Netflix’s Ozark is finally at rest. So now that the hit show concluded, actors are talking about the show more freely than ever before. Felix Solis is among the actors from the show who recently opened up about his character and how he chose to portray it. Felix plays the main antagonist of the show Omar Navarro.

The writers of the show kept Omar hidden until his much-awaited appearance in the third season. So when you play such an important character in a show, you have to come prepared. But Felix’s approach to playing the cartel leader was different from others.

Let us see how the actor broke the norms to play the show’s main villain.

Felix Solis on preparing for Ozark

Over the course of history, we have had some truly amazing portrayals of gangsters and ganglords in movies and TV shows. And all of the actors who starred as the Big Baddies had one thing in common: their research. All of them have confessed to watching extensive documentaries about gangsters and reading about them to prepare for the role.

But Felix purposefully stayed away from all the traditional forms of research and instead relied “upon my own life experience.” 

The actor says that instead of looking at Omar as a kingpin of a highly dangerous cartel, he chose to look at perceiving him as a normal guy. The actor added, “He has to be a normal, regular guy. So I shied away from [research] a little bit.”

The 50-year-old American actor and producer also stated that his role as a producer funnily helped him play a drug lord. He says that as a producer, you have people looking up to you, waiting for your answer and decision. This, he felt, was essentially similar to being the head of a cartel.

“I’ve had to manage people. I’ve had to manage relationships. I’ve had to be around people who’re insisting and scary and dangerous. I’ve had to just because of my life and who I am,” said the actor.

Did you like Felix’s performance in the last season of Ozark? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

All the seasons of Ozark are available for a session of binge-watching on Netflix.