V. M. Varga

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 and second-hand tie. Throughout the season, he is seen living in the back of a semi-trailer, in which he sleeps on the floor and works on a workstation connected to computer servers. According to Varga's creator, Noah Hawley: "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]

There are signs of paranoia in Varga's dialogue and behavior: he expresses a belief in Moon landing conspiracy theories, claiming to have been a part of its filming, as well as prejudices such as antisemitism, believing that wealth should be used to "become invisible" to hide from "the Mongol hordes" and appearing to admire Joseph Stalin (a portrait of whom is seen on a wall next to Varga's workstation).

In 2010, Varga arrives at Stussy Corporation offices when CEO Emmit Stussy (Ewan McGregor) 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 Blumkin 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 ne'er-do-well younger brother Ray (also McGregor), and suspecting Varga was involved in Irv's death, Emmit and his business partner Sy Feltz (Michael Stuhlbarg) 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 police officer Winnie Lopez (Olivia Sandoval) is investigating a hit-and-run that Sy committed during a visit to Ray, Sy acts very suspiciously because Yuri and Meemo are watching. As punishment, Varga takes Sy's office, urinates into Sy's mug, and makes him drink it at gunpoint.

Varga has a meeting with Emmit, voicing his distrust of Sy and suggests he and 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 police chief Gloria Burgle (Carrie Coon) and Lopez try 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 (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), causing injuries actually inflicted by Yuri, and she retaliated. On Christmas, Varga asks Emmit how he feels about killing Ray; Emmit responds, "Free", but begins to cry. He sends uniformed assassin Golem (DJ Qualls) to kill an imprisoned Nikki but, when this fails, his men plant a ramp, causing the prison bus, with Nikki and Mr. Wrench (Russell Harvard) inside, to overturn. Nikki escapes with Wrench's help; Golem and Yuri are killed during the chase. In the meanwhile, 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. In an attempt to get out from under Varga's thumb, Emmit turns himself in to the police and confesses to all his crimes. To nullify Emmit's confession, Varga directs Meemo to kill two random men with the last name of Stussy: Marvin Stussy, a dentist in St. Cloud, is killed in the same manner as Ray, as well as George Stussy, with the intention of these two deaths plus Ray and Ennis looking like the work of an unusual serial killer. Varga also directs an ex-con named Donald Woo to be picked up for the murders and deliberately take 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, appearing to vanish in an elevator, leaving his clothes behind. Emmit, regaining consciousness, goes to Stussy Lots' offices to find that Ruby Goldfarb (Mary McDonnell), a businesswoman who is 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.

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.

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] Thewlis appeared in the 1998 Coen brothers film, The Big Lebowski.[4]

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."[5] 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."[6]

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.[7][8]