TV

The Night Agent star Gabriel Basso says Peter will have 'a lot more inner turmoil' in season 2

"A lot of thought has to be put into what it means to have that job and be that person that's able to drop everything and go."

By Alamin Yohannes

Published on March 31, 2023 06:34PM EDT

WARNING: This post contains spoilers for The Night Agent season 1.

Peter Sutherland (Gabriel Basso) has a new mission!

The Night Agent follows Peter as his life and career are turned upside down through an adventure with Rose Larkin (Luciane Buchanan). While the pair begin as strangers, by the season finale, they've gotten to the bottom of a government conspiracy and struck up a romance.

In our last glimpse of Peter before the credits roll on season 1, he's starting his new job as a Night Agent in the field with a much higher security clearance, a far cry from where he began — working in the basement, answering a phone. We don't know where Peter is headed, but he's certainly been changed after his mentor, Diane Farr (Hong Chau), betrayed him and he learned the complicated truth about his father committing treason.

We spoke to The Night Agent star Gabriel Basso about his toughest stunt, the Peter–Rose romance, where Peter's at heading into season 2, and more.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: There's a kindness to Peter that you don't typically see in the leads of action thrillers. Do you see that as something that sets him apart?

GABRIEL BASSO: What differentiates him is his motive for being tough. Empathy is the motivating factor for him. He does care for people, and so his aggression is motivated by something that's healthy as opposed to ego or something violent. That's what separates him — he's not trying to hurt anybody, but he's willing to in order to protect what he loves and what is objectively right.

As someone trained in martial arts, you've mentioned feeling prepared for the physical part of the role. Was there a scene or stunt that was particularly challenging?

When Briggs (Toby Levins) has me in a triangle choke then I pick him up and slam him. That was difficult only because there was nothing the stuntman could do to me in order to make the lift easier on me. It sounds counterintuitive, but he actually had to lock in a triangle choke, so I was sort of lightheaded, but it allowed him to be closer to my center of gravity. He's in front of me from a dead stop, so it's dead weight right out in front of me. It was just a weird lift.

Peter and Rose are the duo at the center of this story. Can you talk a bit about building that dynamic?

It was nice. I know [creator] Shawn Ryan put a lot of thought into making it as grounded as they could. Then Luciane and I worked together to tweak certain things to make a lot of their unspoken moments and build their rapport. It was nice to build their relationship because their trust had to be established.

How does learning the truth about his father change Peter going into season 2?

It'll fill him with a lot of bitterness toward people who might have killed him and robbed him of justice because he was going to be tried. It might be nice to see Peter be angry at those people, and he has the skills to exact that revenge. Tethering that revenge to what he knows he should be doing might be cool. You're gonna see a lot more inner turmoil on Peter's end.

What questions do you have about Peter going into next season?

My questions would fall on administrations. Yeah, he's an agent now, but he's an extension of executive power, so what does that look like with a new president?

Also, out of a desire to protect Rose, would he involve her in this life that might put her at risk? Selfishly, I'm sure he'd want her around, but it would be dangerous. A lot of thought has to be put into what it means to have that job and be that person that's able to drop everything and go. You can't really have things, like family, that most people would want to have.

A lot of people die on the show, but the one that stands out is Cisco [Curtis Lum]. What was your reaction to learning he would die? Do you think that was a turning point for Peter during the season?

Cisco dying was depressing for me because Curtis and I get along in real life and I just liked his character. That is the point at which he realized that involving people in his life puts them in danger. That might come up in season 2, where he feels like he can't involve people in his life without risking their lives. He wants Cisco and Rose around, but he saw what happened to Cisco, so it would inform a lot of the walls he builds to protect his own soul.

The president offers Peter anything he'd like, and he chooses the truth about his father. If you were presented with the same offer in your career, what would you ask for?

I'm going to stick with one of the lines I [improvised]. No more taxes for me and my friends. To me, the income tax feels illegal. I don't understand it or the death tax. I've paid my taxes, then I die and they come in and tax it again before it goes to my family. So get rid of the death tax for everybody.

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

The Night Agent is currently streaming on Netflix.

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