V. M. Varga

V. M. Varga
Fargo character
First appearance	"The Law of Vacant Places"
Last appearance	"Somebody to Love"
Created by	Noah Hawley
Portrayed by	David Thewlis
Information
Aliases	Daniel Rand
Gender	Male
Occupation	Crime boss, businessman

V. M. Varga is a fictional character in the FX television series Fargo. He is the main antagonist of the third season and is portrayed by David Thewlis.

Character overview

Varga is a cunning and verbose criminal mastermind who presides over a massive money laundering scheme. He is the implied boss of the criminal organization Narwhal, which employs his henchmen Yuri Gurka (Goran Bogdan), Meemo (Andy Yu) and Golem (DJ Qualls), who carry out murders and confidence tricks. Varga is of apparent English origin and suffers from bulimia nervosa, which leads to his teeth deteriorating. On the character's eating disorder, Thewlis has said, "The idea is bulimia in his life. He’s a man who is so ultimately in control of seemingly everything, and it’s therefore an expression of the one part of his existence that he’s not in control of, something that at times he loses control of… vulnerability."^[1]

Despite his wealth, Varga shuns excess and is always seen wearing a discount suit. Throughout the season, he is frequently seen living in the back of a semi-truck and working on his computer servers which creator Noah Hawley describes "It’s a very spartan life he lives... Obviously he’s got a lot of money, but you’ll never see him in a hotel or in a towncar."^[2] Varga exhibits a paranoid mentality, seemingly believing in Moon landing conspiracy theories and harboring antisemitism. A poster of Joseph Stalin is seen on his wall while he works in his computer station.

Storyline

In 2010, Varga arrives at Stussy Corporation offices when Emmit Stussy seeks to repay a business loan from Varga's shady organization made two years before. However, Varga explains that the company does not want their money back, and that it was an "investment" and partnership with his organization. Concerned for his business, Emmit asks his lawyer Irv Burman to investigate Varga. A Google search causes the lawyer's computer to crash and, later, Varga's henchmen Yuri Gurka and Meemo toss him off a parking garage. Varga then takes ownership of an unused wing of Emmit's offices. Learning of a theft by Emmit's younger brother Ray, and suspecting Varga was involved in Irv's death, Emmit and Sy consider selling their company.

Things escalate when Varga shows up unannounced for dinner at Emmit's house. After dinner, Varga proposes to sign Emmit on as a business partner. Although Emmit is reluctant, Varga convinces him that signing will allow him to become much richer and ensure his wealth is protected; the former ultimately complies. When Officer Lopez, who is investigating the hit-and-run he committed, questions Sy, who acts very suspiciously, Yuri and Meemo are watching. Later, Varga takes Sy's office and punishes him for talking to law enforcement by forcing him to drink urine from his mug. Varga has a meeting with Emmit, voicing his distrust of Sy and suggests he and Emmit's ne'er-do-well brother Ray may be working together to bring Emmit down. Explaining to Emmit and Sy, he plans to expand Stussy Lots by 16 garages within three months; Sy is wary, but Emmit seems eager. When Gloria Burgle and Lopez want to question Emmit, Varga curtails the meeting and obtains Gloria's card. A distraught Emmit calls Varga to manage the cleanup of Ray's death at the former's hand. Varga concocts a story that Ray abused his girlfriend Nikki Swango, causing injuries actually inflicted by Varga's men, and she retaliated. On Christmas, Varga asks Emmit how he feels about his murder of Ray; Emmit responds, "Free", but begins to cry. He sends uniformed assassin Golem to kill an imprisoned Nikki but, when this fails, his men plant a ramp, causing the prison bus, with Nikki and Mr. Wrench inside, to overturn. Nikki escapes with Wrench's help; Varga's men die along the chase. Varga poisons Sy, sending him into a coma.

Two-and-a-half months later, Nikki and Mr. Wrench are still at large, and Varga has expanded Emmit's business after becoming his partner. Varga gives Emmit tranquilizers to calm him, which he feigns taking. Marvin Stussy, a dentist in St. Cloud, is killed in the same manner as Ray. George Stussy is also found murdered in the same manner as Ennis. Ex-con Donald Woo, presumably working for Varga, is picked up for the murders and deliberately takes the fall, admitting to having committed all four. Varga meets with Nikki, and in order to get out of the blackmailing he repeatedly attempts to both poison and to hire her, but she refuses. Nikki gives Varga 24 hours to pay her ransom or she'll send his and Emmit's financials to the IRS.

After returning from the police station, Emmit is forced to sign many contracts, after which he grabs Meemo's gun and attempts to force Varga to withdraw from his house and business. Varga incapacitates him, and Meemo attacks him from behind. After leaving Emmit's house, Varga, Meemo, and the crew go to meet Nikki and Mr. Wrench to pay ransom for the hard drives, but are ambushed by Wrench. Meemo and his accomplices are killed, but Varga escapes. Emmit, regaining consciousness, goes to Stussy Lots' offices to find that Ruby Goldfarb, a businesswoman who was apparently in league with Varga, has finalized her acquisition of the company for $100,000 and has begun moving her employees into the building. Goldfarb assures Emmit that he holds millions in offshore accounts, but that he is liable for Stussy Lots' large debts and advises him to declare bankruptcy, leaving him distraught.

Five years later, Gloria, now an agent for the Department of Homeland Security, interviews Varga, who is going by the name "Daniel Rand", in a holding cell. She declares that in five minutes he will be going to jail for money laundering and six counts of conspiracy to commit murder. However, Varga asserts that in five minutes Gloria's superior will arrive and let him go free. Gloria scoffs, then starts counting down the minutes on the cell's clock while Varga hums, confident.

Production

Prior to his casting, Thewlis has already been a fan of the original 1996 film and had seen the previous two seasons. Upon learning that Hawley was interested in him for season 3, he jumped at the chance. Thewlis enjoyed playing the character, saying "I think I’ve had more fun playing Varga than I’ve had for quite a number of years, playing anything. It’s just so beautifully written. Every few weeks, I got a new script, I’d settle down with a cup of coffee like I was about to read Anna Karenina."^[3]

Reception

Thewlis received critical acclaim for his performance. Liz Shannon Miller of IndieWire remarked, "When 'Fargo' Year 3 announced its cast, Ewan McGregor was clearly the biggest name involved, and the fact that he would be playing brothers had everyone intrigued. But in subsequent weeks, fans aren’t clamoring for McGregor’s Ray or Emmit, but they are obsessed with the character of V.M. Varga. And that’s because David Thewlis is turning in one of the spring’s darkest, most horrifying supporting performances, one that will be hard to overlook this Emmy season."^[2] Brian Tallerica of Vulture.com, praising the whole cast, singled out Thewlis, saying "If I had to pick one (MVP), it might be Thewlis, who gave the season its simmering menace."^[4] Maureen Ryan of Variety also opined "David Thewlis’ sallow, well-spoken gangster, for instance, is one of the most menacing men to ever wear a sack-like, forgettable bargain suit."^[5]

For his work on Fargo, Thewlis was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie, a Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Movie/Miniseries, and a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film.^[6][7]

References