Narcos: Mexico star hits out at series claiming 'there are a lot of lies'

A Narcos: Mexico star has hit out at the series, claiming there are ‘a lot of lies’ despite it being a ‘great show’.

But while he feels ‘grateful’ to be a part of the hugely successful franchise, the actor has revealed how he feels his country has been misrepresented in the show.

“But in my case, it’s a little hard because the way they put the story of my country, I don’t agree at all. There’s a lot of truth and that’s amazing, but there’s a lot of lies, too.

“I think my country doesn’t need more narco culture and making these guys heroes.”

Calva recalled how, when the series aired, he had thought to himself: “This is too raw. I don’t know if I really want to keep shooting people.”

UNILAD has reached out to Netflix for comment.

The star now features in Babylon as Manny Torres, a film fan from Mexico who is trying to make it big in Hollywood during the golden age of cinema in the 1920s.

It turns out the role – which marks Calva's first big English-language gig - has parallels with the actor’s own life, as he, too, grew up as a movie lover in Mexico City.

“When I learned how to play and rewind the VHS, I would just watch Peter and the Wolf over and over and over again,” he said.

“I was addicted to the fear that I felt when I heard the [horn] motif of the wolf. That sensation, that feeling.”

Calva said that as a teenager he had managed to negotiate regular trips to his local Blockbuster – predicting how he's seen GoodFellas about 40 times.