Wagner Moura shell

Wagner Moura isn’t quite sure what he can and can’t say about his mysterious sci-fi thriller The Last House. But the recently Oscar-nominated actor admits that’s on him. “They sent me a list of things,” he says of Netflix. “To be honest, I haven't read it.”It’s understandable, considering Moura is busier than ever. After being widely-recognized for his multi-character performance in the hit Brazilian film The Secret Agent, it seems like everyone wants a piece of the 50-year-old. He’s currently Zooming in from France, where’s doing a stage production, and once he’s wrapped, he’s staying abroad to shoot his villain role in Bradley Cooper’s Ocean’s 11 prequel. He’ll then roll cameras on his latest directorial effort. There’s also all of the X-Men and James Bond buzz.First, he must figure out how to sell The Last House. Directed by Fast X’s Louis Leterrier, the new film stars Moura and Past Lives' Greta Lee as Jason and Ann Delgado, who, along with their two young children, are suddenly sealed into their home, with no possible escape. The quartet must bond together to survive their lack of resources and the looming threat that is keeping them inside.“This was a film that I had never done before,” Moura tells GQ. “I usually do heavier stuff, or political films, or films that are not appropriate for my sons to see. And this one brought me back to the Steven Spielberg films from the '80s. Yeah, there's something magical happening, but, at its core, like any other good movie, it's about human beings.”Ahead of The Last House’s Aug. 7 debut on Netflix, we caught up with Moura for his first extensive conversation about the secretive project. The hotly-coveted actor discussed Last House’s COVID-19 echoes, teaming up with Cooper for the Ocean’s prequel, and why he's loving all the rumors about what could be his next super role.GQ: I’m glad that people are clicking into this article to read our chat about The Last House, but, having just watched the film, I think this one's more fun if you go into it totally cold.Wagner Moura: Sometimes I think that nowadays the trailers are giving away so much. That’s the best feeling, watching a great movie and not knowing anything about it. A film that I saw exactly like that is The Matrix. I was in my hometown, Salvador, in a shopping mall, and I was like, I'm gonna see a movie, and I looked at everything and was like, Oh, nothing is good. What is this thing…Matrix? And then it blew me away. Another film I saw like that was American Beauty. I was like, Okay, let’s try this one. And the poster wasn't great, because it was a girl sort of naked in a rose bath, and I don’t know why I went in.This is one of your first interviews about The Last House. How do you prepare to promote a movie with so many secrets and twists? They even gave me a list of things not to talk about.I don't know, let's see. [Laughs.] It's the first time I’ve had to deal with it. They also sent me a list of things. To be honest, I haven't read it. But there are so many things that I can talk about, like how the film resonated with me when I read the script. I don't know if this is something that they don't want me to talk about—again, I have no idea, I didn't read the list; maybe I'll have a surprise later. COVID was horrible in Brazil, because so many people were dying, but I have three sons, and I had a great time with my family at home. I’d never stayed for so long with my family, and I was really able to look at each one of them and spend time and talk and laugh and watch movies and cry. This is a film about family, about families staying together and being together and understanding each other's vulnerabilities. And that was the thing that really resonated with me when I read the script.The Last House. (L-R) Noah Alexander Sosnowski as Graham, Wagner Moura as Jason, Greta Lee as Ann, Riley Chung as Ruth in The Last House. Cr. Chris Baker/Netflix © 2026Chris Baker/NetflixAs dark and dire as the circumstances are, Louis and the script really allow the characters to have some fun early on and make the best out of the situation.That's exactly right, and that’s how it usually is in life. I love to see these things in films where you're going through a bad moment and then you find something funny that you laugh about. This is what it is to be a human being: we're full of contradictions and a sense of humor. One of the things that I also like about this film is that there’s a real spark and you can see the love between my character and Greta's character, and even when things are bad, they can crack a joke.How much of that lightness came from Louis? Having interviewed him a couple times, it doesn’t feel like he could make a movie that was overly heavy and serious throughout.This film was unexpectedly hard to shoot, and I wasn't expecting that. Physically, it was very difficult, because Greta and I are in 97 percent of the scenes. There was never a day where, "Oh, the other guys are shooting." No, we were there every day. And then we had to be underwater in the house! And so I wasn't expecting that. I was like, this is a family film, in a house, in a studio, they'll have trailers. But it was tough — or I'm getting old. I think both. But Louis’ energy, sense of humor, and approach to things, if we hadn't had a director like him, that could have turned into a very difficult experience. And it was not. He’s an adorable man.What did you think of the house set?I don't think I’ve ever shot an entire film on a sound stage. What they did with that house was so impressive, because it was all about the house, and then how the house was getting constructed, they built it in a way that they could surround the house with very thick glass, and when they flooded it, it was like an aquarium. I was very impressed by the engineers and art directors. A detail in the house that I really love is, and I don’t know if you noticed or if this is on the “no” list for Netflix, but, f— it, I haven’t read it: the kitchen is exactly like the E.T. kitchen. The same table, same chandelier. This is my first family film, and it has that ‘80s vibe, like the Amblin films that I used to see when I was younger.The Last House. (L-R) Wagner Moura as Jason, Greta Lee as Ann, Riley Chung as Ruth and Noah Alexander Sosnowski as Graham in The Last House. Cr. Courtesy Netflix © 2026© 2026 Netflix, Inc.The Last House was not the original title of this film, and I can’t help but wonder if you pushed for this option, given that this year you also starred in The Last Day and you will soon direct Last Night at the Lobster. Is it fair to say that you have a type?I hope that doesn't make people confused, like, "Is that The Last? Which one is The Last?" For sure I don't want any of these to be the last Wagner Moura film! [Laughs.] I still have lots of tuition to pay, I can't retire right now.I was feeling a bit of pandemic PTSD watching this. Given some of the parallels of a mysterious threat forcing everyone to stay inside for an extended period of time, was that period from the early 2020s on the mind a lot?The pandemic, what a crazy time. In Brazil, it was horrible, because we had a president that denied the pandemic, didn't buy vaccines, and so many, many people died. I was very moved by that and very concerned about the future, because I had just gotten to L.A. from Brazil, and I wasn't working. I was like, What the f— am I doing here? At the same time, I had such a wonderful family moment. I was lucky enough to have money to feed my family. So it was a very contradictory time. That resonated a lot with me, and I wanted to be part of this thing. I felt that I kind of knew what this was: a threat outside the house threatening my family. When we landed in England for production, there were two survivalists that they hired to teach us how to survive. I don't even know how helpful that was for the film, but it was great for me because they were such interesting people.I was sold on this movie when I heard that you and Greta were the leads. It felt like a cool pairing and that both of you were having a moment at the same time. How familiar were you with Greta, and what was it like diving into this with her? That marriage and this family has to be believable for this story to stand a chance.I didn't know her. I had seen her amazing work in Past Lives; that's the only thing I had seen of her. I was very excited to work with her. I have three boys and Greta also has two boys, so that was an immediate connection. I would look at her and be like, she knows exactly what it is to take care of a kid and to be desperate when your kid is sick. So the thing that connected us was that our children are the most important thing in our lives. We had to then create a relationship with the kids, and learn how to take care of them. I'm always very concerned about working with children, because sometimes I go, "They are not supposed to be here; they should be at school or playing." But you see that they are real actors.The Last House. Wagner Moura as Jason in The Last House. Cr. Chris Baker/Netflix © 2026Chris Baker/NetflixWe won’t spoil which ones, but the family ends up watching two DVDs on repeat. If you had the choice, what movie are you viewing on a loop in a similar situation?I was shooting Civil War in Atlanta, I had my family over, and we all got COVID. They had to stop the shooting. But the five of us were in the house, sick, and I was like, "Let's watch Cinema Paradiso." I love Giuseppe Tornatore’s movie so much, and I was so happy that my children also loved it, because they could have [rolls his eyes], like, "C'mon." It’s not a kids’ film. When I was traveling with The Secret Agent, [writer-director] Kleber Mendonça Filho introduced me to Tornatore in Rome, and I was so nervous because I'm such a fan of that film. So Cinema Paradiso would be my choice.You’ve been working for 30 years, and you had a successful career back home before ever stepping into Hollywood, but I’d say you now have a new level of heat in the industry. How are you feeling as all of these new opportunities seemingly come your way?It feels good. I'm 50, so I think I'm very prepared for that. All these opportunities are coming mostly because of a Brazilian film, The Secret Agent — isn't that interesting? And that makes me very happy and proud. I've been around for some time, and I did this [2007] film in Brazil called Elite Squad, and that film was a big hit, it won the Berlin Film Festival, and I started to have agents from L.A. calling me. And I was like, "Nah." After Narcos, I was like, "I'm gonna go back to Brazil, direct a movie." This time, I'm like, "I'm gonna go." So I'm working nonstop. I talked to my family and they are really supporting me. The whole Oscar thing opened doors, and I have access to directors and projects that I didn't have before, and I'm like, "I want to do this." I'm aware of what you just said, and I think I'm mature enough to handle it and know what I'm doing, to consciously be like, Okay, this year, I’m going to work, work, work, work. Next year, rest.It was recently reported that you will be playing the villain in the Ocean’s 11 prequel, which will star Margot Robbie and Bradley Cooper, who is also serving as director. The word is that it’s an early 1960s period piece set in France at the Monaco Grand Prix. What drew you to this big swing?I can only say that I'm very excited. This is one thing that could only have happened after The Secret Agent, and that's an opportunity that I was like, "I'm doing it." I'm doing this play, then I'm directing my film, and, in the middle of that, I'm going to squeeze it in. I had such a nice connection with Bradley Cooper. He's someone who I really admire; he's a fantastic actor and director. Talking to him, his enthusiasm, the way he sees things, he's a really great artist. You can be sure that he's going to come up with something very, very interesting and well-shot. I'm wrapping the tour with the play on August 11, and they will already be shooting, but they're waiting for me. So, as soon as I wrap here, I go up there to shoot it.I don’t know how online you are, but, if the internet is to be believed, then every major franchise currently wants you as their next bad guy, whether that be X-Men or James Bond. How would you respond to hearing your name thrown into those types of conversations?My friend sent me a message about all that. I don't know if my agents know anything about it — I don't. I don't know anything about these things, but it's kinda cool, right? [Laughs.] I like that. But, as far as I know, there's nothing concrete.Moura in 2025's The Secret Agent.Everett CollectionSince you have some tuition to play, what’s left on the Wagner Moura career bucket list? I’m thinking it’s time for a rom-com for you.Oh, that would be great, because I love those. That's a good idea — put that in your story and throw it into the universe. Especially a rom-com with people my age. They usually do it with 20 year olds. But the other day I saw a photo of Javier Bardem and Kate Hudson [filming a movie], and I was like, Wow, that's a cool couple, I want to see that.The campaign is officially underway! Enough of the villain talk, let’s start the rom-com talk.No, not enough of the villain talk, don't say that! I'm good with everything.Good luck with The Last House, and maybe you’ll get the chance to read that Netflix no-go list.Yeah, I’m going to read it now and go, "Oh, f—!"