Grimsrud, Gaear (Fargo). Half of the twosome hired by Jerry Lundegaard to kidnap his wife, Grimsrud supplies the muscle while his partner Carl does the talking. After kidnapping Lundegaard’s wife, Grimsrud and Carl lay low with their prisoner in a cabin away from town and wait for Lundegaard to collect the ransom for his wife from her father. After a dispute with Carl about how to split the ransom money, Grimsrud incapacitates Carl with an ax and feeds his remains to a wood chipper. Marg catches Grimsrud in the act of disposal and arrests him after thwarting his attempt to escape with a well-placed gunshot to the leg.

The audience learns next to nothing about Grimsrud’s past or how he became involved with Carl. Grimsrud rarely speaks. Whether his silence results from a mind given to constant contemplation or simply stems from a habit of speaking only when necessary remains unclear; regardless, Grimsrud lets his actions do the talking. Over the course of the film, Grimsrud kills 5 characters (a state trooper, two unnamed motorists, Jean Lungegaard, and Carl) without remorse in the face of little or no provocation.

Played by Swedish actor Peter Stormare, who also appears in The Big Lebowski.—Zachary Watson