Taking part in the first season of Netflix’s The Recruit became a meaningful step in my acting journey. Created by Alexi Hawley and led by Noah Centineo as Owen Hendricks, a young lawyer newly hired by the CIA, the series mixes tension, humour and espionage in a very particular way. Laura Haddock also brings enormous presence to Max Meladze, the former CIA asset at the centre of so much of the story.
Part of the series was filmed in Montreal at Grandé Studios. Being able to contribute to an international production without leaving the city where I live felt like an extraordinary opportunity.
Becoming the concierge
My role was a polished, discreet European hotel concierge. A modest appearance on screen, certainly — but I approached the audition with the same seriousness I would bring to a much larger role. A few lines are still enough to create a complete human being.
When my agent sent the audition, I built a detailed private life for him. I imagined a self-made man who had begun as a doorman at a luxury Geneva hotel and slowly worked his way up until he became one of the property’s most respected concierges. Impeccable professionally, but carrying wounds nobody in the lobby would ever see.
I gave him a family: an unstable sister, an absent brother and distant parents. I imagined a father who rejected him after he came out, and a mother who remained silent in the face of that rejection. That need to prove himself worthy, competent and reliable became something I could carry underneath every gesture.
My audition
Before recording the self-tape, I spent hours meditating on his past, sitting on the red buckwheat cushion I normally use for meditation. I let the imagined memories settle until they began to have a physical weight.
For each take, I gave myself a different private circumstance:
- Take 1: I have just learned there is water damage one floor below. I am working overtime because a colleague is late again, but the guest receiving her package must see nothing but calm professionalism. Stress inside. Calm outside. Service first.
- Take 2: I have desperately needed a bathroom break for two hours and still have not found a moment. My body is uncomfortable, but the smile remains controlled. Maybe after this guest I will finally get two minutes. Maybe not — the water damage is still waiting.
- Take 3: My sister called in tears early that morning and mentioned pills and vodka. My boss refused to let me leave. I have decided that after this guest I am quitting and going to find her. But should I already have called the police? Guilt. Contained panic. And still the exact same professional line, delivered calmly.
Do the work, then let go
Once I sent the audition, I let it go completely. I had done the work and told the story I wanted to tell. A few days later, the phone rang.
Martin, you booked Graymail!*
*The Recruit originally moved through the working titles Noah Centineo’s Untitled Project and then Graymail before receiving its final title. Whatever it was called at the time, the shoot remains a precious memory for me.
The magic of the set
Once on set, the energy of the crew was immediately visible. Every department was precise, fast and deeply professional. My scene took place in the corridors and rooms of a luxury Geneva hotel, but the entire environment had actually been built inside Grandé Studios in Montreal.
From one angle, the hotel felt completely real. From another, the reverse side of the set revealed a giant warehouse full of people building the illusion. I am always fascinated by how cinematic magic can rest on a few inches of wood, Velcro and gaffer tape.
The director came over to introduce himself as soon as I arrived. The team calmly explained the blocking, the two camera angles and the movement through the scene. I exchanged a few friendly words with Laura Haddock, then later had a more relaxed conversation with her off to the side while makeup was being adjusted.
Then came the actual moment. Silence. Action. In roughly an hour, the scene was done. I went back to wardrobe and makeup, changed out of the character, and left with that unmistakable feeling that I had spent the day exactly where I wanted to be: on my mark, inside the work.
A small role that left a lasting mark
Every shoot is different, and every role offers another chance to build something. Even a quiet appearance can become an important internal milestone for an actor. The Recruit reminded me why I love this work: the precision, the listening, the transformation and the strange collective ability to build an entire world from an empty warehouse and a few lines on a page.
I left the experience grateful and ready for whatever came next. Whether a role lasts one day or several months, the task remains the same for me: tell a fictional story as truthfully as I can.
