Although Todd Lasance has been in movies and television shows since 2006, his most recent role as Sergeant Jim Dempsey on NCIS: Sydney has changed the game. After filming for the Paramount+ series concluded, Lasance spoke with Mediaweek and stated he was under “pressure” to give his role “justice” and to perform as well as possible.
“You’re in the big league now with this kind of stuff, so there’s pressure to do work that I’m proud of and that the networks will be proud of,” he said. “You need to make sure that what they’re seeing is up to par and step up your game.”
For the 38-year-old, the series is the “real deal”.
“Now that we’ve wrapped, I feel a bit of the pressure that I hope that everyone loves the show and connects to it,” he said. “But also, there’s pride because I feel like we’ve got something really unique here, too. It’s in the NCIS world, it’s in the franchise tone. It’s got that light, hard element. It’s got the procedural element to it, too. But, man, we’ve got some juice coming in this season.
“I don’t think they would have expected to see the level that they take it to.”
NCIS Sydney showcases the city like never before
An additional benefit of launching an Australian version of a US company is that it will allow a worldwide audience to see Sydney up close and personal in addition to learning how we do things here.
He remarked, “I’ve never seen Sydney the way they’re showing [in NCIS Sydney].” “I was wondering where we were at the places we visited. It was exquisite. Additionally, I’ve heard some mention that the explosions and various other special effects are on a green screen, but neither our backdrops nor our settings have any of these. None of our pictures or the press release material that was taken in front of the bridge had a green screen.
Just like Mavournee Hazel and William McInnes visited the AFP for their roles as forensic pathologists, Lasance said it was a thrill to work with the Australian Navy.
“Working with the Navy on their battleships, and aircraft carriers, you actually got to go on the battleships with their flight crews and were in a Seahawk helicopter on the deck of their aircraft,” he said
Todd Lasance on the reality of being a working actor
He may have hit the very deserved jackpot with this role, but during the same interview, Lasance admitted that he’s had a lot of setbacks in his career.
“There have been times when I’ve thought, ‘Wow, I wonder if I can handle too many more knockbacks.'” He acknowledged. “Because you can get very close to things.” You have a family to support, and the world the media depicts and how it operates is a very disillusioned one.
While he is frequently seen on television in shows like True Spirit, The Vampire Diaries, Spartacus, and Without Remorse, among others, he also stated that his success “doesn’t necessarily equate to a sort of comfortable lifestyle as people would presume it would.”
“It’s also the constant battle for roles as well,” he said. “You can get to a certain point, which is great. But then to reach that next level, you’re fighting against the top tier at the top level.”
He added of his recent years in LA: “And in LA, it’s like, you’re in the NBA of the industry. There’s no higher level. So you’re then up against people with massive credits and huge experience in the heat as well. That’s unfortunately what goes into it. There’s a lot of heat involved. If you’ve got the heat of the moment, and you come off the back of a show, which is again, why this series is so incredible, then that makes such a difference.”
NCIS Sydney premieres on November 10 on Paramount+.