Hollywood is full of weird, wonderful, and often under-appreciated jobs. There are foley artists who make props sound like sex and food stylists who turn regular old pork into delectable human flesh. Westworld had a fly wrangler and someone on Breaking Bad had to figure out how to make rock candy look like meth. But even among all those unsung heroes, Jon Hamm’s “nippleologist” might just take the cake.
Let’s just get this out of the way upfront: Jon Hamm’s nippleologist doesn’t have anything to do with his actual nipples. (This author really just wanted to type nippleologist one more time. Sorry.) Rather, Jon Hamm’s nippleologist was in charge of his fake—and notably pierced—nipples on the set of Fargo’s fifth installment, in which Hamm stars alongside Juno Temple.
The new season’s trailer includes a scene in which Hamm, who plays a sheriff named Roy Tillman, emerges from a hot tub, debuting his new nipples to the world. This, of course, was a hot topic of conversation at the series’ premiere event. “I had to have some very blue latex put on my nipples, and then they cast a resoundingly lifelike pair of nipples, which they then pierced and placed over my own nipples, and we shot said nipples,” Hamm, who apparently likes saying the word “nipple” as much as we like typing the word “nippleologist,” shared at the screening (via Variety). “The crew doesn’t get enough credit, but there was a dedicated nippleologist.”
“We all live in Tiger King America,” added showrunner Noah Hawley, which is honestly pretty watertight logic. Of course a hardscrabble officer from North Dakota should sport a nipple ring or two, if the writers want. Plus it keeps more people employed, which feels like a win-win to us. Apparently, Temple didn’t even know that Hamm’s nipples were fake in the first place, so extra props are in order for Hamm’s nippleologist. Whoever they are, they’re hopefully on their way to becoming the most sought-after nippleologist in the biz.
Fargo’s fifth installment premieres tonight at 10 p.m. ET on FX. Episodes will be available the next day on Hulu.