 William H. Macy (qv) begged the directors for the role of Jerry  Lundegaard. He did two readings for the part, and became convinced  he was the best man for the role. When the Coens didnt get back to  him on the subject, he flew to New York (where they were commencing  production) and said, "Im very, very worried that you are going to  screw up this movie by giving this role to somebody else. Its my  role, and Ill shoot your dogs if you dont give it to me." (He was  joking, of course.)