Noah Centineo Reveals How Real-Life CIA Attorney Adam Ciralsky Influenced The Recruit: 'Truth is Stranger...'

Noah Centineo shares how real life stories of former CIA Attorney Adam Ciralsky heavily influenced the plot of The Recruit. Read on to know the details.

Written by Ipshita Chakraborty , Entertainment Journalist

Published on Feb 01, 2025 | 06:04 PM IST | 5.3K

Youtube / Netflix

For all the crazy, high-stakes espionage situations on Netflix's The Recruit, star Noah Centineo gets himself into, he knows that those moments would be over-the-top — if not based on true events. The show, in which he plays CIA lawyer Owen Hendricks, draws a lot of inspiration from the actual experiences of Adam Ciralsky, a former attorney for the CIA.

In The Recruit, Centineo's character is thrown into international intrigue, from season one's blackmail scandal to season two's high-stakes espionage operation in South Korea. According to Centineo, the dramatic tension of the show is believable because truth often surpasses fiction in strangeness.

"It's funny. If it wasn't so true, it would be absurdist. It walks that line, But it's almost like — truth is stranger than fiction," Centineo, 28, told People.

Most of the story is taken from Ciralsky's personal experiences. According to Centineo, Ciralsky gave some much-needed insight that contributed to shaping the narrative so that it is perfectly interwoven between drama and authenticity. He said, "There's a lot in our show that is actually based in stories that Adam Ciralsky – who the show was loosely based off of — has told us."

In this series, Alexi Hawley balances suspense with humor at the right times to add levity at critical moments for a really engaging rhythm. The actor gushed about how Hawley tackled a "tightrope of drama and humor, and he kind of weaves it together. And so right when it gets kind of dark and deep, he's able to subvert that and make it funny again."

Centineo also appreciated that the show makes high-stakes danger fun again, saying, his character is just "trying to survive in this bad world," barely getting any sleep sometimes.

Another thing that gives the series an authenticity factor is how rarely it has been possible for the filmmakers to shoot on location at the CIA headquarters in McLean, Virginia. Centineo said, "They gave us clearance, which is insane. I think we were the first show to shoot at the new headquarters too."

Though in the show, they could not get the BTS VIP Package for their reunion tour, in real life they definitely got a clearance for filming at the agency's campus which according to Centineo was unheard of. It lent authenticity to the filming.

Having been to the CIA headquarters beforehand for preparation, Centineo felt a little familiar when stepping onto the set. He says it was strangely comforting. The Recruit season 2 is now available on Netflix.