Interview: Juno Temple on Nailing her ‘Fargo’ Accent, Kevin McCallister-esque DIY Traps and What She Learned About Cate Blanchett on the Set of ‘Notes on a Scandal’

The world of Fargo began in 1996 with the release of the titular film directed by the Coen Brothers. In 2014, it continued with new life with Noah Hawley’s television continuation of the world, a first season that was well-received by critics and audiences alike. A decade has passed since the first season and the series continues on as an anthology in its fifth outing, a world of violence and darkness hidden in the midwest representative of human nature worldwide. 

Joining the universe this season is Emmy nominee Juno Temple, most recently known for her work on the AppleTV+ comedy Ted Lasso, where she earned raves for role in the series. In Fargo’s fifth installment, Temple stars as Dot Lyons, a woman with zero reluctance in maintaining safety for her family. When getting to know Dot, the audience has the pleasure of watching her set up a series of traps around her house in anticipation of an intrusion, the traps more elaborate than even Kevin McCallistser could craft. As the series continues and the story unravels for viewers, it becomes apparent that Dot feels it necessary to defend herself this way, a steely version of herself revealed when she feels she or her family is threatened. Some of the best scenes of the year are Temple and co-star Jon Hamm sharing the screen, Temple easily moving from Lasso to a project asking for something much different from her. 

I sat down with Temple to talk about entering this expansive world, her thoughts on Dot’s at-home crafts to ward off invaders, and what she learned about Cate Blanchett from her time shooting the first film she auditioned for, Notes on a Scandal. 

Tyler Doster: What was your first introduction to the world of Fargo?

Juno Temple:  It was the film when I was in my early teens. And then when the first installment came out, I remember watching that and I thought, “How’s that going to work?” And it blew my mind how season one truly felt like a continuation of the same universe. And I think with each installment of Fargo that the stories are genius. They are so present with conversations that need to be happening all the time about so many different aspects of America. And then on top of it, they feel very funny at moments, unbearably dark at moments and are filled with truly, I think, some of the most beautiful performances of all time.

And so when it came into my universe as a possibility to become a part of it, I was scared shitless. But at the same time, I’m not going to lie, I’m pretty honored to have somebody think that I could fill the shoes of Dot Lyon to be honest with you, because you don’t read female characters like her very often.

TD: What about it scared you so much when you first read it?

JT: The accent for sure is the first kind of big reaction that in your gut you are terrified of, because if you don’t nail that then you’re in trouble. And it’s a huge part of the comedic element to the dark comedy that is that sort of Coen brothers universe that Noah Hawley has continued on so brilliantly. And also when you nail the accent, suddenly a lot of the dialogue and these speeches and the rhythm, the musical tone to how these speeches and these conversations go, they just work. They make sense. So that’s a huge fear factor that you just have to work and try and get it right. I also stayed in the accent, actually, the entire time we were filming so that I just, even if I did screw up on camera, I didn’t mess up the whole take because I could just be like, “Well, we’ll do that in ADR” and carry on. So I found that to be really important.

And then I think this extraordinary woman that I got to inhabit was… there’s such a duality going on with her and she’s a mystery for almost half of this chapter, and wanting to show people that she was somebody that you wanted to invest your time with because you wanted to know what was going on with her and why and where she came from originally. And when you get to the end, understanding how she was throughout the beginning was something that was really important but also, yeah, intimidating, and I think a lot of fun as well. I think I remember my first day of filming, which I only had three days in between wrapping Ted Lasso and getting on a plane… I wrapped Ted Lasso on a Friday and Saturday to pack up an apartment, and flew on Sunday to Calgary and then was supposed to do camera tests on Tuesday but I got sick. So I had to go straight to camera on Thursday.

And my first day of shooting was actually where she gets taken to the police station and has her fingerprints done. I remember looking at Noah and being like, so has she been to jail before? And he was like, “Yeah, when she was a juvenile.” I was like, “Oh, okay. Okay, I might need to pick your brain about something.” And so it was also understanding that you are going to be learning as you go, but then sitting down with him that weekend and just talking about her past more extensively so that I could understand her behavior even more. And then also figure out in these moments where she’s kind of this feral survivalist, but she’s also always a mother and a nurturer. And so being able to actually pepper in some of the nurture when she is behaving in a more kind of feral and violent way and then also vice-versa was something that was really fun and I think meant you always were aware of that duality in her.

TD: How would you describe the difference in preparation for this role than previous roles with this one having that underbelly of violence and darkness to it?

JT: To be honest with you, I think any role that I’ve had the privilege of inhabiting, it starts with being curious and asking questions, and being curious from beginning to end and not ever thinking you know all the answers. And also learning from the people around you, whether it’s your hair and makeup team, whether it’s a script supervisor, whether it’s your props and set designer or your director and your writer, because they will constantly give you incredible information that you can then store and save and use in different moments. And so I think that’s something that I believe with every character.

But I think preparation for this one also, the climate is an interesting thing to kind of allow your body to accustom to, because I’ve never seen snow like that except for in a snow globe. But for Dot, it’s normal. And so being able to allow your body to not really trying to not shiver during a take when you’re not supposed to be shivering and really trying to accustom your body into relaxing so that you can do the scene and be present for your scene partner was something that was definitely, I think an important shift. But I also think learning when to take up space in a room with Dot was a really important preparation at the beginning. You really are aware of the fact that she is kind of a wallflower. She kind of wants to be seen, not necessarily heard and not really seen. And so it’s this. And then when she gets found, it’s the kind of, she doesn’t stop moving. I think from the end of episode one, she doesn’t really sit down for a long time. And the ability to try and do as many of these stunt moments as possible was something that was important to me because setting somebody on fire, whether it’s Juno or whether it’s Dot Lyon, it’s not a fun experience, but it’s something that I felt it’s important to then take in and be kind like, “Whoa.” But also understanding, thank God it wasn’t like some John Wick skill, it was like a feral mom. I had a lot of fun with stunts actually in that too.

TD: Do you bring anything to these bigger productions that you might’ve taken away from smaller productions? Like on short films such as Swerve?

JT: I think to me, it’s so important to be as much of a family as possible with every single department, however big or small the production is. And I think obviously sometimes you don’t have the luxury of getting to meet everybody on a team when the production’s a really big one. But the joy of doing a limited series is when you are spending that length of time with people, you really do get to know everybody and everybody becomes a true kind of family member. And on Fargo the hair and makeup department, Chris Grimsdale and Danny Hansen, who… Chris was my hair designer and Danny was my makeup artist and they were also two of my guardian angels. And they really helped me through some of the kind of tougher scenes that we had to shoot towards the end of the show. And we just laughed a lot too.

And creating a space where you feel safe, however big a production is, I think is really important. And I also think starting off at doing indie films, which is independent film, is something I love so much. And the intimacy that you have with your cast and being present for your cast and getting to know each other and understanding how each other work is something that I think everybody should take onto every production they’re part of.

TD: Speaking of being in a limited series, you were vocal about your disappointment back in 2016 when Vinyl was canceled and you were just about how you were a little reluctant maybe to get back into the TV sphere for fear of cancellation, but now you’ve been a part of so many great things. Has that turned your view around? Are you more excited to do television nowadays?

JT: I think it’s still the commitment of doing a continual television show is something that isn’t just an immediate yes to me. I think it has to feel like something that you want to inhabit a character for a long time. And playing Keeley Jones is the first time I ever got to do that. And I loved it. I had an absolutely indescribably magical time getting to live with her. And the team that I got to work with were just extraordinary from every department. And I think I’ve made friends for life and that’s something that is truly irreplaceable and unbelievably special to me.

To me, if there’s a character that I love within a limited series, it’s kind of because of the amount of time you get to spend with that character, but you also have sort of a beginning, a middle and an end. So you kind of know where the character is going and you get to explore life for a longer period of time than maybe if you’re part of an independent film, or even with a studio production, a big movie, it’s like you may not be mapping out as long of a period of time, but the limited series feels like a really exciting way to be a part of television that also feels like making movies. I, as a young girl, fell in love with movies. I didn’t grow up watching television. That came later in my life, but I think it’s extraordinary now what people are doing in limited series, in continual TV shows and movies again now. I think independent film is coming back, which is exciting too.

TD: It’s so lovely. I think it’s so funny, Dot rigs her home like a jigsaw trap from Saw mixed with Home Alone. 

JT: (laughs) DIY with her daughter. Having a good time with her little one. Yeah. 

TD: That’s the best kind of bonding you could do as a parent, I think.

JT: Having fun while still teaching how to protect. Yeah.

TD: The only way you should be teaching your kids. How much practicality was involved in setting those up and when you were on camera preparing those, were they already set up or was that you finalizing what needed to be done with those?

JT: Oh no, we were finalizing it. And so we were really able to hammer a nail into a certain space or whack the wire into [something]… but obviously a lot of it had been done before we were just finishing it. And I remember Sienna [King], who plays Scotty, who I love so much, and she was magical to work with and magical to be friends with off camera too. There was the moment where we’re kind of down on the floor and we’re connecting to.. I think it’s two wires or something, and it creates a kind of little explosion. And I remember talking to her about it, and she was like, “Is it going to be scary?” I was like, “I don’t know, it might be,” and then we did it and we were both like, “Woo!” So also I think having the practicality stuff creates a real reaction that you can’t fake.

And I also definitely will say that however much of the practical stuff we got to continue with, I know that they will have also then perfected it if they needed to do closeups because I’m not sure whether they would’ve got it perfect.

TD: What was the most rewarding part of portraying a woman like Dot, who isn’t afraid to utilize herself as a weapon against those who were seeking herself and her family harm?

JT: I think the last supper, the supper of forgiveness at the end. All of this stuff we’ve seen her go through and endure, but we’ve also seen how much she loves and how much she wants to nurture. And we understand why she didn’t just ask for help about the monster that catches up with her because she didn’t think she was ever going to be able to win. And then still the show ends with this beautiful supper where it’s like, “Maybe instead of collecting all the debts, forgiveness might set you free.” And I really love that that’s what she truly believes. And I think finishing this chapter with that is… I don’t know, it felt really profound and it felt really, really rewarding, that’s how she finishes her story with her family and with potentially an unwanted scary house guest who then gets invited in for family supper.

TD: Before we end today, I wanted to bring up, I’m not sure if you know this, but it seems like every couple of months now, the internet brings up Notes on a Scandal. 

JT: Oh, I didn’t know that.

TD: It’s starting to gain popularity again, every couple months you’ll see memes and it’s talked about. And I just wanted to ask you if you have any favorite memories from that process?

JT: Oh yes, I do. I mean, firstly, it was my first ever actual job. It was the first thing I auditioned for. And so as an introduction into doing this, having Cate Blanchett and Bill Nighy and Judi Dench teaching me things on a set was pretty fucking extraordinary. But I remember this one moment of Cate Blanchett in the green room with her kids, being this beautiful mom and gorgeous woman and laughing. And then the second AD came to tell us that they were ready for us on set. And walking behind her in this probably a minute, maybe minute and a half long walk to the set and just watching her body language completely transformed as she went from the green room onto the set.

And I was walking behind her, and it was this incredible thing to witness that I just… I think she’s one of the greatest actresses that will ever grace the planet. And I think getting to see that little moment of changing the way she held herself and how she walked into a space was something that I will forever hold close to my heart and be in awe of. Yeah, that was a really magical thing to watch.

TD: That’s extraordinary. Thank you for sharing that with me.

JT: Yeah, it was really beautiful.

Juno Temple is Emmy-nominated in the category of Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for Fargo.