Netflix's 'The Recruit' Interview: Noah Centineo

Moviefone speaks with Noah Centineo about 'The Recruit.' "It's different from things I've done in the past and any spy genre show that you've seen before."

Premiering on Netflix beginning December 16th is the new spy series ‘The Recruit,’ from series creator Alexi Hawley (‘The Rookie’).

The new series stars ‘Black Adam’ actor Noah Centineo as Owen Hendricks, a fledgling lawyer just starting a new job working for the CIA. Trouble begins when Owen encounters an asset named Max Maladze (Laura Haddock) demanding exoneration from the agency.

But when she tries to expose criminal members of the agency, Owen becomes entangled in convoluted international politics, and finds himself at odds with menacing individuals and groups, risking his life as he tries to fulfill his duties.

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with actor Noah Centineo about his work on ‘The Recruit,’ his character, what he learned about the CIA, and the show's unique tone.

Noah Centineo stars in 'The Recruit.'

You can read our full interview with Noah Centineo about ‘The Recruit’ below or click on the video player above to watch the interview.

Moviefone: To begin with, how is this series different than the projects that your fans are used to seeing you in?

Noah Centineo: Well, ‘The Recruit’ is different. It's a spy genre. It's older for sure. I'm not playing a high school student, so it's different in that way. But it's different from things that I've done in the past. It's also different from any spy genre show or film that you've seen before.

In the way that that genre has been explored a hundred different ways and usually through the lens of an asset, a former asset, an operative, a CIA agent, a special agent, or even a lawyer. That's been done before as well.

But this is the first time that I've seen that you're following a young lawyer, his second day on the job, straight out of law school, falling into the world of the CIA. Falling into the world of dangerous missions and operations that threaten his life. That was really enticing to me.

The character, Owen Hendricks, who I play, he doubles down. He doesn't back down in the face of adversity and life threatening problems at that. I think that's great, super fun and engaging.

MF: Owen Hendricks is a lawyer, but he throws himself into a lot of dangerous situations without any sense of personal security. Can you talk about why he does that and what kind of backstory you gave yourself for the character?

NC: I mean, for the same reason that insurance companies don't want to back young males that are under the age of 25. I think they're just reckless at that age. I certainly was. He's got this reckless abandonment for his own personal safety too because I think deep down, he's an adrenaline junkie.

He's thrill-seeking, but he also, I don't know, I think he wants to do good work. He doesn't quite understand the waters that he's swimming in at first at all. For him, it's very on the surface, it's flashy, it's the world of the CIA.

When he gets assigned the case of this Graymail case, he's not thinking that it's going to be dangerous. He joined the CIA as a lawyer because he thought it would be safe. But then he begins to find out very quickly that it is far from safe. He's going to have to use all of the data he collects along this journey to stay alive.

Noah Centineo as Owen Hendricks in 'The Recruit.'

MF: The series balances action and comedy, but how would you describe the tone of the show?

NC: That's Alexi Hawley, our showrunner and our writer. He has a unique ability to thread needles with tone. The tone in the first act is happy, you're following this kid and he's feeling great about his life and it's kind of funny. Then suddenly he gets interrogated at a CIA black site and it gets really intense.

There you have the range of the show. It can get serious, suspenseful and dramatic, but it can also be very lighthearted and funny. There's levity, there's like a gallows humor, if you will, throughout the show. I love it. I think that's something that Alexi does very uniquely.

MF: What kind of training or research did you do to prepare to play a CIA operative?

NC: I leaned on Alexi. He had many different people in the writer's room, giving counsel and advisory. The show is also loosely inspired by someone named Adam Ciralsky, who's a former attorney at the CIA. So, he was very gracious with his time as well, walking me through what it was like. What I learned and discovered about being a lawyer at the CIA, it's a lot like the post office, but with secrets.

There's a real corporate side to it and a tediousness to it. There's a lot of paperwork involved. Yes, you get your hands dirty sometimes, but Owen definitely did not expect for his life to be at stake as often as it was during the show.

MF: Finally, Owen lives with two roommates. How do they feel about him working for the CIA?

NC: I'm happy you asked me that, and thank you for that because there is a dichotomy happening here of Owen being a young professional straight out of law school. That's something that we haven't seen in the spy genre before. We've seen the spy genre explored a hundred different ways, whether it's an asset, a former asset, an operative, a special agent, even a lawyer.

But this is the first time that we've seen someone, their second day on the job living their first job as a lawyer at the CIA. That's a unique lens. With him being so young, he's got a home life. He's got two different roommates so he can go from being interrogated at a CIA black site to be home and then be cuddled by his roommates because he just needs some human interaction.

They worry for him, of course, joining the CIA, because he thought it would be safe. I think they realize when he starts coming home later, days apart from when he left, that it becomes very serious. But he can't talk about what he does. That's also a very real thing, of course, for a lot of employees of the CIA.