Oscar nominee Jeffrey Wright is returning to the spy genre with The Agency. Wright has been one of the most acclaimed actors on screen over the past 20 years, thanks to his performances in everything from HBO shows Western Worldwhich earned him three Emmy nominations, for American Fiction, Rustin and Batman. He has also frequently lent his talents to the spy genre, most notably playing Felix in Daniel Craig’s film. James Bond mandate, as well as the Denzel Washington-led adaptation of The Manchurian Candidate and George Clooney, starring Syriabetween others.
Wright star The Agency as Henry, the CIA’s Director of Operations in its London branch, who also mentored Michael Fassbender’s The Martian in the world of covert operations. In the midst of having to suddenly withdraw Martian from his years-long mission, which forces him to leave behind a woman he fell in love with, Henry is also dealing with the sudden disappearance of an agent working undercover in Russia. Trying to determine the status of the missing agent and help Marciano transition back from his latest mission, Henry finds his own goals and morals tested.
Alongside Wright and Fassbender, the group Agency cast includes The AcolyteJodie Turner-Smith, Golden Globe winner Richard Gere, Alien: AllianceKatherine Waterston, September 5thEmmy nominee John Magaro, Hugh Bonneville, Werewolf at nightHarriet Sansom Harris and American PrimitiveSaura Lightfoot-Leon, among others. Deftly combining a sly sense of humor with intense character drama and unpredictable spy games, the show proves to be an exciting entry into the genre.
In anticipation of the program’s premiere, Screen speech interviewed Jeffrey Wright to discuss The Agencyhow he felt about returning to the spy genre, how the show differs from his tenure on James Bond franchise, the “increased voltage“of his world and finding Henry’s emotional balance amid his conflicting goals.
The Agency & James Bond Share 1 key similarity (and have 1 key difference)
“…this is a very different angle on the spy genre…”
Screen Rant: Jeffrey, it’s great to talk to you for The Agency. I’ve already seen the first episodes and I’m already hooked. I love that you’re back in the spy genre, not just the Connectionbut with Syria and many other projects. What’s it like coming back to this world from a different angle?
Jeffrey Wright: Yes, this is a very different angle on the spy genre than I’ve previously done with the James Bond series. I love the Bond series, I’ve loved the Bond series since I was a kid. It’s highly detailed, but it’s also fantastic. Our program is highly detailed, but with more attention to the kind of political reality this world faces, and that reality is very similar to the geopolitical world we all live in today. So that, I think, contributes to the kind of heightened tension within the series, but I also think it provides greater accessibility for the audience because this is a familiar setting. At the same time, we’re not an overtly political show, we’re just using that backdrop as a means of exploring the humanity of these characters, the challenges they face, and the tensions between loyalty to work and loyalty to work. myself, and love and things like that. Therefore, it is fertile ground for storytelling.
Wright pulled from his own life for inspiration to play Henry
“…it’s simply a wonderful set of ingredients to build a character…”
I loved that you mentioned the humanity of these characters, because that’s one thing I love about your character. From what I’ve seen so far, he’s someone who seems to be really in this emotional tug of war between doing his job, while also being caught up in bureaucracy and wanting to take care of the agents in the field. What does that look like on the performance side, really finding that balance?
Jeffrey Wright: Yeah, again, it’s a wonderful set of ingredients to build a character, because I’m intrigued by guys like Henry. He’s a company guy and takes his job seriously. He is highly trained in what he does, he is intelligent and he is part of a machine, but at the same time he has a family, he has responsibilities that sometimes conflict with each other. I think it just creates an interesting, multidimensional character. I grew up in Washington, DC. My mother was a lawyer for the US government for about 30 years. She worked for Customs, you know, border enforcement.
And I, therefore, grew up with an awareness of what it meant to be a public servant, what it meant to be an employee of the U.S. government and to work on behalf of the people of this country. I have a lot of respect for these people. Henry obviously works for a potentially morally ambiguous agency within the US government. But he’s a guy who goes to work every day, I think, to try to do the best he can. So yeah, this all lends itself to a lot of different layers and a lot of internal and external tension that ideally makes for a great character within a fairly complex series.
On The Agency
THE AGENCY is a remake of the critically acclaimed hit French drama Le Bureau des Legendes, the new political spy thriller follows Martian (Fassbender), a secret CIA agent ordered to abandon his secret life and return to London station. When the love he left behind reappears, the romance is rekindled. Your career, your true identity and your mission are against your heart; throwing them both into a deadly game of intrigue and international espionage.
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Source: Screen Rant Plus