Oscar nominee Jeffrey Wright is coming back to the spy genre withThe 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’sWestworld, which netted him three Emmy nominations, toAmerican Fiction, RustinandThe Batman. He has also frequently lent his talents to the spy genre, most notably playingFelix in Daniel Craig’sJames Bondtenure, as well as the Denzel Washington-led adaptation ofThe Manchurian Candidateand George Clooney-starringSyriana, among others.
Wright stars inThe Agencyas Henry, the CIA’s Director of Operations at their London branch who also mentored Michael Fassbender’s Martian in the world of undercover operations. Amid having to suddenly pull Martian back from his current years-long assignment, 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 Martian transition back from his latest assignment, Henry finds his own objectives and moralities tested.
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Alongside Wright and Fassbender, the ensembleAgencycast includesThe Acolyte’s Jodie Turner-Smith, Golden Globe winner Richard Gere,Alien: Covenant’s Katherine Waterston,September 5’s John Magaro, Emmy nominee Hugh Bonneville,Werewolf by Night’s Harriet Sansom Harris andAmerican Primeval’s Saura 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 show’s premiere,Screen Rantinterviewed Jeffrey Wright to discussThe Agency, how he felt about returning to the spy genre, how the show differs from his tenure in theJames Bondfranchise, the “heightened tension” of its world, and finding Henry’s emotional balance amid his conflicting objectives.
The Agency&James BondShare 1 Key Similarity (& Have 1 Key Difference)
“…this is a very different angle on the spy genre…”
Screen Rant: Jeffrey, it’s great to get tochat with you forThe Agency. I’ve seen the first couple episodes, and I’m hooked already. I love that you’re back in the spy genre, not just fromBond, but withSyrianaand so many other projects. What is it like stepping back into this world through a different angle?
Jeffrey Wright: Yeah, this is a very different angle on the spy genre than what 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 fantastical. Our show is highly detailed, but with an attention more to kind of the political reality that this world is up against, and that reality is very similar to the geopolitical world that we’re all experiencing today. So that, I think, adds to the kind of heightened tension within the series, but I also think that it lends a greater accessibility for the audience, because this is a familiar setting. At the same time, we’re not like an overtly political show, we’re just using that backdrop as a means of exploring the humanity of these characters, and the challenges that they face, and the tensions between loyalty to work and loyalty to self, and to love and things like this. So it makes for fertile ground for storytelling.
Wright Pulled From His Own Life For Inspiration To Play Henry
“…it’s just a wonderful set of ingredients for building a character…”
I love that you mentioned the humanity of these characters, because that is one thing I love about your character. From what I’ve seen so far, he is someone who seems to be really in this emotional tug of war between doing his job, while also being trapped under bureaucracy and wanting to care for agents in the field. What is that like from the performance side, really finding that balance?
Jeffrey Wright: Yeah, again, it’s just a wonderful set of ingredients for building a character, because I’m intrigued by guys like Henry. He’s a company guy, and he takes his work seriously. He’s highly trained at what he does, he’s smart, and he’s part of a machine, but at the same time, he has a family, he has responsibilities that sometimes come into conflict with one another. It just makes, I think, a character that’s multidimensional and interesting. I grew up in Washington, DC. My mom was a lawyer for the US government for 30 some odd years. She worked for Customs, you know, border enforcement.
And I, therefore, grew up with an awareness of what it meant to be a civil servant, what it meant to be an employee of the US government, and work on behalf of the people of this country. I have a great deal of respect for those people. Henry, obviously, works for a very 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, all of that lends itself to a lot of different layers, and lends to a lot of inner tension and external tension that, ideally, makes for a great character within a reasonably complex series.
AboutThe Agency
THE AGENCY is a fresh take on the critically acclaimed hit French drama Le Bureau des Legendes, the all-new espionage political thriller follows Martian (Fassbender), a covert CIA agent, ordered to abandon his undercover life and return to London Station. When the love he left behind reappears, romance reignites. His career, his real identity and his mission are pitted against his heart; hurling them both into a deadly game of international intrigue and espionage.
Check out our otherThe Agencyinterviews with:
The first two episodes ofThe Agencypremiere Friday, November 29 on Paramount+ with Showtime, followed by Showtime on December 1 at 9 p.m. EST.
The Agency
Cast
The Agency is a 2024 espionage thriller following covert CIA agent Martian, who is recalled to London Station, disrupting his undercover life. As a former romance rekindles, Martian’s career and true identity are jeopardized, leading him into a high-stakes world of international intrigue and deception.
