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Gabriel Basso shot to fame with his role in The Night Agent, with critics praising the show for its gripping storyline and exciting plot developments. Despite Basso's success, his previous film, Hillbilly Elegy, received poor reviews and overshadowed his performance in the thriller. Basso's portrayal of Peter Sutherland in The Night Agent shows his talent and potential as a budding Hollywood star.
Gabriel Basso has recently seen his profile soar after starring in Netflix's hit political thriller, The Night Agent. Unfortunately, not all of Basso's roles have been well-received. In 2023, Basso played the lead role of Peter Sutherland in The Night Agent, Netflix's sixth-highest-rated TV show of all time. The thriller follows an FBI agent who receives a mysterious phone call and becomes embroiled in a dangerous political conspiracy. Now, while anticipation is building for season two of The Night Agent, Basso is experiencing a surge in popularity for another, less exciting reason.
Prior to The Night Agent, Gabriel Basso had a pretty steady career as an actor. In 2009, Basso starred in the indie film Alabama Moon, setting him up for other high-profile roles in films like J.J. Abrams' Super 8 and The Kings of Summer. Basso also made a name for himself on television, starring in Showtime's The Big C from 2010 to 2013. But Basso's on-screen projects haven't always been successful. In fact, Basso's last project before playing Peter Sutherland in The Night Agent represents a particularly poor representation of his filmography as an actor.
Related: 10 Things That Should Happen in Night Agent Season 2
As anticipation grows for Night Agent Season 2, there's been a lot of speculation about its content and specific storylines that are expected to feature.
Gabriel Basso's Hillbilly Elegy was recently revived on Netflix.
Why Hillbilly Elegy is making a comeback
Recently, a poorly received Gabriel Basso film has started to gain popularity on Netflix. The film is 2020's Hillbilly Elegy. Based on the memoir by J.D. Vance, Hillbilly Elegy follows Vance's journey from his poverty-stricken Appalachian childhood to becoming a lawyer and escaping his traumatic past. In the film, Basso plays the role of Vance. The cast of Hillbilly Elegy also included stars such as Glenn Close and Amy Adams. Despite this, the film was not well received by critics, giving it a 25% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The film has been panned for feeling false and for including problematic satire of poor Americans.
Glenn Close was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress for her role as Mamaw in Hillbilly Elegy.
Hillbilly Elegy has been brought back into the spotlight four years after its release thanks to the memoir's author. In July 2024, J.D. Vance was nominated as Donald Trump's running mate in the upcoming 2024 election. Thus, audiences wanted to know more about Vance and in so doing started watching his memoir-turned-biography. Unfortunately, its poor reviews have also brought the cast of Hillbilly Elegy, including Gabriel Basso, back into the spotlight, but not necessarily in a good way. This is unfortunate, as Hillbilly Elegy is certainly not Basso's best work as an actor.
The Night Agent was Gabriel Basso's most well-received Netflix project by far
The reason for the success of Night Agent
For those who want to see the better side of Gabriel Basso's acting career, The Night Agent is an ideal project. Whereas Hillbilly Elegy failed with critics and audiences, The Night Agent was a success. The show received a critic score of 74% and an audience score of 78% on Rotten Tomatoes. Overall, The Night Agent is praised for its fast storyline, exciting developments, and an intriguing plot that keeps the audience hooked until the very last moment. Basso not only benefited from The Night Agent's success, but also played a major role in its success.
Several details came together to make Night Agent a huge success. As mentioned above, Night Agent offered a simple yet compelling storyline that any viewer could easily follow. In addition to that, the mystery throughout the show was highly intriguing, keeping viewers tuning in for episode after episode. Furthermore, Night Agent's romance storyline and dynamic characters humanized the thriller, allowing viewers to empathize and feel for the characters while being fully immersed in the storyline.
Basso's Peter Sutherland is one of the reasons why The Night Agent was such a success.
Basso is a newcomer
Aside from the storytelling and action, The Night Agent has also been well received thanks to Gabriel Basso. Basso delivers a fantastic performance as Sutherland. Peter Sutherland can easily be a bland character with only one side to him, but Basso gives Sutherland many different sides, making him more interesting. Additionally, Basso is the face of The Night Agent; he is the eponymous agent. Therefore, if audiences aren't crazy about Basso, they won't be interested in the show. Looking at The Night Agent's success, this seems to be true.
While John Krasinki helped popularize Jack Ryan and Alan Ritchson perfectly embodied the lead character in Reacher, Basso took on the next big role and did a good job.
Overall, Gabriel Basso seems like the new actor audiences are looking for in the next big political thriller. While John Krasinki helped make Jack Ryan popular and Alan Ritchson perfectly embodied the lead character in Reacher, Basso has taken on this next big role well. He's the rising star audiences are craving in this genre. Hopefully, Night Agent will keep him on the Hollywood radar despite Basso's previous roles.
Night Agent
The Night Agent is a Netflix original series based on the novel by Matthew Quirk. The drama revolves around a young rookie FBI agent named Peter Sutherland (Gabriel Basso) who is manning a hotline in the basement of the White House that never rings. When the phone finally rings, Peter finds himself embroiled in a dangerous conspiracy that will take him all the way to the top.
Cast: Gabriel Basso, Lucian Buchanan, Hong Chau, Sarah Desjardins, Fola Evans-Akingbola, Eve Harlow, Enrique Murciano, Phoenix Ray, D.B. Woodside
Release date: March 23, 2023
Season 1
Writers: Corey DeShon, Matthew Quirke
Directed by Adam Arkin, Guy Ferland, Seth Gordon, Lama Mosley, Millicent Shelton
Showrunner Shawn Ryan
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