Back in 2015 there sneakily came forth a series on Netflix revolving around a certain real-life drug kingpin in Colombia known as Pablo Escobar. You might have heard of him. Little did the world know that although the series was predominantly heavy on its use of the Spanish language - thus viewers having to rely on subtitles quite a bit - it would gain an immense following, regardless. Three years later and now ready for a whole new story - a 'reset', if you will - executive producer and current showrunner Eric Newman has bid the Colombian cartel farewell and is bringing the drug trail right in the heart of Mexico. In season 4, the Guadalajara Cartel led by Félix Gallardo back in the 1980s is dissected and it chronicles how this drug lord who managed to keep himself on the down low, worked cunningly to build his empire. Playing him of course is Mexican actor Diego Luna of "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story"; a versatile actor known for nitpicking roles that suits him the best. However, where there is darkness there must always be light, and playing the DEA agent who is set on bringing Felix down is Kiki Camarena, played by "Ant Man's" Michael Peña, who viewers are surely excited to see take on the most career-defining role of his career. So what's in store for "Narcos: Mexico"? We caught up with actors Michael Peña and Diego Luna as well as executive producer-showrunner Eric Newman in Singapore for Netflix's 'See What's Next Asia' event recently, and they so kindly gave us everything we wanted to know about this new entry in the "Narcos" extended universe.
Pssst! All 10-episodes of "Narcos: Mexico" is out today on Netflix! Hi Diego, tell us about your character. How is playing drug lord Félix Gallardo different from the other drug kingpins portrayed before? Diego: My character is not the stereotype of a drug dealer that we've seen before. He is much more of a businessman and he is one step ahead of everyone. He sees an opportunity and he takes it. He created a system that transcends people. What about you Michael, you play the good guy DEA agent Kiki Camarena, so do you agree with Diego's views? Michael: When you're reading a part, you're looking at it from your viewpoint. So I don't agree with Diego that he's a businessman. But that's strictly from Kiki's point of view. When you're a drug dealer you think you are helping people but what you're really doing is you're killing people with the drugs, destroying families and eventually killing those that get in your way. When I was looking at Kiki's journey, I talked to his wife. What makes this guy tick? You don't have a lot of people in the world who just want to do right. He was just a guy who saw the signs of a cartel empire being build and wanted to stop that from happening.
As Félix Gallardo, Diego Luna takes on a more grounded albeit serious role after "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story".
You might know him for his comedic chops, but you've never seen Michael Peña in a role like this!