Acting has definitely become a family affair for “NCIS” mainstay Sean Murray. Not only does Murray have a family connection to the creator of the drama, but his daughter, Cay Ryan Murray, has also taken up the family mantle and has joined the acting game. Her first gig was on her pop’s show as Teagan Fields. In Season 19’s “The Brat Pack,” the party-hearty Teagan is one of a set of teens who live a life the Bling Ring would envy. They’ve been breaking into homes on the base at Quantico and have been stealing valuables from them. They then fence these objects to finance their jet-set ways.
Who should Teagan form a bond with but Timothy McGee (Sean Murray) himself? By the end of the episode, McGee offers to become her mentor, and Teagan moves away from her destructive lifestyle into the hope of something fresh and new. The possibility that she will come back hovers over the narrative, but thus far Teagan hasn’t returned to the drama.
While McGee and Teagan’s future may be up in the air, Sean Murray definitely thinks his daughter might have a future in the acting world.
Sean Murray expressed strong pride in his daughter for her NCIS work
Sean Murray told Entertainment Weekly in 2023 that he treasures Cay Ryan Murray’s appearance on “NCIS” for numerous reasons. “I will always have a piece of film — or digital video — of my daughter and I both doing what we love together on screen,” the actor said. “So that’s something that will always be there, and I’ll always be thankful for that.” His pride in her during the interview was evident, and he even choked up while praising her. “She was a total pro. I’m like, I wish I was as cool as she is because she handled it so well,” he continued. “I’m so proud.”
That said, Murray confessed that the mechanics of acting with his daughter did give him a bit of a mental hiccup during one scene. “One of the first things we did at the show, we had a picture of my daughter up on the plasma screen in the squad room and we’re talking about her being a potential suspect and da da da,” he admitted. “And I remember that as soon as we started filming that scene and that picture went up on the plasma screen, my brain went into this sort of, not panic, but it didn’t know what to do.” Murray admitted that the line between his home and work life was thick, which was why seeing Cay’s face up there was so disconcerting.
Time will tell if Cay Ryan Murray lands more acting work outside of the procedural — or becomes an “NCIS” lifer like her dad.