Bokeem Woodbine on ‘Fargo’: ‘I didn’t think I had a chance’
Bokeem Woodbine plays Mike Milligan in the FX series "Fargo." Credit: Invision / Chris Pizzello
Last season on “Fargo,” the psychopathic killer of choice was played by Billy Bob Thornton, whose unnerving performance earned him a Golden Globe Award. This season, the chills are being provided by Bokeem Woodbine as Mike Milligan, the soft-spoken, eerily calm and totally scary hit man for a Missouri mob syndicate muscling into the territory of a Minnesota crime family. The 42-year old Harlem native, who has been acting professionally since the age of 19, has been seen in “Ray,” “Southland,” “Total Recall,” “CSI: Miami,” and many other films and TV series. Newsday contributor Lewis Beale spoke with him by phone from Los Angeles.
“Fargo” is the kind of critically acclaimed show that actors kill to be in. How did you get the part?
I got notified about the audition in December. I didn’t think I had a chance, I thought the audition was some kind of error, I thought this was for somebody else. So I just got to work, I had 48 hours to put something together, I had no script, no idea what the series was about. So I got to the audition, and I changed a line, and typically if you make a mistake during an audition, you might as well walk out. But Noah Hawley [the executive producer] was present in the audition, and he got the idea I got the gist of the text. And he hired me.
How would you describe your character?
He is incredibly ambitious, resourceful, he’s got a lot of ingenuity, he’s ahead of his time. He’s got some tenure, otherwise he wouldn’t be in the position in the Kansas City mob like he is. And he’s managed to stay whole, healthy, prosperous, he’s got vision. He’s valued because he’s an independent thinker.
There’s already been some press comment about the short-cropped Afro your character sports. It seems pretty unique. Who decided on the look?
We talked about it ahead of time, and one of the things we discussed was towards the end of the ’70s the ’fros started to shrink a little bit, and in the show we are approaching the ’80s when ’fros were starting to disappear like buffaloes. And he’s ahead of his time, he sees it coming. And even the shape is unique.
How did you get started in the business?
I needed some money for a tattoo. I said to my mother “I need $75,” she said “go get a job.” She said why not go audition as an extra, and she said they make decent money for one day. I was 17, and I went to audition, and I got the part of an extra in “Juice,” with Omar Epps and Tupac, and then they asked me to be a stand-in for one of the actors. And a year and a half later, the phone rings, and it’s the woman who cast me in “Juice,” she and asks if I want to come to an open call, and I was so broke I only had two subway tokens — one to get there and one to get back. And I met Forest Whitaker, who was directing the film “Strapped,” and I ended up getting the job.
You have a visible gap in your front teeth. Has that ever been a problem in terms of your career?
A couple of people mentioned it, that I should get it fixed. Initially I said there was no way I’m closing my gap. Then when I hit a few lean years, I debated if this was holding me back. There are a couple of guys out there who have the gap, and I found out what the procedure would take, and it’s not an easy process, you don’t just go for one visit. So I decided not to.
What’s the best and worst advice you’ve ever gotten about the business?
The best was when Forest Whitaker told me when you’re working on location, you should take a script with you everywhere. He was trying to impress upon me when you are working on a film, that is your life. The worst advice I’ve ever gotten was socializing in Hollywood, to pretend as though it’s just a regular party. But these social gatherings are not parties, it’s business. You’re basically there to people watch, to be seen and mingle, and early in my career my thing was, “We’re partying. We’re partying.”
So I assume you’ve calmed down since you’ve become a father.
I have two girls, 2 and 4. It’s really raised my focus; people don’t know how they will react to fatherhood until they become one. Before I was a father I was not the life of the party, but definitely the second runner-up. I was carefree, and the only things that made me serious were my girl, my assignment and trying to stay fit. Now that I’m a father, anything that doesn’t have to do with taking care of the kids, making the wife happy, getting the next job, I just don’t care. I can really filter all that other stuff out. I could see a giant UFO over my neighbor’s house, and I’d say “I don’t care, I gotta make lunch.” I’m really square.
