Exclusive | Jeffrey Wright on his espionage thriller The Agency: I was kind of born inside that culture

He’s going from being an author to a spy.Oscar-nominated actor Jeffrey Wright can next be seen in the spy thriller, “The Agency.” “I liked that it was grounded and going for realism that lent a real humanness to these characters,” Wright, 58, told The Post. “I’ve been a part of the James Bond franchise,” he added, referring to his role as Felix Leiter in the Daniel Craig bond movies, “Casino Royale,”  “Quantum of Solace,” and “No Time to Die.” “That’s much more fantastical,” he explained.“This was much more detailed in its focus on the real world that we are all living in now.”Wright, who has won an Emmy, Tony, and Golden Globe, added, “I tend to be  a bit of a news junkie; a little bit of a politics junkie.

And this world that ‘The Agency’ is set in was right up my alley.” Premiering Friday, Nov.29 (on Paramount+ with Showtime) with its linear on-air debut on Sunday, Dec.

1 (9pm ET on Showtime), “The Agency” is based on the French drama “Le Bureau des Legendes.” The plot follows Martian (Michael Fassbender), a CIA agent who is abruptly ordered to abandon his undercover life after several years, and return to London Station, leaving behind a lover Samia (Jodie Turner Smith) that he struggles to sever ties with. Wright co-stars as Henry, the director of Operations who is a mentor to Martian.Richard Gere rounds out the main cast as Bosko, the London Station Chief. Wright is fresh off of his first “best actor” Academy Award nomination for playing an author in 2023’s “American Fiction.”“It very much made me want to get back to work again after the long slog that led up to that night,” Wright recalled, referring to all the press tours leading up to the Oscars.

“So, I did.I think about four days after the Oscars ceremony, I went to work on Spike Lee’s next film…that’s how [getting an Oscar nomination] changed my life, it made me appreciate actually working, as opposed to talking ab...