‘he Night Agent’s Gabriel Basso Interview on Season 3’s Biggest Stunts

By the third season of Netflix’s The Night Agent, Gabriel Basso is used to filming on location. The production has traveled from Washington D.C. to Vancouver, to New York and Bangkok; in the latest season, which dropped on the streaming platform Feb. 19, Basso and the crew went to Istanbul to film the first episode. “I was always on the move my entire life, so it’s been easy for me to bounce around, and I love history and experiencing different places and cultures, so that part is really cool to me,” says Basso. “Honestly, the most frustrating thing is the gym: losing a gym routine, having to build a new one. Hotel gyms are super depressing.”

Basso needs the gym in part because of his heavy stunt work on the series about a clandestine officer who uncovers a government conspiracy. The actor, 31, prides himself in his participation in The Night Agents fight scenes, and this season the production upped the ante with a car chase through the Turkish capital, an extreme underwater brawl and explosions aplenty. Here, he breaks down how it all went down.

Can you talk about how shooting in Istanbul, on location, influenced this season?

We shot at an actual soccer game [for the first episode]. We got their first two goals on camera. There’s a scene where Genesis walks by me and I’m supposed to blend in with the crowd, and right when she stood up to do so they scored and everyone was up out of their seats cheering. I was celebrating in the crowd, too. It was so sick. They’re known for being a really passionate fan base, so feeling that energy in the stadium was great.

Is that the sort of moment where you can really feel the Netflix budget at work?

Well, we honestly were sneaking shots. It’s because of how passionate they are — we were worried that if we had a big footprint, and they lost the game, they would blame it on us. So we did all handheld cameras, not really any lights, very low profile.

What felt the most different about season 3 versus the first two years?

The first season was very chaotic. No one really knew what the show was. We didn’t have proof of concept, really. Season two was our first time in New York and we had the pressure, obviously, from season one. This time we finally figured the show out. Even in season two, when Peter is finally allowed to be a night agent, he was still looking for permission to do what he was hired to do. Now, he’s hit his stride as a character.

How involved are you in the preproduction phase of the show?

I’m in the writer’s room process early on. They’ll pitch me the overarching idea for the season, and I’ll give them some ideas.

Are you pitching story arcs, or things that are more set piece or stunt work-focused?

Anything that I think is cool. I pitched the reverse 180 during the car chase scene in Turkey. I went out under the guise of getting some wheel time in a parking lot, and I had Josiah my stunt double hold the camera on the back right pillar. I was like, this shot would be sick, me looking past the lens and then throwing this reverse 180. It went up the ladder and they said no a few times, but I continued to chip away at ’em.

When they say no to that, is it because of the liability issue of you doing that stunt?

Yeah. And I say this every time, but I think it should like what you talk about with the NFL — you’re getting paid millions of dollars to take these hits. It’s part of the risk. Of course, I’m not going to do something stupid, and I’m going to train and there should be some level of insurance and liability and everything. Even if something doesn’t work, it’s like OK, he died in pursuit of greatness.

What does your family think of this line of thinking?

I don’t ask. I’m sure they wouldn’t love getting a call that I’ve been permanently injured but to me, it’s how did it happen? If I’m speeding down the 101 or the 405 being an idiot, they would hate that. But if it was like, he tried to make film history by doing this — that would be sick.

Whose idea was the underwater stunt at the end of the season?

There was a lot of back and forth on that. We did a lot of underwater training and breathing work. Austin Brewer is the stunt guy’s name, we were in the tank for nine or 10 hours just sort of scrapping it out. It was kind of stressful. He had a jacket on, and we were in there for so long that it changed color.

Did they tell you about that stunt ahead of time, or did you read it when the script came in?

I think it was originally written that we would fight in the car while it was on land, and then I drove it into the water and swam out of it. We eventually moved the fight underwater after our fight choreographer came up with some really cool stuff and someone pitched the idea of fighting while the truck filled up with water.

How did you create the explosion that comes after you’re on the dock?

We had a bunch of water canons that went off after I crawled out.

Have you ever been scared in the moment?

No. I think if I was scared I wouldn’t do it. Having your adrenaline pumping isn’t the same as fear. The minute you doubt yourself — they call it target fixation in skydiving, where you’re looking at a tree or a telephone pole thinking “don’t hit that,” and you start drifting there because you’re looking at it. So if you start thinking about the bad scenarios then you’re setting yourself up.