‘The Night Agent’ Star Kari Matchett Says She Was ‘Obsessed’ With Portraying the President (Exclusive)

The Night Agent has garnered more than 2.6 billion minutes of viewing since it premiered in March 2023, making it one of the biggest shows in the world today. Based on Matthew Quirk’s novel, Netflix’s political thriller has become a blockbuster hit. During his time at Night Action, FBI agent Peter Sutherland (Gabriel Basso) answers a call that leads him straight into a dangerous conspiracy as he attempts to eliminate a White House mole.PopCulture spoke to Canadian actress Kari Matchett, who plays President Michelle Travers in the series. We asked Kari what she thinks makes The Night Agent so successful, how she prepared to play the president, her favorite scene in the show, and more!

Could you tell us a bit about the show in your own words? 

Well, it’s a political thriller that just doesn’t stop. It takes you on a crazy magic carpet ride that unfolds in a thrills and chills kind of a way. It was so well written, and I’m so pleased that it’s even better in its manifestation as it came out on screen. So it’s an exciting ride. 

How exciting was it to hear that the show had been renewed so quickly? 

I mean, that’s what we all hoped for, and the fact that it happened so fast was totally exciting. It’s a coup to Sean Ryan, who wrote it, all the writers who were on it, and of course, the crew and everyone involved. But it’s great news. 

In your opinion, what is it about the night agent that has people so captivated? What is drawing people in? 

Well, it’s a great story. The way that Sean Ryan and his writing team crafted it is things unfold in a totally exciting way. It’s a political thriller. It’s set around the White House, and I don’t think that we’ve seen that much out there lately that is around the White House. One of the reasons I think 24 was so successful is it was close to home. It was based on American politics or, in and around, American politics. And that has, I think, a world interest, and so does the Night Agent, and just the way it catches you in the beginning and then keeps you freaked out and on the edge of your seat for the entire ride also makes it impossible to turn off. 

How did you approach playing a role like the president of the United States, particularly that of a female president? 

I was totally obsessed with playing the president. I didn’t stop thinking about it the moment I read for the part. I was just obsessed with the idea of playing the president. You know, it’s so hard to believe, and I don’t think it’s too far off, but it’s sort of bizarre that we are in this time where there hasn’t been a female president yet. It’s bizarre, and it’s coming. And we’re gonna look back at the time where there wasn’t a female president and think, what were we thinking?

We’re already thinking that, we’re just not there yet. And so being able to be in fantasy, that person felt essential to like my being. And I was, like I said, obsessed. I read about Lincoln a lot, who was one of my personal favorites. I read, and I read a lot of Obama’s stuff, who’s also a favorite. For me, I wanted to be the good president who has a vision and leads the world to a better place. So I wanted to study presidents who did that too. So that was my interior life. I really felt like I pretended to be the president in such a total way in my being. It was wholly exciting. So his study helped my study. 

And how were you introduced to the role in the show, and were you aware of the novel before you became involved with it?

I wasn’t aware of the novel before. I was aware that it was being turned into a television show. But, as soon as I was cast, I read the novel, and I read the script when I was auditioning for it, and the pilot script was incredible. I actually was asked to audition for it when I was on vacation. I was at a friend’s wedding in Puerto Rico. I was like, auditioning for something when you’re on vacation is the worst. It’s just the worst because you have to take time away from your friends and study your lines. So I flew into Puerto Rico the night before the wedding, my dear friend was meeting me.

I studied the lines. I literally put the audition down on tape 20 minutes before the wedding started in my hotel room in Puerto Rico and sent it to my agents and said, send it. And then ran to the wedding. And then, maybe about a week and a half later, I found out I got it. But I’ll tell you, it was really interesting also to be in Puerto Rico when I was auditioning for the president of the United States because Puerto Rico’s a really interesting place in terms of American politics. So I spoke to Puerto Ricans with the lens of, I’m gonna be president of the United States, and what am I going to do about Puerto Rico? And that was a fascinating beginning for me as wrapping my head around the idea of playing the president because there’s a lot of stuff going on in Puerto Rico that I would change if I were president, I’ll tell you that.

 Do you have a favorite scene that you’ve done on the show so far? 

My favorite would’ve been the very last scene where I tell Peter that he’s going to be a night agent. That’s when it comes together, and I felt like rewarding this man’s bravery for not only saving my life but saving the country. Having the ability to do that as the president, it felt like I was the president of the good. And also just thanking one human to another for saving my life. Felt like it was a really beautiful moment. 

Can you talk about what’s coming up next for you and what’s next for President Travers on the Night Agent?

I don’t know what’s next for President Travers. I know that the writers are in the writing room right now, probably madly writing before the writer strike happens. So, I don’t know that, but personally,I’ve just finished a film that I’m really excited about, called Hailey Rose, and we shot it in Nova Scotia, and it’s a fun, funny, sweet film, little indie film that I have very high hopes for. I had a wonderful time shooting it, and I saw some of it in ADR. It’s really funny and really sweet, kind of a la Wes Anderson feel to it. Um, so I’m excited, really excited, for that to come out. They’re in the midst of editing it. And I also just worked on Fargo. And that was amazing. I worked mostly with Juno Temple, who’s just an absolute angel.