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Spoilers follow for the fifth season ofFargothrough the finale, Bisquik.
For much ofFargos fifth season, Lorraine Lyon is unimpressed.
The CEO of the countrys biggest debt-collection agency can sweet-talk if she needs to but not for long.
Shes intimidating, which was very different than how I feel in my own skin.
It seemed like a wonderful opportunity to play someone quite different than myself.
Shes a really good judge of people, and shes very rarely wrong, Leigh says of Lorraine.
And thats what happens to her as part of her arc: Shedoesget it wrong with Dot.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Do you have a specific process for working your way into a character?
If so, how did you apply it to Lorraine?Every character is different.
I do whatever research I can.
I did talk to Noah a lot about the character of Lorraine.
I read a couple books about debt and about America and capitalism, includingDebtor Nation,by Louis Hyman.
Noah thought I should look atWilliam F. Buckley.
Lorraine has kind of invented herself.
We talked a lot about her childhood and where she comes from and how shes moved away from that.
She really is the smartest person in the room for much of her life, but shes also scrappy.
She recognizes a lot of herself in Dot, and it takes her a while to see it.
But once she sees it, she cant get away from it.
You mentioned the accent.
When you watchFiring Line, he always has something between his fingers.
Its usually a pencil or a pen.
Thats a better way to put it, rather than nervousness; its more of a worry stone.
And the way shell lean into certain words and step back.
Theres a curiosity to her.
Thats what happens to her as part of her arc: Shedoesget it wrong with Dot.
Thats just genius, right?
That really made me laugh when I walked on set that day.
Its almost like her armor.
I love that coat.
I was also reading how people have described her in reviews and recaps, where the termsRepublicanandfeministcome up.
She thinks,Im a woman, and I work.
She believes in womens rights, obviously, and shes an old-school Republican, 100 percent.
Shes not a Libertarian.
Shes definitely about money.
She would definitely want to pay lower taxes.
Her politics Noah and I did talk about.
She is doing a Christmas card with guns, so its also about, Who is she appealing to?
Who does she need?
Theres so much corruption involved.
She wants people that she could pay off and are leaning to her side.
Knowing where she stands is important, but her politics arent based on a worldview.
Theyre more based on her pocketbook and her business.
That lack of a worldview beyond herself really comes through in how Lorraine speaks.
Its not like, You didnt mean to say that.
No, she did mean to say that.
I love the way Noah writes so much because you really can just get in there.
She has her own security team.
The police are more of a nuisance for her than helpful to her.
Dots back home, but they havent pieced anything together.
Theyre just causing more difficulty for her, a lot of bureaucracy.
The realities which she spells out very clearly, she doesntneedto say that, right?
Shes so angry that its almost the most out of control she gets in the whole season.
She didnt have to do that, but she couldnt stop; shewantedto.
Its a release for her.
And shes still put out by it!
You have a couple of very good verbal duels with Jon Hamm as Roy.
He makes everything so real and in the moment and not fanciful at all, just facts.
Thats also the way he plays Roy, which is so chilling.
I just remember loving the experience of doing that with him.
The scenes were so fraught.
Theres a tremendous amount of tension.
The idea of property, right?
Its so interesting that she says, Shes my sons property now.
Its like, You want to take this to the terms that youre saying?
Okay, well do that.
Youre making a real meal out of terms likefuck-off feeandbaby.
She gets a real thrill out of embarrassing Roy.She loves it.
This big old cowboy sheriff, so macho and tough.
Thats fine, she doesnt need to be liked.
Your feelings about her, they dont penetrate at all.
She doesnt have a board.
Her company is privately owned.
She doesnt owe anyone anything.
Its just who can she pay off, and who can she buy out?
Were there actually photos for you to look at?
Are you reacting to something in front of you?Yes, there were pictures of Juno.
They were I mean, you saw them.
I saw the same pictures you see as a viewer, and theyre so real.
The makeup artists are brilliant, Junos brilliant.
They were actually on set when they did the photos, but Juno wouldnt let me see her.
She really wanted it to be as real for me when I saw them as possible.
But then she looks at it, and its not intriguing, its not gossip.
Its horrifying.What she wants to do is destroy him after seeing that.
That scene was very easy to play because I didnt have to play it.
It was just looking at the thing and the camera catching it.
Roy is not so much of a buffoon now.
Lorraine didnt trust her at all.
And shewaspicking up on something because Dot has reinvented herself.
She now realizes Roy isnt just some cowboy in a big hat whos showing off.
Hes capable of something more.Hes monstrous, and he feels entitled to it.
Thats nothing to him.
Thats all in a day.
Itspeaks also to debtand to women.
There are still countries in the world where women are the property of men.
When Roy speaks to that, hes not talking about something so crazy or old-fashioned.
It exists right now in other countries.
That leads me to the final moment between Dot and Lorraine.
I dont think I winked every time.
Sometimes the hug was shorter, sometimes it was longer.
I think that was our last scene together, so there was a lot going into it.
In this moment, thats all gone.
I think it does feel like Youre the daughter I wish I had.
