Meet the charismatic new big bad of Ozark's final season

If you thought Omar Navarro (Felix Solis) was trouble, just wait until you meet his nephew.

Ozark returns Friday for the first half of the fourth and final season, and coming along for the last ride is new series regular Alfonso Herrera (The Exorcist) as Javi Elizonndro, who is described as a "member of the Navarro family who walks a fine line between playing the obedient lieutenant and scheming to take over his uncle's cartel."

It's been almost two years since season 3 of Ozark premiered on Netflix and ended with Navarro welcoming Marty (Jason Bateman) and Wendy (Laura Linney) to Mexico with a hug. Oh, it's also probably worth mentioning that he embraced them as they were covered with the blood of Helen (Janet McTeer), whom he just had assassinated.

"Javier represents a new era of how businesses are being done right now," Herrera says of his "unpredictable" character. "He comes from a university, he understands businesses completely different as his uncle, he doesn't see his business as a family business, he wants to construct and consolidate something bigger and wider."

Ahead of his Ozark debut, Herrera chatted with EW about what he loves about the series, how he decided to play the different shades of the character, and why the Byrdes should be very afraid.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Before being cast, what was your relationship to Ozark? Casually familiar? Diehard fan? Somewhere in-between?

ALFONSO HERRERA: I was a fan of the show, and I'm still a fan of the show, because, until Jan. 21st, I can consider myself a fan of the show. [Laughs] I was one of the first people waiting for Ozark; I watched the original three seasons when they came out. I loved the performances of Jason, Laura, and Julia [Garner], they were brilliant.

Outside of your fandom, what drew you to the show and character when it came your way?

What I really like about the show is that, yes, it talks about money laundering, drug trafficking, et cetera, but it positions the responsibility not just in the south. It creates a more global responsibility. That is something that I really, really admire about this show. And I remember not so long ago I watched this show called ZeroZeroZero, that you can see the interaction of how this business works in different parts of the world. On one side, that. On the other side, obviously the great choices that [showrunner] Chris Mundy did and took since Day 1, and also the amazing sensibility that Jason has. Going back a little bit to the first question, having the possibility to work with Jason, having the possibility to be with him on-set and really seeing how he deconstructs and how he really knows this story is mind-blowing. So I consider myself a very lucky guy.

As both a fan and the newcomer of the group, what was it like stepping into an established show and immediately going head-to-head with the likes of Jason and Laura, who, like you said, are giving spectacular performances?

It was challenging for everybody to do this fourth season; when we were starting, it was the peak of the second wave of COVID. So the instructions were very clear: you go to set, and then you go back home, and then you have to quarantine, and then you have to stay there, in order to carry on with the show. That was a little bit challenging. You feel like you're the new kid in the classroom, so, in a certain way, you try to break the ice, to have some type of conversation, but that was a little bit complicated because of COVID. But Jason and Laura and Julia, they were very aware of that. Their generosity on set was equal to their talent. Every single member from the cast and crew, they were amazing. Now I know why they call themselves a family. There are people that have been there since season 1, because each and every single person at that show, they take care of each other. And when I entered the show, they made me feel at home, and that was amazing.

I don't want to call Javi a "villain," but he's positioned as a problem and trouble for our "heroes." How did you view him, and how would you tee him up for the audience ahead of them meeting him?

When I first read Javi, I said, "Okay, there are many, many possibilities of working with this character, of trying to deconstruct this character." My first approach was, let's avoid common places. Because we've seen so many stories about drug lords and there is a very specific cliché about them, so how can you create something three-dimensional, a guy that can have virtues and a viciousness, and positive and negative aspects. And Javi represents a new era of how businesses are being done right now. He comes from a university, he understands businesses completely different as his uncle, he doesn't see his business as a family business, he wants to construct and consolidate something bigger and wider. So those were my key points or places where I hooked in. There are many clues in the script where you can see that he's unpredictable, and that gives you many possibilities to play a scene. You never know how he's going to react, so the choices are infinite.

Having seen the new episodes, I can say that you manage to create a character that is extremely intimidating and extremely charming at the same time. Like, he's a threat to the people we love but you're also very much intrigued by him. Is that kind of the sweet spot that you were aiming for?

Yes. When I was reading it, I was laughing, and I said, "Hey, man, this guy, he's funny. He's really, really funny. I would love to have a beer with him — with no guns on the table." [Laughs] He can have a very interesting topic of conversation, but you have these other points and these other uncomfortable aspects of him that are there, little hints of his personality that can be a bit scary. He understands the business, he understands the risks, but he has fun with what he's doing. He can have fun eating pastry, but at the same time, he can have fun making fun of Marty. That's why it was very fun to play Javi.

I love that you mention grabbing a beer with Javi, because one of my favorite scenes of the season involves Javi having dinner and a drink with the Byrdes.

Oh man, I really love that, because that scene conglomerates the whole personality of that guy. He likes to have fun, he likes to have a glass of wine, but he can be like, "You're not going to f--- with me." And then he can go to a completely different space and say, "Okay, let's carry on. Let's raise our glasses and just have fun." And that's fun to play, to go to these places. It's very hard to have those type of characters from script.

This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.

Ozark season 4 premieres Friday on Netflix.

For more on Ozark and its final season, pick up Entertainment Weekly's Ultimate Guide to Ozark, available online and wherever magazines are sold.

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