Lorne Malvo

Lore & Background

Malvo is a psychopath who takes pleasure in causing chaos between his murders. He believes social norms are a ruse, as human beings one day decided they were superior to the fellow animals of the jungle and then formed society. He believes people follow nonsense rules that they subconsciously inherit and remain slaves to their entire time. This way, he does not feel guilty as he believes that there is an instinctive drive to kill that he simply fulfills, in a similar way to hunting.

In Their Own Story

In 2006, Malvo is a hitman based in Reno, Nevada. He is hired to kidnap Phil McCormick, strips him of his clothes, and throws him in the trunk of his car. After hitting a deer outside Bemidji, Minnesota, and going off the road, McCormick escapes but freezes to death. At the hospital, Malvo meets Lester Nygaard, who tells him about his childhood bully Sam Hess. Malvo interprets Lester's annoyed yell of 'yeah' as approval to kill Hess, and later murders Hess at a strip club by throwing a knife into the back of his head. After Lester murders his wife, Malvo shoots police chief Vern Thurman and escapes. Malvo later takes over a blackmail operation against supermarket king Stavros Milos, psychologically taunting him by killing his dog, replacing his medication with adderall, rigging his shower to spray pig's blood, and releasing hundreds of crickets into his supermarket. He rigs Don Chumph to an exercise machine with a shotgun taped to his hands, leading to Chumph being killed by a SWAT team. Malvo kills two Fargo hitmen, Mr. Wrench and Mr. Numbers, then massacres 22 people at the Fargo Crime Syndicate's base. In 2007, living in Kansas City as a dentist named Michaelson, Malvo kills Dr. Burt Canton, Canton's wife, and dental assistant Jemma Stalone after Lester Nygaard refuses to pretend he doesn't know him. Malvo follows Lester back to Minnesota, kills Lester's wife Linda, kills FBI agents Pepper and Budge, and is eventually shot point blank in the chest several times by Gus Grimly. Malvo coughs up blood, laughs, and is fatally shot in the face by Gus.

Reader's Guide

Lorne Malvo is a hitman based in Reno, Nevada, who operates across the Midwestern United States. He is hired to kidnap and murder targets, but also entices others to commit their own sadistic acts of crime and murder for his personal amusement. His philosophy is that social norms are a ruse and that there is an instinctive drive to kill that he simply fulfills. Key events include: in 2006, he murders Sam Hess by throwing a knife into the back of his head at a strip club; he shoots police chief Vern Thurman; he psychologically torments Stavros Milos with acts alluding to the Book of Exodus; he kills Mr. Numbers by stabbing him repeatedly and slitting his throat; he massacres 22 people at the Fargo Crime Syndicate's base; in 2007, he kills Dr. Burt Canton, his wife, and Jemma Stalone; he kills Lester's wife Linda; he kills FBI agents Pepper and Budge; and he is ultimately shot and killed by Gus Grimly after being shot point blank in the chest and laughing.

Did You Know?

• Malvo is portrayed by Billy Bob Thornton and was created by showrunner Noah Hawley.
• Malvo murders Sam Hess by throwing a knife into the back of his head while Hess is having sex with a stripper.
• Malvo massacres 22 people at the Fargo Crime Syndicate's main base of operations by himself.
• Malvo is killed by Gus Grimly, who shoots him point blank in the chest several times, then fatally in the face.
• Malvo uses the false identity Frank Peterson, a minister, after receiving a package from his employer.