This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

FARGO: Talking with Allison Tolman as Molly

Jeri Jacquin

Fargo airs Tuesday nights at 10:00 p.m. only on FX and if you’ve been watching (and I have to question our friendship if you don’t!) then Allison Tolman as Molly has to have gotten on your radar!

Tolman, who graduated Baylor University, also help found a non-profit ensemble called Second Thought Theatre. After being accepted into the Second City Conservatory Training Program, Tolman also wrote and performed with different theatre groups in Chicago.

Find out what's happening in Imperial Beachwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Now, on the FX series FARGO, Tolman plays Molly Solverson, a law woman who is in the midst of a murder investigation. She has the puzzle pieces in front of her but no one is seeing what she does. Molly is following a trail that leads her to a murderer – but what will it cost her?

It was a real great opportunity to speak with Allison about her life before FARGO, getting the call for the role and working with such a diverse cast.

Find out what's happening in Imperial Beachwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

 

Hi, Allison.  Thanks so much for talking to us today.

Hi, Jeri.

How did FARGO come on your radar?

My background is in theater and a little bit of sketch, and I was in Chicago when I booked the role, just kind of working at my day job and doing auditions here and there, but not really booking anything.  And I put myself on tape for Fargo, and then sort of walked out of the room and forgot about it and went about my daily life.  And then a few weeks later they called me and asked me to come in and test in New York, and then five days after that they called and told me that I had the role.  So, it’s kind of a quick unfolding and a really fast way for your life to change that much overnight.

When did you get the call that you got the role and how did you feel?

It was overwhelming, and I think that when I first got the call I was probably in shock.  Noah Hawley made the call and told me that I had the role.  And the way he tells it I said, “Thank you” very politely, and then I had to get off the phone because I had to go back to work.  So, I know inside I was definitely freaking out and losing my mind, but he said I was very calm and composed at the time.  So, yes, it was intimidating, but luckily once I got there everyone was so kind and patient and welcoming I didn’t have a lot to worry about. 

How do you see your character?

I think that’s one of the best things about Molly is that she’s just driven by this really strong sense of duty, I think that’s what drives her to do things.  And it’s not personal ambition, she’s not snotty about how she’s smarter than everyone, she’s not trying to one-up anybody, she just sees what needs to be done and feels very strongly about it being accomplished.  So, she falls into that role not because she wants personal gain or personal glory, but because no one else will do it.  And I think that’s one of the things that’s most endearing about her.

What do you think is the art to a good interrogation?

Learning your lines well.  No, I think that certainly the way that it’s written and certainly the way that we tried to play it is that I think you just have to remember to listen to everything that your scene partner, or in your case your interviewee, is telling you, not just with their words but with their body and their eyes, and pick up on things that will help lead you to what your next question should probably be.  In my case hoping that that will help you crack the case.

Can you tell us Molly’s fate?

Well, I know everyone’s quite upset about what happened, but the more savvy fans of mine are getting on my IMDB page and checking to see how many episodes I’m in.  So, that has given them some comfort, I think, during this dark time.  So, yes, people don’t need to be too worried, although of course nothing is sacred in the world of Fargo, so a lot can happen between now and episode 10. 

How did you handle the Minnesota accent?

I think that probably my original accent that I toned down and I did for my original audition was probably a combination of what I heard from the original film of Fargo and then just what I knew from different internet clips.  So, it was a little too broad, I think, a little bit too sketchy, like sketch comedy.  But, throughout the process we had a good dialect coach who kept us on track on the set and helped me tone that down, and “Molly” is so understated and such an understated character that it makes sense that her accent would be much more understated as well.  So, I’m hoping that, I know that a lot of people from Minnesota felt like the accents in the film sometimes were too broad, so I’m hoping that they don’t think that about the show.  What do you think?

How did you create your character or was it all Noah Hawley?

Sure.  Yes, I think that a lot of that is Noah.  Noah wrote a really strong character that when I read her I felt very strongly about the way that she was supposed to be interpreted.  So, I think that it’s probably a pretty good split between the things that Noah wrote, the woman that Noah wrote, and then my interpretation of her.  But, yes, I think that the way that she’s layered and the different facets of her that we get to see and discover as we go through the season was one of the best things about her.

Do you have a favorite FARGO scene so far?

Yes, there is a favorite scene that I have that I got to film with Colin, and it’s in episode 8.  And the really nice thing about it is that we had permission when we played it to not feel like we had to speak too quickly, that it was okay to have some silence in there, and it was okay for these two people to just exist in the same space for a little while.  And that one was really special.  It was really fun to play that and to not feel like—because I talk a lot in the show and I do a lot of police speak and I have to relay a lot of facts, so getting to just sit with my character, “Molly” and “Gus” to just sit together and have not as much to say was really nice as an actress to be able to play with that. 

Working with such an amazing cast, who do you find to be the most interesting to work with?

Oh, that’s a tough one.  I guess for me as an actress and coming into television as a newbie it was really fascinating to work with Martin Freeman, because of the freedom that he has when he films.  He is really unafraid to do a different thing, take after take after take each one is different, so that was really fascinating to me coming in new.  And I can’t imagine having the confidence that he has to be able to just swing so wildly from one end of the spectrum to the other, which he does, and I think is what makes him so fantastic and gives the editors such a difficult job when they’re trying to figure out what take they should use.  So that was really fascinating. 

How do you find working with Bob Odenkirk? 

We had great fun.  We spent some time together off set as well, so we had a nice rapport before we went into those scenes and had to disagree so much, which was good.  But, yes, I think the dynamic between “Bill Oswalt” and “Molly Solverson” is really a fun one to play with, and I could tell while we were doing it that we were doing some funny stuff.  And as the season progresses their interactions become more and more poignant, and it’s really fun to watch that evolution take place. 

Were you at all worried about being compared to Frances McDormand?

Certainly that fear was there.  And I knew going in that these characters were really different and that the character of “Molly” was really strong in her own right.  But it was definitely a concern of mine, and especially as a newcomer, you know, you don’t come out the gate as a singer and try to compare with Judy Garland.  So, it was scary for me to come into this role, I knew people associated with her, the comparisons were nerve-wracking.  But I think that we’ve proven in the past few episodes and since we’ve started that these characters are different enough that people can draw parallels between them, but they don’t have to be pitted against each other.  So, I feel a little bit of that pressure has been taken off.

What was your job before FARGO?

Yes, when I auditioned for Fargo, when I put myself on tape originally I was actually unemployed and I wasn’t working.  I was sort of temping and auditioning and interviewing in the afternoons.  And then in the meantime, in the time that passed, I got a job at a photography studio, a pinups photography studio in Chicago, as their post-production manager.  So, I was in charge of all of the photos going out and being approved and being mailed to the right places, etc.

Do you understand where the story is going or are you figuring it out like the rest of us?

Well, I certainly have the added benefit of having read everything, so I know where things are headed, which is helpful.  But I read all these scripts when I first got them and then after that I didn’t read them again.  I just read my scenes when I was memorizing lines.  So it’s really fun to experience those things along with everybody, the storylines that I kind of vaguely remembered and scenes that I had forgotten took place, and characters that I had forgotten that I liked as much as I did.  So being able to watch all of that and remember all of the other storylines that come together that run parallel to mine is really fun.

What is it like to work with Keith Carradine as Lou?

Keith, in addition to being a really tremendous actor, is a really wonderful man.  And we had a very paternal relationship throughout filming, so it was kind of interesting to go in and be able to play that on screen as well.  But it’s nice for you when you’re playing a character who does do so much work, work, work, work, work to be able to play scenes where she gets to kind of come home and sit with a person who really knows her and loves her, and to see what those interactions look like.  Similarly, I felt really safe whenever I played scenes with Keith.  I felt very taken care of and I knew that he was proud of the work that I was doing, and it was just very much like holding a scene with a father and daughter. 

How do you see the father-daughter dynamic?

I think that she listens to her father’s advice and she seeks it out.  She doesn’t come right out and say, “Dad, tell me what you think about this.”  But she knows when she goes and sits down at his counter and gets some coffee that he’s going to tell her some story or other that is going to help her try to figure out what she’s supposed to do.  So, I think there’s shorthand there between the two of them that’s really nice, that really reads.  And as far as that tension goes, I think that she goes and seeks his opinion and he gives it, and he knows full well that she’s going to do whatever she wants to do anyway.  But that’s the dance that they do, is that she goes and asks him what he thinks, and he tells her, and she says, “Okay, thanks,” and then she goes and does her own thing. 

In an article you said Dallas is where you felt like you learned to be an adult, can you tell us about that?

Yes, I went to Dallas as soon as I got out of college, which getting out of college is like the scariest time in anyone’s life, I think, because you suddenly have to actually leave the school system and figure out what you’re going to do.  So, yes, Dallas is where I figured out how to balance a checkbook and that you had to have a job, and you couldn’t go back to your parents and say, “I need some more money for the food.”  So, yes, Dallas has a really special place in my heart because I spent that time there.  And in addition, that’s where I started my career and that’s kind of where I grew my resume, and it was really kind to me, theatrically and commercially.  I did a lot of work there. 

What’s next for you after FARGO and did being on the show open avenues for you?

Right.  Yes, it’s fascinating.  It’s a strange position to be put into, to have people looking at your life and saying that’s an inspirational story.  It’s a very strange place to find yourself.  I certainly didn’t think of it that way as I was living it.  But I think that my advice to people who are starting out would be that there’s no shame in having the job that you have that pays the bills and then having the things that you do in the rest of the time that makes you happy.  Not everybody goes whole hog and just acts and lives with seven roommates in a one bedroom apartment to kind of make ends meet.  For me it was always really important that I felt like I had some stability, so I always had day jobs.  I never really acted full-time.  But I kept at it, because it was what I loved, and I found ways to keep doing it regardless of what I was doing with my time. 

How do you think Molly sees the world?

I think that the good thing that “Molly” has going for her is that she’s a natural detective, her brain works that way.  If she had remained untested and never had this case come her way, she might never have found that out about herself.  But because this has come her way and this has landed in her lap, she’s getting to find out just how good she is at this sort of analytical detective work.  And I think that it’s a really dog-eat-dog world, it’s a brutal, brutal world that this show takes place in, but she’s so pragmatic that I think she’s able to adjust and remain emotionally detached from the things that are going on and just proceed with getting things done.

What do you think you’ve learned about this process so far?

Oh, my goodness.  I guess, Keith Carradine said something really interesting to me, which is really poignant and which has been really helpful as I’m kind of proceeding and trying to figure out what’s going to happen with the next season.  And he said, “You have to think of it like that the life of a television show is like the life of a dog.  And it’s such a sweet thing to have a dog, but you know that at some point in time that dog’s not going to be with you anymore.  But that doesn’t make that time any less sweet.  You just have to enjoy it while you have it.”  Which is a really nice analogy, you know, I just have to think of Fargo, and any project that comes my way in the future, like that.  That it’s so sweet to work on and so sweet to get to do that thing, but eventually it’s going to end and you just have to enjoy the time that you have with it.

What have you done to stay grounded as Molly?

If you only live in the world of the actor and if you only live in the world of auditions, etc., then you don’t really have a whole lot to offer when it comes to playing the humans that you’re trying to audition for.  So, for me it’s served me really well to have this varied background and all these different things that I’ve done.  And I hope that that continues to serve me well in my career.

Actors have different ways they approach a role, what is yours?

That’s a good question.  I’m able to turn things off when I’m done working.  I don’t have to live in that world.  That’s never been a problem for me.  But with that said, I think that there’s certainly value to figuring out how your character thinks and how they live and how they breathe, so that when you do have to turn that on, you’re able to do so.  And it is difficult sometimes.  It depends on the kind of scene you’re playing.  If you’re playing a really emotional scene it is a lot harder to leave that behind and still get home that evening and be like, why am I sad?  And you realize it’s because you’re pretending to be sad all day.  You have to remind yourself that it’s not real and be able to shake it off.

Are you comfortable yet with the fame FARGO has brought?

Yes, I’m definitely not comfortable with it yet, and it will take a lot of getting used to.  And there are parts about it that are really fun.  It’s fun to be able to see what everybody’s thinking about the show and what they’re saying on the internet, and have people tweeting at you and stuff like that.  It’s fun.  There’s a lot of really great things about it, but it certainly is odd.  I’m 32, I’ve been in this business for 10 years, and I certainly had gotten past the point where fame and fortune was something that I was kind of dreaming about or anticipating, so I’m kind of having to recalibrate now that this is actually a part of my life.  I had stopped thinking about that being a possibility. 

You did Second City, did you have hopes of doing Saturday Night Live?

Oh, absolutely.  I think that that was a big goal of mine actually when I went to Chicago, was I wanted to learn how to do improve and I wanted to learn how to write sketches.  And the goal, the dream would be to be on Saturday Night Live for me as a comedian for sure.  So, yes, that was definitely a goal of mine for many years.

Do you know if FARGO will go into a second season?

I have not heard any word yet.  I know that they’re discussing it, and discussing if they do have a second season, or a second installment in the anthology, which actors might make it through to another season, what time it will be placed in, etc., etc.  So, even among the people that know what’s going on, there’s so many different theories and there’s so many different options that I’m just kind of sitting tight until they let me know exactly what’s actually happening.

How are you handling the Calgary winter?

Yes, Calgary is beautiful, and I had a really good time there.  And I think that, yes, coming from Chicago I had a little bit of training for that cold, so that was helpful.  It certainly gets colder in Calgary than it does in Chicago.  And it was a long winter.  But, we spent quite a bit of time together off set, we all would go to dinner together, etc., go see movies or whatever, so that was kind of how we spent our time.  You’re on location and everybody’s away from their families, and so you kind of bond pretty quickly, because you’re the people that you have to spend time with, which helps with those days that you do have hard scenes or you have depressing days that are long days, you can spend time with the people that you’ve met.

How is the twist going to affect your character do you think?

I think that for sure the budding relationship that we saw between “Gus” and “Molly” is derailed a little bit by recent developments.  And then in addition, it’s a major setback for her.  She’s used to just go, go, go and being unable to do that is going to make things difficult for her, because, again, she’s really ambitious.  And secondly, while she’s not working other people are working on things, so definitely [indiscernible] episode has sort of derailed us from the track that we were on.

How is it working with such a stellar cast?

It’s a bizarre experience to go from being unknown to being one of the top four billed actors in a series like this that’s so well received.  And, again, I was so intimidated going into the project, but I was treated very kindly and so that quickly dissipated.  And I didn’t really know until I started reading the second and third episodes of how important “Molly” was going to be to the process.  So I learned that as I went, which was really fun.

Did you do any research to play Molly?

Yes.  Our still photographer on set was a policeman in Canada for 20 years, so when I first got into town I spent some time with him learning how to handle a weapon, learning how to search a room, and just kind of learning those basic sort of police observational skills that they employ when they’re on duty and throughout their lives.  And then in addition he was on set with us every day, so if I ever felt like I had a cop question or I needed to know how something would be done properly, he was there to let me know.

Since taking over as Police Chief, how do you see they dynamic between Bob Odenkirk’s character now and yours?

There’s a really interesting evolution between the two of them, and you kind of get to watch them throughout the series begin to become colleagues and begin to respect each other for their different reasons, which is nice, because in the beginning he’s just such a buffoon.  He’s just really so wrong about everything.  But I think that does go back to in the beginning when he first becomes chief she still feels really strongly that he’s the chief and you get in line behind him and you do what he says, and those are the rules.  But as she quickly learns that if she follows behind him that things are going to be done incorrectly, and more importantly that her friend and mentor’s murder is not going to be solved, she starts to think that maybe she should step around him.  So, over the 10 episode arc the relationship between the two of them goes to some really, really beautiful places and I’m excited for people to see it.

 

FARGO airs Tuesday nights at 10:00 p.m. only on FX, the network that continues to think outside the box!!

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?