David Rysdahl breaks down how that stunning ‘Fargo’ ending mirrors ‘the arc of my life’ [Exclusive Video Interview]
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SPOILER ALERT: This article and video have spoilers for the Season 5.
“The canvas is unlike any other,” reveals David Rysdahl about “Fargo.” In our recent webchat he adds, “You can do extremely funny and there’s extremely dark. It’s like a sheet of music. Getting these scripts feels very lyrical.” Watch our exclusive video interview above.
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“Fargo” is the FX anthology series created by Noah Hawley that was inspired by the 1996 Coen brothers film. Each season takes a darkly comedic look at characters dealing with life and crime in the Midwest. The series’ fifth installment tells the story of Dot, played by Juno Temple, whose normal life is disrupted when her abusive ex-husband discovers her whereabouts. Rysdahl plays Dot’s husband Wayne, who now has his life and family in jeopardy.
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With Wayne not knowing about his wife’s past, Rysdahl says, “The audience is ahead of me, so there’s humor. What’s surprising is how he handles it. He’s upset with his wife but he’s also had time to think about where she’s come from. Such a beautiful part of this season is the idea of forgiveness. He’s thinks she hasn’t changed who she is, he just knows her better. When I was thinking about piecing it all together. I was like, ‘I’m just going to take my time.’ It was easy to play as long as I kept it in the nuance and didn’t try to go for the laugh or the big emotion. Putting the puzzle pieces together slowly; piece by piece.”
The actor has a background in improv, which helped him construct Wayne. He explains, “You meet you wife for the first time and you’re like, ‘well all my prep is now different because she is bringing her artistic self to it.’ Then you meet the costume designer. And the director has their opinion. Then you get to your house. You prep, but the joy of film or TV making is the improv that happens with all the other artists. The writing is the base and you all bring your creativity. It’s a constant flexibility which is what’s so fun. It’s art on the go. It has to be alive.”
Rysdahl reflects, “Wayne is an optimistic part of me; also a younger version of me. I’m from Minnesota. He’s afraid of confrontation in the beginning which I’ve had to grow through. Moving to New York City helped me realize confrontation is not always a bad thing. Wayne from the top thinks, ‘I can dance through life.’ Then confrontation comes knocking at his door literally. I can feel that in my own life. In my twenties I jumped too intensely. Then you find nuance. I can stand up for myself while also allowing empathy for other people to have their moments. I don’t have to judge them. They are having a bad day. It’s like the Sam Spruell character at the end. Wayne’s realizes this guy needs to tell his story. The arc of my life has been allowing people to have those moments.”
The season concludes with an assassin, played by Spruell, breaking into Dot and Wayne’s house. The intense scenes ends with them all around the dinner table having biscuits. Rysdahl says, “It felt like a play. The ending message of forgiveness and sitting at each other’s table and listening to each other. I feel like that ending is something I emotionally need to hear with how much anger there is in the world. Humans are also this. How do we heal our divides? That scene was very emotional. It was the last thing we shot, the whole season led up to that moment and we had this group catharsis together.”
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