‘The Snowman’ on HBO: Mister Police, Does Michael Fassbender Really Play a Man Named ‘Harry Hole’?

Please, whatever you do, tune in to The Snowman on HBO this Saturday evening. You do not want to miss the viral sensation of 2017 now that it’s made its way to pay cable. In this American adaptation of the Norwegian book series, directed by the Swede Thomas Alfredson (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) and starring the German-Irish actor Michael Fassbender, Fassbender plays a police detective on the trail of a serial killer who dismembers his victims and uses the image of a snowman as a kind of signature.

You’ve probably seen an icon of a snowman all across memes for the last 9 months or so. That’s because the ad campaign for the theatrical release of The Snowman was goddamn hilarious. Observe:

Since riders of the New York City subway are, by and large, not likely to be readers of the source material, everybody’s working from a clean slate here. So we’re left to assume that the scrawled our message is one from a serial killer, taunting the police who haven’t been able to catch him. And that crudely drawn snowman at the bottom? Not subway defacement! More like a signature, a calling card; like the Zodiac, but more wintry. What the Wet Bandits of Home Alone fame would have signed their notes with. (Oh man, if only the killers in The Snowman had turned out to be the Wet Bandits.)

That glum-faced snowman, halfway between a Pepe frog and the unsmiling emoji face, was the meme of last year, along with that very particular “Dear Mister Police” syntax that made it sound like Balki from Perfect Strangers had snapped and gone on a killing spree back home in wintry Meepos. Some memes were better than others. Some of us were just trying our best.

One aspect of The Snowman that went completely unremarked upon because of the fervor over “Mister Police”? The fact that Fassbender played a character named Harry Hole.

Harry Hole!

Yeah, yeah, in the original Norwegian it’s pronounced closer to “hula,” but with the English-language movie adaptation, they’re going with the traditional American pronunciation of “Hole.” Obviously, this stinks. Opting for the American pronunciation of “Hole” only serves to make The Snowman the butt of jokes. Now, Michael Fassbender is a resilient guy with a sunny career in front of him, so I can’t believe that these jokes and memes wrecked ‘im. But, you know, don’t be cheeky. Snickering every time someone on screen says “Harry Hole” makes an ass out of you and me. I don’t care of all your Twitter friends are making jokes from how until Keister Sunday. These jokes are the bottom of the barrel.

So try to enjoy yourselves watching The Snowman on Saturday night! We know everybody else has.

Where to stream The Snowman