Y'lan Noel Explains Why 'Nemesis' Is a Crime Thriller With a Big Heart

If you're looking for a slow-burning crime thriller that will get you hooked fast, it's time to binge Nemesis. Starring Y'lan Noel as criminal mastermind Coltrane Wilder, the show pits him against Detective Isiah Stiles (Matthew Law), a cop who views Coltrane as his personal white whale. If this makes Nemesis sound like a cat-and-mouse crime show, that's only part of the appeal. Instead, as we can attest, and as Noel tells us, there are several surprising layers to Coltrane, a guy who is really good at massive heists, but is also trying to get out of the game after a few massive scores.

Noel recently caught up with Men's Journal to talk about Nemesis, Call of Duty, and why all men are more than just one thing.

The heists in this show are intense. How did you prepare for these stunts and action scenes?

I'm not an expert criminal. I'm not somebody who's a criminal mastermind. What I love about what I get to do as an actor is doing something that I just wouldn't do in real life. But to be able to show up on set and go on the heists meant that I had to become as dangerous as physically possible.

Are you doing these hardcore driving and shooting scenes yourself?

I definitely love to drive, man. I wouldn't say I'm a fast driver, but I think I know how to drive really, really well. It was good to flex those skills. That's the biggest thing about this that I want people to know about this show: We were doing all our stunts. Our crew, which was us underneath these masks. We show up with these big adorned masks, but it's us underneath there.

Coltrane is a thief with a heart of gold. Can you unpack that a bit?

I think one of the things that made me fall in love with the character is exactly that. The fact that there are these contradictions at play. I think life starts being able to be lived once you acknowledge the presence of paradox. Nobody's all good or all bad. It's really just on the storyteller to decide who's telling the story. There's going to be a villain to some people I know, and I'm going to be a hero, absolutely a hero to other people. I thought it was cool that Courtney [Kemp] and Tani [Marole], the creators of our show, wanted to explore that a little bit.

Despite being a criminal, Coltrane has a much healthier romantic life than the titular cop nemesis, Stiles. Is this a study in different types of masculinity?

Well, I'm not an authority on what masculinity even is. I can only express my version of what it means to be aligned. And I think that leadership definitely is one of those fundamental qualities, the ability to listen. The difference between Stiles and Coltrane is interesting because that element puts the show on its head. You have one guy who's on the right side of the law, the good guy, but at home, he's emotionally shut down. Whereas you have the criminal who's on the wrong side of the law, and he's much more open at home.

We have to be able to say that there's a difference between control and chaos, and too much chaos is bad for the collective society. We can say that this is a bad person if they're contributing to chaos, yet at home, he's emotionally articulate. And he's as honest as he can be while juggling all of these things.

You've done amazing work on two Call of Duty games. How did that change you as an actor?

Just being a part of those games is surreal. It's the biggest game on the planet outside of Mario! It was my first video game, so to be nominated for a BAFTA was not one of my expectations, ever. But it had a lot to do with the story that they created and the people that I was able to work with. Shout-out to my director, Amanda [Wyatt]. There are just really incredible people working on those games.

In terms of sharpening my craft with voice work, you can't rely on the camera. You can't rely on a look. I used some of that experience on Nemesis in the big heist in the first episode, when we're all in masks. You have to act with your whole body.

Nemesis is streaming now on Netflix.

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on May 15, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published May 14, 2026 at 10:31 PM.