The Night Agent's Firearms And Fighting Were Second-Nature To Gabriel Basso
Working in the Federal Bureau of Investigation is definitely not a profession for the timid, though the job becomes much more than what agent Peter Sutherland (Gabriel Basso) could have anticipated in the popular television series "The Night Agent." Tasked with what is normally a boring desk job, Peter is soon cast into a vast conspiracy that threatens the very government of the United States — and here he thought he was just going to work a telephone for tips on possible corruption.
Peter is quickly put through the wringer as his investigation soon becomes dangerous and deadly. Luckily, Peter is a skilled FBI agent that is capable of holding his own, despite being low-level, and it seems as if that may have been helped by Basso's real-life hobbies and friends. During an interview with MovieWeb, Basso was asked what kind of research and preparation he did in order to ready himself for the role of Peter, and he replied, "I talked to an FBI consultant that I was put into contact with, but I also have a bunch of friends in law enforcement. And I fight and stuff in real life, so the physical stuff wasn't new to me. And I shoot [guns] in real life a lot, so firearm safety and training is sort of second nature."
Basso still needed to brush up on FBI tactics in order to nail the role of Peter
In the same interview, Gabriel Basso continued that despite his prior experience, he wasn't completely prepared to immerse himself in the world of the FBI. "But the tactics of it and the approach to it, I was unfamiliar with. So yeah, there was a good amount of talking in that sort of facet." With these words in mind, it seems as if Basso understands the basics of firearms and possesses some martial arts skills, but when it came to the actual tactics and operating procedures of the FBI, he needed to do a little bit of research and have some honest conversations with the aforementioned FBI consultant.
Checking out the official website for the FBI, one can see that the basic training for an FBI agent is robust. The FBI notes that new agents receive more than 800 hours of training, which includes both physical and mental disciplines. On the academic side, FBI agents study cases, ethics, forensics, leadership, communication, behavioral science, and much more, while the physical aspects of the job include firearm knowledge, tactical driving, surveillance, and other such endeavors. Even after becoming fully-trained FBI agents, these individuals are still expected to continue their training, often coming back to Quantico to receive refresher or updated lessons. Although Basso didn't spend 800 hours learning the ins and outs of the FBI, his basic knowledge still provided a great foundation for his portrayal of Peter Sutherland in the well-received "The Night Agent."