THE UK’S SEBASTIAN SACCO IS THE BAD BOY SPY YOU LOVE/HATE IN LANA STEELE: MAKEUP SPY

There is a transition that is happening with the younger generation when it comes to entertainment media. As recently as five years ago, web content was considered secondary to TV productions. It is a part of modern life that more young people (and to an increasing degree, older generations) are receiving their news and entertainment online. This has led to the increased prominence and relativity of online productions. This means that the level of talent also rises in these productions. When Alesia Glidewell was looking for a likeable bad guy in her web-series Lana Steele: Makeup Spy, she had a wide pool from which to cast, not that it was easy. She comments, “To find such an actor was no small task, as most of the actors we auditioned were either entirely villainous or entirely likeable. Sebastian Sacco was just perfect to play our bad guy ‘Nemesis.’ He hit just the right note in his audition, and coupled with his natural charm and ease of delivery, it was a no-brainer to cast him in the part.” So Sebastian became the most recent in a long line of charming, good looking, dangerous, British bad guys in American productions. It’s a line that Sacco is happy to be standing in, being comprised of many well-known actors. This modern action comedy has gained a legion of online fans who are clamoring for a second season…and a prominent role for Nemesis. Sebastian’s natural charisma and the entertaining storyline have made Nemesis a fan favorite. For a role which happened unexpectedly for Sebastian it has led to a whole new fan base that differs greatly from those who know him for his more serious roles (for example, as Tommy in the WWI era film of the same name, or William in No Place). Sacco comments with a laugh, “I live in London but the show has a huge fan base with young girls of Asian descent…I get a lot of double takes from these younger fans.”

Lana Steele: Makeup Spy is an action comedy about a young woman named Lana Steele who disguises herself with makeup in each episode to create a new persona to fight off her archenemy and the show’s villain, Nemesis. This general overview of the plot gives a glimpse to the tongue-in-cheek homage to spy and action films. The playful and humorous approach to this female lead based show has made it extremely popular with an often untapped fan-base for this genre, women. Another large factor is the “bad guy” Nemesis portrayed by Sacco; embodying the complex feminine idea of hating and loving a man at the same time. Sebastian effortlessly gives life to this character who was immediately and overwhelmingly a fan favorite. He sends conflicting signals to Lana Steele (played by Lilly Singh) effecting her in the same way that the fans of the show, with curiosity and sometimes indignation. The chemistry is quickly apparent to viewers of the series. Sacco notes, “I was very surprised by how popular Nemesis instantly became. I know the show was based on Lilly’s massive success. I really didn’t expect Nemesis to be so popular. He was a great character to play and he has a great role in the story. Nemesis is constantly talked about in the comments. There has been a lot of talk about a second season. People still tweet about it. Lilly and I got along very well and I think people can feel that in the show.”

In preparing for Nemesis, Sebastian wanted to portray a very edge demeanor. He wanted the comedy to be apparent in the role but was constantly listening to punk or grunge music right before takes to put some “masculine danger” into Nemesis. Sacco admits to taking a bit of a cue from a fellow countryman. He confirms, “I really like comedy but many of my roles have been in drama. Sometimes you need to laugh and be ironic. Tom Hiddleston’s Loki from Thor was a big inspiration. I liked his intelligence and cunning, but he still had likeability to him. Nemesis is smart, charming, confident and also the bad boy. He and Lana have a very flirtatious relationship as well. I think he was always good but was forced to hide that side of himself. I would never cross that moral line as he wouldn’t want to but, he still needed to be seen as a bad guy so he could survive.”

Lana Steele: Makeup Spy’s quirky and endearing content has made it a highly successful web-series, leading to talks of a second season. This will undoubtedly mean a return of Sacco as Nemesis. Sebastian is receptive to the idea (assuming he is available) and comments, (SPOILER ALERT!) “At the end of last season, he sacrifices himself to save Lilly so that she could save the world. He manages to escape and pick Lilly up, driving off into the sunset. I’d like to see Nemesis return but also, he should go off by himself to try explore who he is and what he wants to do; only to maybe realize that what he wants is Lilly. Maybe he will try and make a go of being a good guy and working within the law. Hopefully this realization comes just in time to find out Lilly is in trouble and to save her in the end. We all want that Hollywood ending, right?”