Jodie Turner Smith as Samia Zahir Luke Varley/Paramount+
Jodie Turner Smith and her new costars are excited for viewers to experience Showtime’s The Agency after putting their all into the show.
“I look at the posters for this and I’m like, ‘Woah that’s me!’” Smith, 38, joked while speaking exclusively with Us Weekly ahead of the show’s premiere on Friday, November 29. “I approach every project with the thought that I don’t know anything and I’m excited to learn and who I will be at the end of it.”
Smith was intrigued by the challenge of bringing Sami to life, adding, “Every human being has nuance and that’s based on who we are, how we were raised, what we believe in and I try to infuse that into every character that I play and I hope people feel that.”
She continued: “People have to understand that the human experience is complicated no matter your religion, your race or your culture. And I want people to see that humanity and what to be on this journey with Sami.”
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Based on the French series Le Bureau Des Légendes, The Agency is an espionage thriller set within the department responsible for training and handling deep-cover agents on long-term missions who live for years under false identities.. The star-studded cast includes Smith, Michael Fassbender, Jeffrey Wright, Richard Gere, Katherine Waterston, John Magaro and more.
India Fowler, who plays Poppy, hinted at the difference between The Agency and other similar shows.
“[Fans] will take away a yearning for more. With these characters, there’s more to them and they give you something to sink your teeth into,” Fowler teased. “I think the audience will see the first episode because of the depth that these characters bring.”
The actress revealed that she tapped into something personal for her character. “The role that I’m playing has a delicate aspect to it,” Fowler noted. “She is someone who lost her father for 6 years and I was exploring that complexity that a lot of people do experience. I haven’t had that experience but it was enjoyable to dive into.”
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Alex Reznik was in a similar position when bringing his onscreen character to life.
“I’ve got some things my character is dealing with and I went in and spent time at [Alcoholics Anonymous] meetings to really understand what this disease is all about,” he shared with Us. “As the show progresses — as a corporate agent — our job is to protect the homeland but we do it by lying. We live another double life.”
Reznik, 46, got to explore some unexpected emotional beats while taking on the role. “It’s the psychological element and what the show is about and explores. What is it like to be away from everyone for many, many years,” he explained. “That isolation is part of it and you get to see that with Michael’s character and with what I’m dealing with.”
The most surprising detail about The Agency though was the “challenging” schedule. According to director Joe Wright, the cast and crew started shooting in May and had to have the episodes ready less than a year later.
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“We were working very fast. But we had a great team around us and we managed to pull it off,” Wright recalled before sharing his favorite scene from the show. “It’s just Michael looking for bugs in his apartment. There’s no one else in it, he’s by himself and it plays out in real time. It’s just a man in his apartment — paranoid — looking for eavesdroppers.”
The Agency is available to stream on Fridays and airs on Showtime Sundays at 9 p.m. ET.
With reporting by Veronika Collins