produced the film as well as starring in it.

William H. Macy rose to prominence through collaborations with which playwright?

David Mamet and Macy founded New York's Atlantic Theater Company together in 1985, a decade before Fargo made the actor famous.

Which 1990 film began Steve Buscemi's many collaborations with the Coens?

Miller's Crossing killed off his character Mink, the first of so many grisly exits that Buscemi says he flips to the end of every script to see if he survives.

Peter Stormare rose to fame in Sweden playing Hamlet for which director in 1988?

Born Rolf Peter Ingvar Storm in Kumla, he later played John Abruzzi in Prison Break.

Harve Presnell, Fargo's Wade Gustafson, won a Golden Globe for which 1964 musical film?

The Unsinkable Molly Brown turned an opera baritone into a film star: Meredith Willson cast Presnell in the 1960 Broadway show, and he kept the part on screen.

After Fargo, in which Coen brothers film is Steve Buscemi's character forever told to shut up?

The Big Lebowski casts him as meek bowler Donny, whom John Goodman's Walter keeps telling to shut up, often read as a joke on his chatterbox role in Fargo.

John Carroll Lynch played which breakout American Horror Story character?

Twisty the Clown was the murderous star turn of the Freak Show season, and Lynch came back to the series the next year as real-life killer clown John Wayne Gacy.

With Jean kidnapped, where does Jerry tell their son to say she has gone if anyone calls?

Florida, visiting Pearl and Marty, is the cover story Jerry hands his weeping son, before mumbling, "That's the best we can do here."

Fargo's namesake William Fargo co-founded Wells Fargo and which other company?

American Express came first, in 1850, two years before Wells Fargo; the Northern Pacific's new railroad town was named after Fargo, a director and backer of the line.

Fargo, North Dakota, forms a twin city with which Minnesota town?

Moorhead was laid out in 1871 and, like Fargo across the Red River, named after a Northern Pacific Railway man as the line pushed west.

Which later Coen brothers film returned to Minnesota to follow a Jewish physics professor in 1967?

A Serious Man is set in the Minneapolis suburb where the brothers themselves grew up in the 1960s, and it earned them another Best Picture nomination.

What is Gaear watching on the cabin's television when a bloodied Carl returns with the money?

A soap opera, and a real one: the clip comes from Generations, a 1980s Michigan serial whose leading man, a young Bruce Campbell, gave the Coens the footage.

Minnesotans long guessed Fargo drew on T. Eugene Thompson, a St. Paul lawyer convicted in 1963 of what?

Hiring his wife's killer got Thompson a life sentence in 1963; the Coens said they had never even heard of him.

Who hosted the 69th Academy Awards, where Fargo won two Oscars?

Billy Crystal opened the show with a montage that cut him into scenes from the Best Picture nominees, Fargo among them, and followed it with his usual medley about the films.

Which film won Best Picture over Fargo at the 69th Academy Awards?

The English Patient nearly went unmade: Fox pulled out three weeks before shooting, Miramax stepped in, and the film went on to win nine Oscars.

Before acting took off, Fargo's Steve Buscemi spent four years in which New York City job?

Firefighter: he served with Engine Company 55 in the early 1980s, and after the September 11 attacks he went back to his old firehouse to help search the rubble.

Which film won the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1996, the year Fargo competed?

Secrets & Lies grew out of Mike Leigh's usual method: months of improvisation in which his actors built their characters before a scene was shot.

Fargo's John Carroll Lynch played prime suspect Arthur Leigh Allen in which David Fincher thriller?

Zodiac makes him the man one detective is certain is the killer, even though the handwriting expert insists the letters are not his.

When the AFI dropped Fargo from its 100 greatest films in 2007, which newer film entered at 83rd?

Titanic took 83rd, one place above the spot Fargo had held in 1998 as that list's newest film; in 2007 Fargo became the newest film to be cut.

What did William H. Macy jokingly threaten to do if Fargo's directors gave his role to someone else?

Shoot Ethan Coen's dog: Macy, first seen for a smaller part, flew to New York uninvited to read again and told the brothers the role was his.

Which unexpected problem dogged Fargo's Minnesota shoot in the winter of 1995?

Too little snow fell in one of Minnesota's warmest winters on record, so the crew kept heading north and trucked or blew snow in where they had to.

Frances McDormand's fake pregnancy belly in Fargo was a prosthetic filled with what?

Birdseed gave the bump real weight, and McDormand said she never tried to move like a pregnant woman: balancing the load did it for her.

At which hotel chain's restaurant does Marge meet an old classmate while she is in Minneapolis?

Radisson: "It's the Radisson, so it's pretty good," her classmate says of the food, shortly before sliding round the booth to sit beside her.

After the roadside murders, what new demand does Carl make of Jerry?

The entire $80,000, not the half they had agreed: Carl tells Jerry the three killings have raised the risks, and orders him to have it ready the next day.

On which American Film Institute list did Marge Gunderson rank 33rd in 2003?

Greatest screen heroes: the AFI's top 50 put the polite, pregnant police chief on the same list as Indiana Jones and James Bond.