“Fargo” may look like a chilly place to set a television series but, says costume designer Carol Case, “We’ve become experts in keeping people warm in inappropriate clothing.”
In the four previous seasons – and now the fifth – there are usually scenes set in snow and someone often has less than a parka to bring the warmth.
“We do layer everybody up underneath but, at some point, there are real people, people from Fargo who need to look like they’re prepared for winter.”
That’s good because Calgary, Alberta (where the series is shot) often has the same Midwestern chill as North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota, where the action takes place.
In the new season, which premieres Nov. 21, a seemingly typical Midwestern housewife (played by “Ted Lasso’s” Juno Temple) causes trouble at a school meeting, gets thrown in jail and becomes a cog in an outlandish plot that happens to involve her mother-in-law (played by Jennifer Jason Leigh), a mysterious drifter, and a North Dakota sheriff (played by Jon Hamm), who’s running for re-election.
Jon Hamm stars as Roy Tillman in season five of "Fargo."
The 10-part series, set in 2019, comments on politics, big business and small town values.
It also lets Hamm step out as a Marlboro Man-like lawman named Roy Tillman.
To give him the right look, “all I had to do was look around at our wranglers,” says Gail Kennedy, “Fargo’s” makeup expert. “We gave him a nice tan, a little sun on his cheeks and, as is the case with a typical rancher, made sure he was always well groomed and clean shaven.”
A sheepskin coat and cowboy hat added to the effect. Because “Fargo” is offbeat, there’s another surprise that Kennedy says was in the script.
“That’s what’s so fun about Noah,” she says of creator Noah Hawley. “He brings these quirky little things into characters…and it’s so much fun with Jon. He’s willing to do anything.”
"Fargo."
At one point, Hamm is seen lounging in a hot tub, then dries off with a towel that just happens to be imprinted with his face.
“You can get those printed,” Case says. So if Roy Tillman starts a trend – blame Hamm.
Because there’s also violence in “Fargo,” Kennedy has to be prepared for any kind of accident that might occur.
This season’s “Fargo” has two major ones and elaborate prosthetics to make it seem real. “It takes about three and a half hours to apply,” Kennedy says. “I like to get actors out of the chair as quickly as possible.” The secret? She works one side of the actor’s face, a fellow make-up artist does the other. “It works out really well.”
While sitting there, the actors listen to music, sing songs and sometimes sleep.
“With Sam (Spruell, who plays this year’s mysterious stranger), he would just tell stories and chat,” Kennedy says. Ewan McGregor, the star of season three, would frequently do a little “song and dance” and entertain the makeup artists.
To keep the actors happy, Kennedy and company make sure the pieces they apply are as lightweight as possible. “The effect might look bigger but, actually, the pieces are very thin. The key is not to make anything too big or too heavy.”
For this, the fifth season, she and Case collaborated on a series of Halloween costumes. Because they couldn’t be keyed to recognizable characters, they had to be originals. “Carol sent me photos of the children in their costumes and I designed their little faces to reflect the way maybe mom would have done their makeup. I made sure to tell my makeup artists, ‘Keep it mom-like.’”
Jon Hamm is nominated for lead actor in a limited or anthology series or movie for his role in the fifth season of "Fargo."
Kennedy designed every child’s makeup that was on screen. “I had a team of six artists with all of the kids. Everything we did was original art…and a lot of it came out of my brain. I just sat there and drew pictures.”
Because many of the children didn’t get closeups, she wanted them to feel special “and be excited. They had fun being in the makeup. They interacted with each other as though it were Halloween and that helped the adults, too. Many of the things I’ve done throughout my career haven’t been on camera, but they help the actors.”
For Temple, who’s in many of the series’ scenes, costuming was key. She wears a yellow sweater throughout and goes through phases. “Juno is very hands-on,” Case says. “Part of playing the character is figuring out what that person.”
Once Hawley set the parameters, Case and the actors went to work.
Like the actors, she and Kennedy don’t often know what challenges they face. Because Hawley doesn’t give them all of the season’s scripts before shooting starts, they’re just as surprised when they learn the secrets.
“Noah has the show running in his head, so you’re just there trying to pick out those little things you can do,” Case says. “There’s usually a fair bit of creative freedom, which is nice.”
Both veterans of “Fargo,” Kennedy and Case say there are hallmarks they can expect each time out. “It’s going to be cold,” Case says. “And you know some people are going to be able to deal with it and some aren’t.”
Also, because the “Fargo” seasons hit different time periods, “it’s pretty much a rebuild every time. You’d think we could keep the police uniforms, but it’s totally different. And when you’re moving around North Dakota and Minnesota, some of the jurisdiction is different.”
A challenge? You betcha. But since Calgary is a lot like the Midwest, “I can just look out the door.”
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