From Ontario to 'Outer Banks' Season 3: Canadian star is the newest Netflix villain
"For me, from Markham, Ontario to this point, it's wicked," Andy McQueen, who plays Carlos Singh on Outer Banks Season 3, says
Outer Banks continues to be one of the most popular shows on Netflix, with the series still one of the top 10 most watched shows in Canada after its Season 3 premiere, but the new season also has an important Canadian connection.
As the story in Season 3 goes, the Pogues are faced with a new villain looking for the illusive treasure, Carlos Singh played by Canadian actor Andy McQueen. Singh figured out how to get this group from a deserted island to Barbados, in addition to kidnapping Kiara (Madison Bailey) and Rafe (Drew Starkey) in an attempt to get his hands on Denmark Tanny’s diary, which Singh believes will lead him to the gold.
For McQueen, being on a show that is so incredibly popular has been a "wild ride."
“For me, from Markham, Ontario to this point, it's wicked,” McQueen told Yahoo Canada.
“It really is such a cool thing to experience and to be on a show that has ... such a huge fan base. ... It's definitely really, really awesome to have people's eyes on it and people be talking about it. If people like it, if they don't like it, it doesn't matter. It creates conversation and it also creates opportunity.”
Being able to achieve that coveted success where a Canadian is able to make a mark in a U.S.-based project, with international attention, McQueen hopes this can be inspiration for Canadian actors to "not ever feel stuck."
“Hopefully it’s also inspiring to the next generation of Canadian actors who are looking to build beyond, and have more things to do,” McQueen said.
“With whatever you're doing or however you approach this craft, just not feeling stuck. There's always something out there ... that will speak to you and in turn, it works in everybody's favour."
Going for gold as the Season 3 villain
Before getting the role on Outer Banks as the show's newest, sinister villain, McQueen was actually a fan of the series.
“I'd already seen the first two seasons and loved them, and thought, why not be the bad guy in the third season? Or why not at least try, audition and try to be the bad guy,” McQueen said. “I loved to play in that world, or that realm, and try to sort of … go for the gold.”
Looking back at his time with the cast and crew, McQueen praised how collaborative the set was.
“I would say that [Josh Pate and Shannon Burke and Jonas Pate], they're very collaborative and allowed me to play,” McQueen said. “Having the ability to collaborate and not being afraid to say, ‘this is what I want to try,’ or ‘this is what I want to do,’ it creates better communication and also it makes it fun.”
“Being able to move freely, and have people sort of move with you, and by people I mean all of the people who are camera ops, being able to have that kind of free movement was a lot of fun. Also, it built that character and we learned more about him, and I learned more about him."
When it comes to pinning down the success of the show, particularly this larger narrative of a treasure hunt, McQueen highlights that Outer Banks provides a great escape for its fans, taking us on this exciting adventure.
“The escape and the adventure, and just having all your friends tag along, I feel like I would do that right now,” McQueen said. “If someone said yeah, let's go look for treasure. I would.”
“It really is feeding so many different things and the writing being so great, and all of the cast being so great, it makes for a fun adventure. It's a testament to the fact that the show is, all three seasons, are trending right now on Netflix.”
