Meet your favorite director’s favorite actor.
He’s popped up in high-profile TV hits likeFargoandTrue Detective.
And beginning Friday, he can be seen starring on the third and final season of Netflix’sNarcos: Mexico.
Scott McNairy on ‘Narcos: Mexico’.JUAN ROSAS/NETFLIX
People would always ask, ‘What’s your dream role?’
and I was like, ‘It’s whatever my next job is.’
“God, so much happened on that job.
‘Argo’.Everett Collection
Meeting Ben, we really hit it off and ended up living together during the shoot.
But that was my first big job.
And I was like, “Yeah, I want it, but what about the studio?
Scott McNairy in ‘Non-Stop’.Everett Collection
I’m never going to get approved.'
And they’re like, ‘No, you got the job.’
I was super-stoked, and then we were off to the races on shooting it.
Scott McNairy in ‘Gone Girl’.20th Century Studios
So we stopped it then.
The guy’s an incredibly smart, talented filmmaker, so I was incredibly stoked to work with him.
But I shotKilling Them SoftlyandArgoand they didn’t come out for a while.
Scott McNairy on ‘Halt and Catch Fire’.Everett Collection
I shotKilling Them Softlyand Andrew edited for two years.
I didn’t think these movies were going to come out and then they did.
I had no idea the splash that Ben’s movie was going to make.
Scott McNairy and Nicole Kidman in ‘Destroyer’.Everett Collection
And 10 years later, it was kind of the beginning to something.”
I couldn’t be more lucky to be in their company.
And whenHungerwas released, I was like, ‘Who is this guy?’
Scoot McNairy and Stephen Dorff on ‘True Detective’.Everett Collection
My jaw drops at the list of filmmakers I can’t believe I’m getting to work with.
I’ll take one line in their movies.”
“I was a huge fan of Liam and his movies.
Scott McNairy and Leonardo DiCaprio in ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’.
He was definitely on a bucket list of people that I really wanted to work with.
And it was interesting that the whole thing was going to be taking place on a plane.
Somebody who I was really dying to work with.
Scott McNairy on ‘Narcos: Mexico’.Everett Collection
Again, I was in the company of great talent and incredibly smart people.
So I just felt so lucky to get that call and even have the small role that I did.
Working with him was everything that I thought it would be and more.”
I was really lucky to have her.
That was my first series, and the viewership was not high.
But AMC stuck behind it, they kept pushing it, and they believed in the show.
But I feel like they did a great job wrapping it up.
In the pandemic everyone went through their queues and they got around to it.
People comment on that show more than probably anything else I’ve done.
I’m always appreciative of the diehard fans that really stuck with us from the beginning."
I never thought Zack Snyder would be calling my phone.
I was just like, who is this guy?
Who is this person?
This isn’t Zack.
Go back to your hotel for three days.'
And that was probably the harder part."
She pushed for improvising and would say, ‘Don’t tell me, surprise me.’
“I really had to fight for that job.
I had to fight to even audition for that job.
Then having worked with Nic and getting the scripts, his dialogue is just so compelling.
And it was great working with Stephen.
When you have that sort of relationship and two characters, there is a bond.
More than half the time you carry that relationship on.
McNairyappears in aLancerscenealongside Timothy Olyphant and a chicken-devouring Leonardo DiCaprio.
And I was like, ‘No, they didn’t.’
He goes, ‘Sit down, let me tell you what’s happening in the movie.’
And then you’re out there working with incredible people that you just feel really lucky to be there.
I pray I get another one of those phone calls.
You mind doing a couple more?'
So we shot a bunch of takes.
It was just fun.
It was just a really great experience.
“I had just recently gone through a divorce, so I was in a tough place.
But Krasinski’s so easy to work with.
But I really wanted to be on the show because I loved the show so much.
And that one clicked a lot more for me, and I felt like I could do it.
“Going into the final season, they told me that Walt is in a relationship.
I thought that was really cool because I never, ever thought Walt could be in a relationship.
I was intrigued by how they were going to wrap this thing up.
So yes, the story keeps going, but these characters don’t necessarily move forward.”
