'NCIS: Sydney' Star Olivia Swann Reveals Scariest of Australia's Dangerous Critters

Olivia Swann

NCIS: Sydney’s second episode of the season featured one of Australia’s most deadly reptiles with a case where a Navy compliance officer was killed by a bite from the very lethal Inland Taipan snake, which is native to the continent. In Australia, you can only go so far before bumping into a dangerous animal like the aforementioned snake, but also crocodiles, sharks, and spiders.

And it’s the spiders that series star Olivia Swann, who plays NCIS team leader Captain Michelle Mackey, tells Parade that she wants no part of.

“I’m fine with everything apart from spiders,” she says. “Give me a snake, give me a cockroach, give me a scorpion, give me a massive moth, whatever you want to do, but spiders are not my jam. I made the mistake of telling [showrunner/creator] Morgan [O’Neill] that I don’t like them, and I saw his eyes light up. So, if we see an episode where Mackey has to deal with a spider, just know that I brought that on myself for sure.”

But it won’t be happening on tonight’s episode. Tonight NCIS: Sydney is going to the dogs when Doc Roy (William McInnes) and his four-legged furry friend are involved in a hostage situation at their local dog café. Obviously, the dogs aren’t the deadly animals, the hostage takers are, proving once again that man is actually the most dangerous animal.

“There’s a hostage situation at a doggy cafe and the team has to race against the clock to figure out who’s behind it and what’s happening,” Swann says. “JD (Todd Lasance) actually takes the lead a little bit more, so he’s the one who’s there on the ground involved in the action, which then ups the stakes for Mackey because she’s now got two team members who are in danger. And so, there’s going to be a lot of intensity and tension throughout the whole episode because it really is like a ticking clock throughout the whole thing.”

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Swann enjoys those intense scenes, especially where there’s action involved, and she’s actually asked for more, requesting a fight scene that she teases may or may not turn up later in the season.

“I really wanted to work with stunts and the stunt team who are incredible,” she says. “I was like, ‘Let me do all of it. Whatever I can do, I’ll do it.’”

Toward that end, she trained to learn how to carry a gun, how to move with them, how to aim them, how to work as a team with them, but she also prepared herself for hand-to-hand combat.

“Actually, I did jiu-jitsu training and I took some boxing lessons as well,” she says. “I can engage with physicality in that sense and get a sense of the strength that I think Mackey would have being a former Marine. I love doing that kind of stuff and getting so involved in it.”

During our chat, Swann, a Brit, also talked about adjusting to Australia, some of her favorite things about filming there, doing a screentest via Zoom with Lasance to make sure that Mackey and JD had chemistry, and some of her favorite mystery writers.

Were you familiar with any of the NCISs before you landed this role?

No, not overly, I’ll be honest. It’s one of those shows that is so well known that I knew of it, I’d seen it around. I’d probably seen an episode here and there, but I hadn’t actually sat down to watch it. So, when I joined Sydney, that’s when I was like, “Okay, let me do some research. Let me see what I’m getting myself into, let’s figure out the world.” Since then, I’ve watched more and I get it, and it’s just one of those shows that is just so easy to get sucked into.

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What do you like about playing Mac?

I do not relate to being in the military at all. I had to do a lot of research about what it’s like to be a part of that and to be a Marine, and it requires many things that I do not possess, but I did as much as I could to hopefully portray that as well as possible. I think I mainly resonate with her inner self, so while her outer is very strong and direct and blunt, she’s a bit of a maverick, she comes in very hot, she’s very fiery, but underneath all of that there is vulnerability and there is warmth and there is a lot of kindness. I think that’s the side that I definitely feel more comfortable as myself, but it was so much fun to play a character that is so unlike me on the surface.

We do learn a little bit of her backstory and found out why she is the way that she is and keeps people at a distance. Did that make it easier for you then to get inside her head?

I think scenes like that are always gold dust for an actor because you really get to sit in an emotion and an energy and a story that is usually very far removed from yourself, so it made me fall in love with her a little bit more. Because seeing someone so vulnerable and having gone through something so traumatic, I think it’s important that we get to see that side of her and hear that story from her.

One of the things that’s nice about this version of the show is we see the formation of the NCIS office from the get-go. One of the things that is true about all the franchises is that the teams become peoples’ families. Did you have to do chemistry tests? How did they make sure that you would all come together? You’re not blended yet but that’s most likely the long-term goal.

I think it was just Todd and myself who did a chemistry read. I’d gotten cast and then I did Zooms from London with about five guys who were auditioning for JD. As soon as Todd came on screen I was like, “This is JD.” He just absolutely exuded this incredible warmth. He put me at ease. I was the one with the job and he made me feel comfortable, because that’s just who he is. He’s one of the most incredible people I’ve met in my life.

So, from that point, we just clicked, and that connection just kept on getting stronger and stronger. He was like an amazing brother to me, and I think that really comes across on screen. Same with all the other characters. It’s something that Morgan says, “If you cast well, you direct less,” and I think they cast really, really well.

There’s a little buzz online about Mac and JD getting together because they do have this chemistry. Don’t you think that would ruin the story? Because it’s them being at loggerheads that makes them fun to watch.

Oh, I didn’t know that was a thing. Well, I guess that’s understandable that people think that. I agree that their banter and bickering is what makes them so wonderful. But also, they’re two characters that I don’t think would jeopardize their job or their team dynamic for romance. I guess we’ll see what happens, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.

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You’re British, but you’re in Australia filming, and you’re playing an American. How hard is it to get the accent and keep it with all the other voices in your head all day?

Well, I’ve been quite lucky. I played an American for about three years on another show, so I had a lot of practice which is wonderful. And then on NCIS, we had a phenomenal dialect coach who was with Sean Sagar [DeShawn Jackson] and me every step of the way. He encouraged us to keep our accents even when we weren’t rolling, so we were wandering around the set being American.

And so, we’d meet some of the guest stars or the crew and they’d ask where we’re from in the U.S., and then we’d have to explain to them in an American accent that we’re not actually American and that we were British. It was a bit of a mind melter thing, but I think we got used to it. Some days you feel like your mouth is doing a workout and you just want to stop, but it has become second nature, which is lovely.

Some of the Aussie expressions are not familiar to us as Americans. Are the expressions from the U.K. and Australia closer or are they very different as well?

I think they’re pretty close honestly, like taking the piss [in the U.K. it means to be joking, without the element of offence] is definitely a British thing as well. My favorite is they say hectic a lot for something that’s kind of crazy, and old mate. Old mate is my favorite. Old mate is anyone. It’s like that dude is like, “Ah, old mate.” I definitely say that about three times a day.

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Is this your first time working in Australia? And if so, what are some of your favorite things that you enjoy about the country?

It is my first time in Australia. Sydney’s beautiful. I just think the scenery, wherever you go you’re like, “This doesn’t look real.” My worry was that people would watch the show and be like, “Well, that’s green screen.” It’s not, there’s no green screen whatsoever, it’s all real. The food is incredible. That’s what I love there, the food. Also, they have, this chicken chain called Oporto, which I became obsessed with and had it about twice a week. I would happily go back for Oporto.

Every week on NCIS: Sydney you have to solve a murder. Are you a fan of murder mysteries? And if so, what are some of your favorites?

I’m so glad you asked this. I don’t read any other books apart from murder mysteries. I am obsessed with murder mysteries, it’s unbelievable. I love anything by Ruth Ware, In a Dark, Dark Wood is amazing. The Truth About The Harry Quebert Affair by Joël Dicker is incredible. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie blew my mind, I love that book so much. Final Girls by Riley Sager, anything he does I’m obsessed with. The Farm by Tom Rob Smith is incredible. I recently read The Burning Girls by C.J. Tudor. Honestly, I can devour them, I’ve read so many.

NCIS: Sydney premieres new episodes Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS and Paramount+.

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