Brazilian star Wagner Moura will portray Pablo Escobar in an upcoming Netflix series.
The streaming platform and Gaumont International Television have tapped Wagner Moura to play the famous Colombian drug lord in “Narcos,” according to Deadline.com.
A well-established actor in his native Brazil, Wagner Moura will play Pablo Escobar, the famous cocaine trafficker who died in 1993 at age 44.
Born into poverty in Colombia in 1949, Escobar made his first million at a young age through crime. From car theft and kidnapping, he quickly graduated to cocaine trafficking, becoming the head of the infamous Medellin cartel and one of the world’s most wanted drug lords.
The series on Escobar, who was killed in 1993, will be helmed by José Padilha, the Brazilian director who filmed Moura in the action movies “Elite Squad” and the sequel “Elite Squad: The Enemy Within.” The filmmaker was also behind the “Robocop” remake released in February.
Netflix will release all 13 episodes of “Narcos” in 2015.
In the meantime, viewers will be able to see another fictional portrayal of Pablo Escobar in the feature “Paradise Lost,” directed by Andrea Di Stefano. The film will follow the story of Nick, a young Irish surfer who falls in love with the drug kingpin’s niece. Josh Hutcherson, known for his role in the “Hunger Games” films, will play the main character opposite Benicio Del Toro in the role of Escobar.
