The squirrel, presumably, was watching.
Colin Hanks , often dismissed as "just Tom Hanks’s son," found his dramatic edge as Gus Grimly, the anxious cop who stutters through bravery. Bob Odenkirk , still years away from Better Call Saul , played the small-town chief as comic relief—until Hawley gave him a speech about decency that made audiences weep.
Season 1 aired, and critics went wild. But the strangest moment came years later, at a fan convention. A young actor asked the panel, "How did you make such darkness feel so human?" fargo: season 1 cast
"Simple," Thornton said from the back of the room, wearing sunglasses indoors. "We all knew someone like Lester. Someone like Malvo. Someone like Molly. We just never saw them in a snowbank before."
And behind the scenes? The Coen brothers, who had nothing to do with the show, quietly called Hawley after watching the pilot. "You didn’t ruin it," they said. "That’s high praise from us." The squirrel, presumably, was watching
The cast became a family of misfits. Freeman taught Tolman card tricks. Thornton gave Odenkirk a hunting knife "for emergencies." When the Emmy nominations came, Tolman cried on Freeman’s shoulder. Thornton didn’t show up—he was rumored to be feeding peanuts to a squirrel in Montana.
It sounded like a disaster.
Then he walked out, leaving a single peanut on the table.