Olivia Swann & Todd Lasance - NCIS SYDNEY - Actors

It's in the news today, but it was actually on TV Reload.

The podcast last weep that line. Welcome back, guys to TV Reload. As you may know, my name is Benjamin Norris and this is your podcast to get all the inside goss on the popular TV shows that you may be watching from around the world. Underniably, our TV sets are a major part of our home entertainment, and yet very little is known about how our favorite shows get made.

Are we lit well? This is actually great, Lily.

Yeah, I'll take this natural light.

You should have seen that trash. I looked in that, but you better not be recording that.

I myself have just some natural lighting happening. I'm in Warburton and in regional Victoria. So and also I haven't a little fire in the back that looks like the fires one of those fireplaces that's tried to burn down the house. I think it's just the light.

Hey, question, is this your place?

No? No, no, this is so. This is our holiday house, so I come here.

Further, is it an actual log cabin.

It's made of actual log so as you can see here, if the lights on the other side, from where the sun is, you can can sometimes see the light coming through the log. So you really do need the fire on.

I'm so impressed you have this.

The spliders get in right.

I was just about to say that to you because you'd be really scared. So one thing about this place is we have a lot of huntsmen's.

Now yeah, look, I'm not going to.

Lie I that because the house is trying to burn itself down.

Load spiders. I don't like huntsmans. And if I have huntsmen, if there's any activists, insect activists out there, turn your ears off. I will relocate them to a better life because I don't want them coming back in. Like we had one the other day and it was like monster in the house and I was like, yeah, I don't need to think about that at night.

Oh yeah, I think if you were as scared of spiders, you'd probably have left. You traveled back home to Melbourne by that stage.

Yeah, I love it. You got a log cabin, I mean very brief. You get a sprayed see every week, every week.

Every week, and I actually do have. Anyway, we're going off on a tangent here is about seek to repellent and be like, I've got this right on the ready, so just engage. Anyway, this show is so exciting, and you know what's really nice about this is the ground swell about you all working on this show was that you all had a lot of fun and that the cast really clicked.

It's so hard to kind of describe without sounding completely like you're just saying it for the sake of seeing it. But when we say click to instantly family vibes from the goal, the level of vulnerability and safety and security and support from day one was off the charts, and.

The first week, well, I don't think we mentioned this, but the first week we went to a dinner together and we went around the table and we each talked about the struggles, what it took to get to this moment, what it means to be, how much it means to us as far as from an emotional standpoint, family standpoint, career standpoint, and we all had moments of just being in tears at one point or the other, and it was like, this is it for us, and we live because we do so much together. I felt like I

Forever, and I just feel like it's jobs are now ruined because you can get.

Better than this, you won't. You've set a benchmark, which is okay.

To being back on your point. I kind of just also couldn't believe that I was working with someone who is just so impeccable on like every single level. So like I'm paying so as a friend, as a co worker, as a human like Todd brought every level of enthusiasm and passion and joy to work every single day, and even with offset, it was just the best vibe. And I couldn't have asked for anyone better to share most of my scenes, but it was just well it was so beautiful.

You go, I member, you can't manufact manufacture this stuff. I mean they try and manufacture.

We hope that that chemistry translates because we are having so much fun. And I've said before that this is this is like a bit more of a technical acting industry side of things, but so much stuff you get sent where you're like, yeah, I'll do it because you need a job, but the subject matter or the tone of it, or the people involved, but this ticks like every single box. So to go to work every day, and I had the birth of my child throughout the

It is translating. I mean I've only seen the first four episodes, but yes, it does translate. It does feel like there's a vibe there. I hope Olivia, that you've been asked to be the godmother? Is that what's going on here?

I'm waiting for the fictle invitation. But I will add that I went back to London with really deep laugh lines because I spent everything every single day, I laughed and I smiled without the doubt.

Yeah, and it was the best.

Well yeah, I was going to say, well, NCAA Sydney is finally you know, it's finally here. And it feels like we've been owed an Australian version of this show for quite some time. You know, we've had seen the American ones. They're all hugely stupidly popular, you know, with Hawaii, Los Angeles, New Orleans. Do you know how long they were circling the idea of bringing the franchise internationally and how they came to want to do it in Australia versus maybe England or anywhere else.

I actually don't know what the exception idea was, but it's been quite a while because the inception of the idea needs to be pitched. Then they need to go into the writer's room and then pitch, hey, what would you do? That needs to get approved, Then the series needs to be developed, then they need to write it.

And I think they were just they were tossing up where to do it, like would it be in Europe, would it be you know, Australia, somewhere else? And it's that they were all those ideas on but in terms of length of thought process, I have no idea.

I don't know. I'm assuming it would have been boiling around for a couple of years at least, and then you know, what is it a six month process to write?

You know, Olivia, what was your relationship with the show? I mean, did you watch a lot of ncas over the years? I mean it's been on television for nearly two decades.

I mean no, honestly, I didn't watch much of it. But it's one of those shows that you know of it even if you've never seen an episode. So it's just like everybody knows.

That you needed to go to a log cabin like where I am and just a real deep dive into the show. We're joining it.

I didn't it once I got cast. I checked out the original. I checked out Hawaii, just I think more to get a the world and you know what kind of tone it was and how it operated. But I think more than that, I don't know. I didn't want infringe on creating something new to be part of that and true, you know, just allow what we're creating to be organic and not to be too preconceived.

And it's a fine life. Yeah, it's a really fine You do your research and it's like great, but then you don't want to match any of the energy because they you want.

To personate it. Right, Like I said, it will all be the same.

So true, so true. And I think the nuance of ours is that it is different geographically, but also with all the other traditional ncis as it's been, and this is not a comparison. This is just a new, fresh approach. They've been established like families, like here's the new family that you're going to go on the journey with. Great, here's the new team. Whereas our teams there's two separate teams. We're colliding. There's cultural differences, there's.

The two top dogs that want.

To be on top. Whose jurisdiction is it who takes the lead on this? But then there's also this fluidity in this. It's like like water flowing between the two of us, where when we're on the job, man, that synergy is there and we know how to work together. But then it's also there's always that clashing and they never drop that. You know when you see a series and it's like, oh, I love this friction between them. And then by episode six it's like, no, we're besties. They eat that tension.

I think Mark and you keep each other accountable.

Yeah yeah, yeah yeah.

About those popular shows though, like The X Files with you know, David Dakogne. You know, they managed to do nine seasons, no, I think it might have been even ten seasons of that show, and they were able to

You know, depends on it.

But it's that same thing of like I think that's why we all talk about it so much because you don't have this. This doesn't happen. You can't. You never get a chance, or you're not never. But it's very rare that you step into a situation it's like, let's go.

On the same page. Everyone's all in. I'm just so ready to commit. You'll see towards the end of the season the work that Todd does with JD is just it's unbelievable and his ability to just be so vulnerable and to open himself and the character up in such a beautiful, heartbreaking way. And I think, you know, that's just a testament to you, but also to the family and the vibe that we created to create this safety that he was able to feel like he could do.

That, and I did need that for sure. It's hard to encapsulate across like a career, but this would be again, this is probably like a nice little lead in as to where we go to and something unique to the NCIS franchise that we've never seen before. I got to go to an emotional place and an emotional tensity that I don't think I've experienced for ten years in my career.

And with a lot of shows that are franchised overseas, you know you are still comparing it episode on episode with audiences. With this, there is an access point which is great, and that's given by the ends to CIS brand, But the characters are so compelling that we're actually moving away from that each episode that again it's hard for us to have that perspective.

So that's good you see that, Ben, because we don't. You know, we haven't seen a lot either and seeing it as a we've been there through the whole process, but that doesn't mean we can see it with a third eye because we've been so invested in it. We need to see all the eight episodes back to back to that. Okay, I understand that, but that's what we want.

In this totually agree. I think, Yeah, not afraid to do certain things with characters or have characters that are kind of just shifting away from what we used to.

Yeah, especially by the end, it'd be like, oh, okay, right, this is what we're capable of bringing in, you know, storylines to Yeah.

I would have really liked to have known, though, is did you get any access to these real life people?

You know, it's crazy. I don't know if you're aware. And we love saying this. This is there's real NCIS Sydney. There's like actual agents. They came to set. We had the NCIS teams here. They're based in Sydney and Perth. They're fantastic.

Ah, just so wonderfully excited about what we were doing. Literally just they could have believe it. We're like, oh, we get to meet you and they're like, no, we're meeting you.

And yeah. They came to set about four or five times. They were like can we come back? And I'm like, mate, we want you here. Every day they were. They were so giving. They had federal police visit, we had detectives visits.

We also had actual needy personnel as extras and scenes.

Okay, that helps you as well show that these people are real and offer a different dimension as well. Like you think about the idea of playing somewhat one of these characters and you you know, you are bringing sort of a stern character to this, you know, and then when you're actually meeting these real people that you can see the different dimensions to a person's personality.

You've got to highlight certain elements too and make it for camera too. So it's always a it's always just finding that fine line. You want to do them justice and you want to you want to correctly portray the people, but then there's a heightened version of like you know, s cis that we're kicking outdoors and you know what I mean, that's the fun part. But they were honestly so saying with the Navy far out.

Well, I was curious to know because you know, in Australia and you know, we think of Americans being really arrogant. Are you leaning into some of those stereotypes or are you exploring it a little bit deeper?

Well, I think both. We're i think allowing the reality of the cultures and of you know, people who come from those worlds to exist. But I think we're really rooting it in truth and reality and just.

It's not aca, it'scature.

I think that's the difference.

But also the Australians will be able to get the australianisms, the Americans will get the americanisms, and then the clashes will also make sense too. It's not too heavy, hard hitting, but that again is the tone events as to like, you know, make it a little bit more. It's fun, it's it's lighthearted. People can switch this on and have it in the background or watch every episode and be die hard fans, and it's it's.

That no watch every episode.

Yeah, that's what I mean like that.

Right that back, maybe maybe home and away or neighbors you'd have a you know what.

I meant by the background. No, it's not like heavy, like, oh Jesus, I've got to watch an evidence is I'm going to go.

To It's not bleak, you know, like it's Yeah, it.

Has a beautiful like shift from lighthelf too serious ground.

But I mean, I guess you know special Agent Michelle, she's quite arrogant when she starts out, you know in the show, like as in you pull that off really well well, so friendly and smiling and.

A lot of exactly I was ahead of.

You in the first episode.

That's great, No, Matthew Is she's a woman who knows what she wants. She do things her way. She comes in heart, and she's very stubborn. And I love that we're not scared about showcasing a woman who is She's not trying to be agreeable, she's not trying to be liked, she's not trying to be best mate with everyone has her own strength and she leads with that and I just find her so inspiring and I just think she's an incredible woman to be showcasing on TV.

Yeah, yeah, I'm picturing all the moments too where they give little breadcrumbs to.

I don't think any strong personal character, their strength comes from a place of pain or heartbreak or protection and struggle and all these kind of things.

And there are.

Little moments where we see the little gaps.

In her armor to unlock her a little bit.

And that's where the contrast with j Day, the Alaric and the country boy that he ribs her all the time and it's always just paying her out, but he unlocks those little elements of vulnerability. He sees it and he's like, oh, I'm going to bank that for later, and you get an understanding as to why she is the way that she is, you know what I mean.

Nice to see female characters on screen that young people can see themselves in. And I think that's the importance and what we watch in cinema as well, is the importance of being able to see ourselves and have aspiration, and that's what these characters I guess are bringing and you really do bring that to this character, which.

A strong woman who's also holding her ground, owning her ground, calling the shots kicking us. I love all that, you know, it's like.

But you know before we'd say that a woman that was like that was a bitch, do you know what I mean? There was an interesting way so true you were present those characters twenty years ago to who they are now.

Yeah, and it's a credit to the writers for allowing but also you stepping in and owning it too, because you can't you know what it's like. You can't fake it. No, when you see it faked on screen, you're like, Okay, I see what they're trying to do, but it's not.

Yeah. I think. You know, with more and more technology and the way in which you know crimes occur in the real world, you know, they're becoming more complex with the writers creating some of what was going on. Were you surprised at some of the storylines. Underwater drones is not something I've ever heard of before, you know what I mean?

Where they come up with it.

I think a lot of the cases are based on real case Yeah, mad to think about, but I think do you pull it from from reality.

And truth is stranger than fiction. That class and the story you wouldn't even want to know the stuff that goes on. You're like, we don't even scratch the surface, Like you don't really want to know. It's it's actually nice living in a little ignorant bliss where you're like, okay, cool, I don't really need to know that that's happening. But yeah, that's what's also cool about it. You get the crime of the week that does usually get solved. But then

It makes good television, you know what I mean? Like is just going to say to you, welcome to my love, Kevin. As we were talking about before. But you know, the last time I was here, I watched the River Wild remake.

Oh my god, you did.

I was so trepidacious about watching that film. I was like, no, you can't remake that.

I mean Street Liver alone.

Yeah, yeah, film was so good. It was such a good standalone film. But also what was it like working with is it Adrian Brody Adam He's character and that was so terrifying. Was he like that the whole time on set? I felt most.

Watching him was unbelievable. The way he could just kind of go from just being chill and lovely to that was almost like a masterclass.

Honestly, Todd, did you see it? Did you watch the film? I don't know if you had a chance, All right, and go and watch that. Yeah. My partner's obsessed with like slash of horror thriller. That's all he ever wants to watch and all my favorite thing is Australian made content, Like I do a podcast about should I make content? So I'm always like, you know, we're going to watch n c I S Australia tonight And he's like the River Wild remake.

Yeah, Yes, I've become such a I'm such a scaredy cat with all stuff now. I think since having kids, I can't watch anything too intense and to like slashery and it's like I've become so you know, soft.

But what are you watching your home? What's happening at your place?

You know what? I'm on? Oh, Sex Education, Ted Lasso, But I was on Ted everyone else is on that. I used to post to about it and I'll be like, has anyone seen ted Lasso? It might be the best show in history, and everyone's like yeah, cool. And then they got forty eight Emmys and everyone was like, oh okay, yeah, thank you.

Hey guys, I'm going to have to let you go really quickly, but I just want to say, just before you go, very quick question one of you hopefully can answer it. What is something behind the scenes, something we don't see that we won't see, kind of a behind the scenes secret from making this show secret? Just something like, you know, do they use green screens? Are?

Do they?

No?

Can we bust a secret for you? There's no no green screen at all in the show.

A separate explosion where they had to use it for over sea creator. Yeah, that's it.

But all the locations, all the bat that's us. It's all real. We're all there.

Can I just say how lovely it was to talk to you, and I want to say thank you for your generosity with your time. I've had such a good time talking to you about it.

To you, honestly, you also have a name for being super super lovely. So it was out a pleasure, and everyone knows that when we when we talk to you, it's it's it's always lovely. So thank you. I appreciate it. Yeah,