WARNING: Spoilers for The Recruit season 1!Noah Centineo is capping off a huge year with The Recruit, a new Netflix show that follows his bumbling CIA lawyer Owen Hendricks as he gets wrapped up in an international conspiracy. That conspiracy involves Laura Haddock's Max Meladze, a woman who threatens to expose the agency unless they exonerate her of her crimes. Of course, things don't go to plan, and Owen, Max, and his fellow CIA compatriates get wrapped up in a violent confrontation that ends with a shocking twist.
Captured after seemingly making it out of a bloody situation alive, Owen and Max wake up in a room tied to chairs. When a mysterious figure enters the room, Max's face drops before it is revealed that it is Karolina, Max's daughter. Karolina shoots Max before asking Owen, "Who are you? And what the f-ck are you doing running around with my mother?"
Screen Rant caught up with Centineo and Haddock ahead of the premiere of The Recruit, and the pair discussed that ending, Centineo's big year, and why Haddock hopes people go as Max for Halloween.
Noah Centineo & Laura Haddock On The Recruit
Screen Rant: Max is such an interesting character. What was it about her that drew you to this role? How did you kind of balance this mysteriousness she has going on?
Laura Haddock: Well, the reason why I wanted to do it was because when I read the script, I was like, Oh, this character is someone that people can go to Halloween. I was like, I'm going to do it because I can. I'm hoping if this show is successful, and people love Max like I love Max, then there's gonna be a lot of Max's coming out on Halloween next year.
The wig is great.
Laura Haddock: The wig is so great. And in that prison outfit, the double orange.
Noah Centineo: That'd be cool. I was thinking which version of Max would they be. was just when I when I Haddock: It's the double orange, prison outfit, with the wig, and the white makeup.
Noah Centineo: I like when you get transferred to the federal facility.
Laura Haddock: Oh, you that's how you'd go as.
Noah Centineo: And you're in the green. You look so cool. I love that outfit.
Noah, you've had two big, action-heavy roles this year. There are some funny similarities between Owen and Al from Black Adam. What was your favorite part about taking on these huge roles and starting this next phase of your career?
Noah Centineo: Oh, man, I think I'm just happy to be working. I like to work. I like doing different things and new things. Black Adam [is], obviously, a completely different direction than anything I had done before. And The Recruit was just phenomenal. I felt like I had the opportunity to work with Laura in such a close, intimate way that has a completely new character dynamic than I had ever acted with and been in before. Plus, there are so many rich, beautiful, funny, [and] intense characters in the show. And being able to lock in for six or seven months and just, every day, be in that world.
Laura Haddock: It's a really character-driven show for quite high-energy action. There are a lot of stunts, a lot of stuff going on, things being blown up, all of that. But actually, it's the characters and the people that you are tuning into. That's what I felt when I read the script. These people are real, multi-layered, and human amongst this mad spy show.
Noah Centineo: Well, that's the thing, right is because the genre and the world is so big and complex and complicated. And I don't know how many of us can relate to that. Right? Like the world of the CIA and espionage and operations. That's such a heady world, but what we can relate to are the people in that world.
That's why the ending hits so hard for me. Laura, what's going through Max's head when she sees her daughter? Will we maybe see her in season 2? The bullet landed in an interesting position.
Noah Centineo: We don't know. We don't know where it went.
Laura Haddock: We have no idea. I think that moment of seeing her daughter was the first time that you get to see Max completely vulnerable. Her Achilles heel has just been slashed. Is the most vulnerable, you'll see Max, and then it's shot away from me pretty quick.
About The Recruit
The Recruit centers around Owen Hendricks (Noah Centineo), a young CIA lawyer whose first week on the job turns upside down when he discovers a threatening letter by former asset Max Meladze (Laura Haddock), who plans to expose the agency unless they exonerate her of a serious crime. Owen quickly becomes entangled in a dangerous and often absurd world of power politics and mischievous players, as he travels the world in hopes of completing his assignment and making a mark at the CIA.
Check out our other Recruit interview here:
The Recruit is now streaming on Netflix.