Actor enters new territory
Kiwi actor Matt Whelan found himself hooked on hit series Narcos, writes
Darren Bevan.
Matt Whelan is about to go global. Right now, though, basking in the late winter Auckland sun, sitting in a corner of a downtown hotel, the Kiwi actor seems fairly unfazed and anonymous.
An older woman sits directly opposite him before our chat, oblivious and unaware of who’s behind her as she casually takes a call.
But this week Whelan’s profile will rise with the worldwide launch of the third season of Netflix’s gritty drugtrafficking drama, Narcos.
Whelan has joined the cast of the show, whose first two seasons were consumed with the life of Colombian drug linchpin Pablo Escobar. The previous season ended with Escobar being offed, and the third, which Netflix is keen to push as a continuation rather than a reboot, follows the story as the Cali Cartel rises to prominence in the vacuum left behind.
It’s here that the Christchurch-born Whelan arrives on the scene, playing a young American Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent named Daniel Van Ness, based on a real-life agent but under a changed name because the actual agent remains in active service.
For Whelan, it’s a monumental step up – even though his last role was relatively high profile, when he took on the persona of Hugh Hefner in a documentary series for another streaming service, Amazon. But, despite getting the role on the prestigious Netflix show, he’d not seen Narcos prior to being cast.
‘‘I’d obviously heard of the show and its great success. It was funny because I never met anyone in person until I was flown over to shoot the show. I knew of it, and for the audition, I watched some of it to get the sense of the world and the style of it. Then I got hooked!’’
As well as being on a bigger stage, Whelan had to undergo training from the agents on how to handle guns, firing them and also had to undergo tactical training.
Laughing conspiratorially, he reveals he now knows how to clear a room. And the secret to doing it successfully?
Pressing his two fingers together in a faux gun and getting extremely animated, Whelan leans forward, clearly falling into some kind of ingrained reflex action.
‘‘When you do it right, it’s actually a quick process. Also, never poke your head around a corner in the same spot twice. If you’re going to have a little peek around a corner, there’s a couple
"There was nothing more fun than strapping on that fake bulletproof vest and firing off those blank rounds. It was like playing cops and robbers when you're a kid." Matt Whelan
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of methods; have a look in and out, and maybe for your second look, drop down – not the same height.’’
Traditionally known for slightly more comedic roles (Go Girls, Three Mile Limit, Coverband) on Kiwi shores, Whelan quickly realised this role was new territory.
‘‘I am not going into it thinking this is more of an action role, I’m just focusing on my character. He just happens to be a DEA agent – it’s really thrilling to do all those things you see on TV and in the movies, things I haven’t done before in my previous roles.
‘‘There was nothing more fun than strapping on that fake bulletproof vest and firing off those blank rounds. It was like playing cops and robbers when you’re a kid – it was just so much fun!’’
Whelan and other actors involved in the show have yet to see the final product. It looks like that Netflix binge approach they employ is one he’s looking forward to taking advantage of himself.
‘‘I never really had any idea of the global scale of the show when I was doing it. I was just focused on the job. Starting to do the press now and see the teasers, trailers, that’s when it starts to hit. I can’t wait to see it for myself.’’
The production shoot took place in Bogota, Colombia itself, where the real Cali Cartel story unfolded. Whelan, along with his on-screen partner actor Michael Stahl-David (who plays real life agent Chris Feistl) felt the authenticity was vital, but a little scary to research.
‘‘We shot in one of the godfather’s apartments, and we shot in one of the sicario’s [hitman] old mansions. We went to places where these events took place and real people lived. It was a bizarre tour to be going to places where meetings took place. We did meet an interesting character, who helped build Pablo Escobar’s prison. He’d had a life in the drug trafficking business and was now a yogi!’’
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The Cali Cartel itself operated from 1977 to 1998, suggesting Narcos has more than a few stories to draw on in future series. Whelan, however, won’t be drawn on whether his character will star in the fourth series, smiling enigmatically and knowingly as he trots out the usual PR line - ‘‘Wait and see.’’
season threelaunches globally on Netflix on September 1.
Narcos