Wagner Moura on Narcos's unreal real-life plot: 'Did this really happen?'
Lead actor portraying notorious drug lord explains authenticity behind acclaimed Netflix series
I've done it. You've done it. And Wagner Moura knows it, because his friends have done it too.
"My friends, after they see one episode, they go to Google to see, 'did this really happen?'" the Narcos lead actor, who plays Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, told CBC during an interview in Los Angeles. "The real footage that we use, it generates an interest."
Netflix's historical drama about the origins of drug trafficking in Latin America and subsequently the U.S is now entering season two, which focuses on a tumultuous period with Escobar on the run from authorities after escaping a makeshift prison at the end of season one.
Many of the events depicted in the critically acclaimed series — the bombings, the merciless murders, the unbelievable escapes and government blunders, seem too spectacular to be true. And yet, the show stays reasonably accurate to extraordinary real-life events during a troubled period in the country's fascinating history.
Spoiler alert if you don't know the real-life details: The drug king pin died in December of 1993.
Moura, a Brazilian who learned fluent Spanish for the bilingual role and whose performance has been lauded, says there's an authenticity to the show that draws people in.
"I mean, it's all shot in Colombia, which I think is already great," he said. "The whole show is shot in the very same place where everything really happened."
Moura says that includes the scenes of Escobar's final moments, which season two is candidly building towards. Which makes season two more about the journey than the destination.
It might make you wonder whether the story can continue once the main character is no longer around. Producers have remained tight-lipped about future plans, but have said that the drug trafficking narrative might have started with Escobar, but certainly doesn't end with him. The door remains open for potential storylines with other characters.