On Monday we caught up with stars of the hit Netflix show, Narcos, for the season three premiere at the AMC Lincoln Square Theater.
Now that Pablo Escobar has been captured and killed in the last season, the show has taken a new direction and will now focus on the infamous Cali Cartel. Below, you can learn about the details of this epic new season of Narcos from the stars themselves like Alberto Ammann, Michael Stahl-David, Miguel Angel Silvestre and Francisco Denis.
The Knockturnal: What has been the best part about filming Narcos?
Fransisco: To meet all of these actors from all around Latin America. How they act. How they see the world of Narcos. Two years talking together. Talking a lot. Now we are best friends.
The Knockturnal: Did you expect the direction of the show to change from focusing on Pablo, to now focusing on the Cali Cartel?
Fransisco: Pablo’s the most known person, but we have many Narcos in Latin America and around the world. The Cali Cartel is very interesting because it’s not bad guys with guns. These guys bought all of the country. They bought all of the politicians, judges, and senators. They bought all of the country with money. This is a different way to be Narcos. It’s not Pablo Escobar.
The Knockturnal: What are some things we can expect from your character with this new season?
Miguel: You are going to get to see the same way of storytelling. And dramatic, raw, mixing documentary images with fiction which is something that I find very interesting, because you think ‘wow, is this possible?’ Yes, it’s possible! And then they show you all of the documentary footage that you have.
The Knockturnal: Did you get to watch documentary footage?
Miguel: No, that’s some incredible work that they do in post production.
The Knockturnal: What was the process like to become this character that you’re playing now, as a part of the Cali Cartel? Did you get to speak to them?
Miguel: No, so I couldn’t speak with him. He didn’t want to be known. The directors and producers, they have more information. I just let myself go and follow whatever they want me to do.
The Knockturnal: Did you know about the Cali Cartel before?
Miguel: Not that much, I knew that they were into money, into creating businesses. Rather than Escobar, who was more interested in building an army. They got very powerful because business wise they were very strong.
The Knockturnal: You mentioned how the original Cali Cartel member that you play in Narcos doesn’t want to be known, are their real names used in the show?
Miguel: I think that the name that they gave me is not his real name. They wanted to see it private I guess.
The Knockturnal: What is some advice that you would give to young actors and actresses who are trying to rise up in the business and make something out of themselves?
Miguel: Once I heard some advice that I always try to remember for myself from Robert De Niro… He said something like, “be yourself. Be yourself and don’t ask for advice…Trust in the mistakes. Trust in falling and then standing up.” I think that’s very interesting for art. And that’s why I look for…with performances that really shock me, is that it’s full of mistakes.
The Knockturnal: So what’s next for Chris, your character, this upcoming season.
Michael: Chris Feistl is a DEA agent who’s young, excited and ambitious. And kind of a risk taker. I mean, it’s a difficult situation working in Cali, not knowing who to trust. And I feel like he’s more likely to go down this road and see what happens. So he’s somebody who’s maybe kind of bullheaded a little bit, but also who’s not afraid to just get into the mix.
The Knockturnal: How does it feel now that the Pablo Escobar phase is now over, and now Narcos has a new story line?
Michael: I think it’s exciting! I mean Pablo Escobar is such an iconic figure, and that’s what attracted people to the show initially. But now people get to hear a story that they don’t know as well or that they know nothing about. The Cali Cartel was responsible for 80% of the cocaine in the United States in that time. In this one tiny city…and they had that city on lock. I just heard that they actually funded police stations. They had police stations built because they had spies in the police department looking after them to make sure other drug cartels didn’t come after them. So the people the community were like, “oh thanks a lot!” And they also bought a president. I mean what is that like for your Democracy when that happens? So I feel like this season three gets into some political stuff. And the also, instead of one kind-of psychopath, you have four. Who have different kinds of charms and different styles, but it’s kind-of like broken up into four characters. You do have a lot of conflict and interesting story lines, yeah.
The Knockturnal: What was it like shooting in Colombia?
Michael: That was maybe my favorite part, is that we were shooting in Columbia.
The Knockturnal: How long did that take?
Michael: We were there I think like eight months. So it was a long time. I grew up speaking Spanish. So I kind of was all about exploring getting to know people, talking to Colombians. I fell in love with a Colombian woman. So it’s been a fun experience.
The Knockturnal: So what can we expect from your character who is one of the Cali Cartel men. And also, who is an openly gay character on the show?
Alberto: I expect the audience to enjoy the show. For me, I hope, like always, that I have a lot of good scenes this season and I appreciate that. Because I think that you don’t just remember a character for being a character, you remember some scenes from that character. Nothing more. Just for people to enjoy the show. This is a show. This is entertainment. But, at the same time we are talking about real tough [issues]…for sure the bad guys are always very attractive because they cross the line that we can’t. I think it’s good to remember that these guys want to do a lot of bad things to society. They are not heroes. They are not cool guys. Not cool people at all. That’s my opinion.
RELEASE DATE: Friday, September 1, 2017
(Photo Credit: Netflix)
