Once upon a time, Gabriel Basso lost his taste for acting. After years of steady work, including on projects like Hillbilly Elegy and the indie Kings of Summer, Basso felt burn out and like some of the magic was gone. “I sort of tuned out,” Basso tells Tudum. “I took a big break and I enjoyed old spy movies.”      

So when the opportunity to audition for Peter Sutherland, the ultra-capable FBI hero of The Night Agent arose, Basso’s interest was piqued. He’d already fallen hard for films like World War II espionage adventure Where Eagles Dare, starring Clint Eastwood. “That [movie]’s very much like, ‘What’s really going on?’” he says. Peter is constantly asking that question over the course ofThe Night Agent’s twist-filled 10-episode season, which explores a deadly conspiracy at the upper echelons of government power. 

Sounds like the perfect marriage of actor and subject matter. In fact, The Night Agent showrunner Shawn Ryan believes no one else but Basso could fit into Peter’s fast-running, hard driving shoes. 

“The thing about Gabriel is that the minute you place eyes on him, you like him,” Ryan says, pointing to The Night Agent’s opening scene as evidence. In the cold open, the action follows a mother and her young daughter as they approach and enter a subway car. In the cramped space, when “the camera’s pan stops at Gabriel, you're like, ‘Oh, who is that?’” says Ryan. “You sense a good soul there … The camera loves Gabriel — even when he is not speaking, something soulful comes across. 

It helps that Basso is also “one of the most athletic and gifted stunt actors” Ryan says he’s ever worked with. “There's a physicality and authenticity that he brings to the role that a lot of other actors fake but don’t really have.” 

So how did Basso obtain those talents? And how did all of his “soulful” introspection change the last scene of The Night Agent Season 1? Ahead, read our interview with the actor — and then learn five adrenaline-inducing facts about Basso.

How did you prepare to play Peter? Because you’re punching, you’re kicking, you’re jumping. 

I tend to stay in shape in real life and I fight a lot in real life and I train a lot. What was difficult is that stunt fighting is sort of its own martial arts. Movements have to be bigger and punches have to be wider — they have to cross the lens.

So where traditional martial arts are all about economy of motion and making everything as quick from point A to point B as possible, stunt fighting is, “Now turn that jab into a big winding hook so we can see it.” That was a little gear I had to change. 

What was it like collaborating with The Night Agent stunt team? 

The stunt guys — like stunt coordinator Mike Mitchell and fight choreographer Matt Mylrea —  were great at working with me. Everybody that I worked with was super accommodating and helpful to me because I wanted to do all the fights myself. 

Dan Power/Netflix

Peter is fighting someone — or in some life-or-death situation — in every episode. How do you get ready to do that every day during filming? 

Because I enjoy fighting so much, I enjoy conflict of any kind. I was raised by a trial lawyer, so I enjoy the mental conflict as well as the physical. I enjoy any sort of test for myself, really. 

A lot of your personality sounds very fiery. What’s your sun sign in astrology? 

I have no clue. But my birthday is December 11. 

You’re a Sagittarius. That makes sense, you’re a fire sign.

I’ll trust you.

How long have you been doing martial arts?

Since I was a kid. I've boxed my whole life. I did tae kwon do as a child, which is a sort of sport fighting. I think it helped my movement. I’ve also done kickboxing and Muay Thai. Grappling is new to me and I’ve been learning. [UFC Hall of Famer and actor] Bas Rutten is sort of my coach. I’ve been training with him a bunch. So I’ve just been learning. I try to absorb as much as I can from everybody I can.

You’re extremely educated in martial arts. What was the audition process like for you? 

I had auditioned while I was filming another movie, Trigger Warning, with Jessica Alba. I had a beard. So when I sent in my tape, they turned me down. When I wrapped Trigger Warning, I remember messaging my team again and asking, “Hey, whatever happened with The Night Agent, because that was cool. Have they cast it yet?” They said no. So I re-taped with a clean shave and one thing led to another. And then I was Zoom-calling the director. I met [my co-star] Luciane Buchanan on one of the auditions. Then I went to Shawn’s house and we just talked about the project for a bit.

When you were in the audition process were you asking questions about what a night agent is, and how Peter connects to the Night Action program? 

One of the notes from [director and executive producer] Seth Gordon during the audition process was, “Don’t sound like you have it under control.” Because I was very [serious] about it and he wanted me to be more out of my depth. I remember that because I laughed.

🤐 SPOILER ALERT 🤐

Peter is not in control of anything until maybe the end.

And even then, when he’s on the jet, he’s realizing just how out of his depth he is and how big the situation is.

Definitely. Over Season 1, Peter is learning what a night agent is. In the last scene of the finale, he becomes a night agent and takes his first assignment. What was it like filming that big moment? 

There was a version of the script where I smiled after reading the debrief. I remember thinking, “I don’t want to smile, because this is scary.” 

Once you’ve been given a security clearance, it’s not rescinded until you violate that security clearance. So reading that debrief, whatever he read, is scary to him. He’s now a cog in the machine officially. You don’t get to go train and then say, “This isn’t for me.” You’re at the mercy of [the executive branch] at that point.

And presidents change.

Exactly. Administrations change. That was one of the questions where I was like, “Why am I smiling?” Peter likes President Travers, but what about the next one? 

This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity. 

Five Fun Facts with Gabriel Basso 

Following The Night Agent’s March premiere, Basso made his talk show debut on The Tonight Show with host Jimmy Fallon. Below are the moments worth dialing in for.

1. Long before he ever slipped on Peter’s suit, Basso appeared on kids sitcom iCarly, portraying a fake version of Nathan Kress’s Freddie in a 2009 episode. As he told Fallon, though, he’d completely forgotten about this tweenage role until recently.
2. Basso has even more talents than martial arts. He can also play the drums, draw pen and ink illustrations and weld. 
3. As a licensed stone mason, Basso is a proud possessor of a walling license. A skill that, the actor jokes, makes him “useful!”
4. Even Keanu Reeves is a fan — but not just of Basso’s acting. The John Wick star commissioned an illustration from Basso.  
5. The Night Agent is a “ship” for Basso. Although he’s the face of the series, Basso credits the rest of the cast and crew — like camera people, editors and directors — for steering The Night Agent to success.

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