Fargo has had its fair share of peculiar characters throughout the FX anthology’s run, but even longtime fans may be surprised by Sam Spruell’s Ole Munch.
When we caught the star on set in Calgary earlier this year, Spruell did his best to describe the quirky guy who takes on a bit of a specific kidnapping role as the fifth installment of Noah Hawley’s hit kicks off. “He exists in the darker side of the world, and he could say at one point that he’s kind of caught up in sin,” Spruell says.
(Credit: Michelle Faye/FX)
“Fargo has a history of truth-tellers who sit a little outside the story, who are in a way woven into the story,” he elaborates. Ole Munch, who has been recruited to kidnap Dot (Juno Temple), is drawn into the story by North Dakota sheriff Roy Tillman (Jon Hamm). “The dynamic begins with Roy,” notes Spruell. “I think there’s kind of an aspect where he sees Roy as his master because he’s his paymaster,” but when things don’t go according to their agreement, Spruell says, “it becomes a different relationship.”
Ole Munch, described in the show’s logline as a “shadowy man”, is the kind of figure you can’t quite put a descriptor on, as he can sometimes appear to be in his thirties and other times look like he’s in the sixties. “I think there’s a kind of mystery to it, but there’s a worldliness about him,” Spruell teases. “He is very old.”
“I think the goal, in a way, is to create someone who represents something more than just the time he lives in that we find him in as an audience,” Spruell continues.
As with most truth tellers i Fargo world, Spruell notes that Ole Munch is “the kind of truth-teller who reminds characters who are the backbone of the story what the world really is and how it really works and whether they are delusional and what their behavior means.” Whether or not that bodes well for them will be seen as Year 5 unfolds.
“He doesn’t look good on life,” Spruell adds, “which suggests he may have experienced the depths of life as well.” Sounds creepy. See what Spruell and ensemble do when Fargo Year 5 arrives on FX, and stay tuned for more on the latest installment as episodes arrive.
FargoYear 5 Premiere, Tuesday 21 November at 10 p.m. ET/PT, FX (Next Day on Hulu)
