The Night Agent star Gabriel Basso has spoken about the show’s fight scenes, describing them as “grimy and nasty”.
The action-thriller, which airs on Netflix, follows FBI agent Peter Sutherland (Basso) as he is thrown into a conspiracy, with his task being to uncover a mole at the highest level of the US government.
Following the airing of the highly-anticipated second season earlier this month, Basso spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about his desire to film his own fight scenes, explaining that it proves to be more immersive for the audience.
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“Seeing anyone go through anything challenging ingratiates that person to you,” said the actor. “There’s a certain amount of respect and I think affection that Peter earns by putting himself on the line constantly.
“If we don’t show that, if I don’t actually put myself in a position where I could get injured and we are lying about that, it feels fake. It’s a show – it’s a lie, but it’s a story. But we were throwing each other around. We were getting banged up. Some injuries were picked up.
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“The style of fights on this show are very grimy, visceral and nasty, and I think that kind of action makes the protagonist likable. He’s not indestructible. He’s pushing himself. He accrues injuries throughout the show. He’s more and more desperate as the show goes on.”
Basso, who recently starred in Trigger Warning and Juror #2, continued by explaining how he always strived for the utmost sense of “reality” during filming, though conceded that the existence of hair and make-up often proved a barrier for ultimate authenticity.
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“Spending hours in the make-up chair, having hair come in and touch you up after each take, is a disservice to what the audience expects,” he said. “Especially fighting in real life – you look like garbage after you get hit. It’s not like you get hit and you smoulder your way through the punch.
“It hurts. And to lie to the audience like, ‘Peter’s this badass that doesn’t get hurt?’ That’s doing the show a disservice. So I constantly push for that kind of reality where he gets injured and is not always at 100 percent.”
The Night Agent streams on Netflix.
Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media. His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.
