If you haven’t seen 3×02 of FX’s Fargo, it’s better to skip reading this interview until after you’ve seen it. Some spoilers will be talked about, but I’ll place them under the cut. Yahoo! TV interviewed Mary after the second aired tonight, and while we’ll get to hear about why Nikki was originally locked up, the craziness has yet to begin on the show. Click the link to read the full interview:
How did the role come about for you?
I’ve kind of been in touch with Noah over the past couple of years. We’ve talked about roles in other seasons, and schedules just never lined up. You know, I think we’ve always just sort of had a mutual fandom for each other. Certainly after I saw the first couple of seasons, I was dying to be a part of it. When he called and asked if I was available [for Season 3], I said, “Yes,” without hesitation. I didn’t ask what the role was, or what the story was, or anything. I totally jumped right in. It was probably the first and only time I’ve ever done that, where I’ve just said yes to something without even reading it because I just had so much trust that whatever the role was, it was going to be so layered and exciting and fun to do. I had no doubts, especially as a female character, that he would bring so much to it, because of what he had done in the past two seasons.
And was Nikki even beyond your expectations of what your character would be?
It was so not what I was expecting. It was such an exciting surprise. I thought that I would be playing a really polite housewife or something. I never expected that I’d be on Fargo playing this brash, sexy Fargo universe of a femme fatale. It’s been so much fun and beyond anything that I could have imagined. At first glance, I thought, “Really? He wants me to play this part? Am I really this girl?” Then once I got into it, I was like, “Oh, yeah. I am this girl!” I’m actually really comfortable with this, just having the time of my life.
You had a huge ending in the season premiere with the air conditioner death of Maurice. Then in episode 2, when Nikki thinks it’s a blood feud that is blocking Ray’s chi, she kind of fights blood with, literally, blood — a used tampon. Describe acting out that office season. How did you even approach it?
It was a lot of fun. When I read it, I sort of, you know… I laughed out loud. I just thought, “Oh, my God. This woman is amazing.” I fell even more in love with her character. I was so excited to be playing her because what a badass move that is, I think. Really, just in your face. I loved it. It was such a fun scene to play. I get to do the cat burglar thing and have the lock picks out and all that, and get to play with all the emotions of her realizing what she thinks is going on and becoming so angry about it. Of course, it’s a misunderstanding, as things often are in the Fargo universe. I love that. I love when characters think one thing is happening and then completely go full-bore in the direction of making this decision that’s based on something that’s not really true. That’s one of the things I loved most about that scene.