Matt Letscher, left, and former DEA agent James Kuykendall attend the Netflix Original Series "Narcos: Mexico" special screening at LA Live on Nov. 14, 2018 in Los Angeles, Calif.
A new season of Netflix’s hit drama ‘Narcos’ is upon us and in its latest iteration aims to highlight the big players within Mexico’s infamous drug trade, like Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, Kiki Camarena and James Kuykendall.
Series star Matt Letscher opened up about the show’s success and the experience of shooting a narcotics drama in drug-torn Mexico.
“I’m a regular for Season 4 of the show, so I spent all last year in Mexico running around from hacienda to hacienda and it’s a pretty cool thing,” Letscher told reporters last month at the 19th Annual Emmys Golf Classic benefiting the Television Academy Foundation in Los Angeles, Calif.
Letscher plays the role of James Kuykendall, who served as the head of the Guadalajara DEA office in the 1980s. He detailed his experience filming in Mexico as “hugely positive,” but noted the importance of remaining on constant alert at all times.
“I didn’t feel any threat at all working in Mexico," said Letscher, who stars alongside Michael Pena.
"It’s the third time I’ve shot in Mexico and, as far as the general population goes, the Mexican populous — they’re as warm and loving and hardworking as they ever were before,” he said. “But that’s the scary part about the danger that does exist down there — you won’t feel like you’re threatened until you suddenly are.”
LOCATION SCOUT FOR NETFLIX'S 'NARCOS' SHOT DEAD IN MEXICO
Last year, a “Narcos” location scout was gunned down after traveling to one of Mexico’s most violent regions as he was hunting for settings to shoot for the fourth season of the hit Netflix show.
The bullet-riddled body of Carlos Muñoz Portal and his car were found in a remote area in central Mexico, close to the border of Hidalgo, which has one of the country's highest murder rates.
Despite the tragedy, the “Scandal” alum maintained that Netflix took immense precaution while filming the newest season and spared no expense in ensuring the safety of its cast and crew.
“We were very well taken care of on ‘Narcos,’" he explained. "We had our own security detail and we worked in Mexico City, which is largely considered to be a safer place. All in all, it was a hugely positive experience for me, and I think for the Mexican crew as well.”
As “Narcos” strives to sustain its historical accuracy in order to remain authentic, Letscher took things a step further and sought insight from Kuykendall, the man he portrays in order to get first-hand accounts of the DEA’s approach to tracking down El Chapo.
“[‘Narcos' is] based on real events and I was actually playing a real guy, James Kuykendall, who was the head of the Guadalajara DEA office in the early '80s — and he’s still alive, so I went down to Laredo, Texas, where he lives and spent a couple of days with him," Letscher recalled.
He added: “We didn’t go into any actual drug mule tunnels or anything like that, but It’s a very powerful time in American history, what we’re talking about. We’re talking about basically the beginning of the war on drugs and the events that led up to it.”
Letscher feels that it’s the lengths the series goes to in order to preserve the historical accuracy that allow it to flourish and tell a compelling story, and he maintains that “Narcos: Mexico” is no different.
“We did do a lot of research – there’s a lot of actual found footage that ‘Narcos’ will use in their production, and I think that’s what gives it that special sauce and that grittiness,” he said. “You realize you’re not just portraying a cops and robbers thing, you’re talking about people who have actually lived and died fighting for what they believed in.”
He lamented: “I get to do this job that I’ve always dreamed about that I’m not really good at, but people keep hiring me for some reason, so this kind of fits in and dovetails with my entire career at this point.”
"Narcos: Mexico" is available now to stream on Netflix.
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