Lester Nygaard
| Lester Nygaard | |
|---|---|
| Fargo character | |
 Martin Freeman as Lester in the Fargo episode "The Crocodile's Dilemma" | |
First appearance | "The Crocodile's Dilemma" (2014) |
Last appearance | "Morton's Fork" (2014) |
| Created by | Noah Hawley |
| Based on | |
| Portrayed by | Martin Freeman |
| In-universe information | |
| Occupation | Life insurance salesman |
| Family |
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| Spouses |
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Lester Nygaard is a fictional character in the FX crime anthology television series Fargo, serving as one of the central characters of the first season. He was created by showrunner Noah Hawley and portrayed by Martin Freeman.
Born and raised in Bemidji, Minnesota, Lester is a meek insurance salesman who is mistreated by nearly everyone in his life, until a chance encounter with hitman Lorne Malvo pushes him to violently act on his repressed anger. Lester develops a pattern of pathological lying to evade the legal consequences for his crimes, and becomes progressively greedier and more self-serving as the season progresses.