Martin Freeman’s breakout role came in 2001 when he starred in Ricky Gervais’ sitcom The Office as Tim Canterbury (John Krasinski’s Jim Halpert in the American version). The portrayal of a funny and friendly colleague of the famous receptionist cast a very long shadow for him as an actor, who became a perfect fit for ‘nice guy’ characters.
Years later, the same idea intensified on the big screen after he starred as Bilbo Baggins – one of the bearers of the One Ring – in the billion-dollar blockbuster The Hobbit trilogy. In the year his third and final Hobbit movie, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014) released, the first season of Fargo also premiered and subverted the idea of his “niceness”.
How the Television Series Fargo Changed Martin Freeman’s Image
The fifth season of Fargo is set to return to our screens after a long wait. The Noah Hawley-created black comedy television series, which follows a disparate set of characters and their exploits in different time periods, has done a brilliant job of not just taking inspiration from the Academy Award-winning movie of the same title but also paying homage to the Coen Brothers’ genius style of filmmaking.
The latter part is what makes Fargo so special and different from other series, as it is driven by a brilliant balance of dark comedy and crime rather than any one character. But at the same time, every major character has managed to leave their mark on the show through their brilliant performances despite limited episodes. In that regard, Martin Freeman‘s name comes first to the mind.
It’s the dynamic between Freeman’s insurance salesman Lester Nygaard and Billy Bob Thornton’s hitman Lorne Malvo that sets the tone of the series that we know today.
Freeman impressed as well as surprised many of his fans with his performance as a cowardly yet evil salesman. During an interview with The Guardian, he suggested that his character’s nature was an attraction for him as it went against the idea of his “niceness”. He said:
“Yes, I’m under no illusion about what I appear like. I just know there’s more to me than that as a person, and there’s certainly more to me than that as an actor. That’s where the frustration comes. My plan was always to be an actor. It wasn’t to be a nice guy. I became famous in Britain playing a nice decent guy and that casts a long shadow.”
He further added that it was a great relief to play Lester and escape Tim (The Office). But at the same time, he underlined that he’s very proud of being part of the Ricky Gervais-led show and it remains one of the best things he has ever done.
Why Martin Freeman Considered Turning Down the Iconic Hobbit Trilogy
The Hobbit trilogy seemingly turned out to be the turning point for Freeman, who in a 2022 interview with MovieWeb admitted that after leading the epic fantasy series as its protagonist, he started turning down opportunities to play likable characters to prevent himself from being typecast.
Interestingly, he wasn’t so sure about accepting the role of Bilbo Baggins – his most famous and successful role to date. However, this time his reasons were different.
As per the Daily Mail, the 52-year-old was reluctant to work in the J.R.R Tolkien trilogy, as he feared that the demands of working in New Zealand for more than two years for the series would harm his family life.
