Zeeko Zaki Talks XL FBI Renewal, Dark OA Reveal and That Tough Maggie Call
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Tonight on CBS’ FBI, viewers will be made privy to a “darker” aspect of Special Agent Omar Adom “OA” Zidan’s past.
In the season’s antepenultimate episode, “No One Left Behind,” Jubal’s team is thrown into a highly political case after four members of the Taliban are shot and one is kidnapped in New York — with no record of them ever entering the country. Having served in the U.S. Army, the case will hit very close to home for OA (played by original cast member Zeeko Zaki), who in turn struggles to open up to Gemma (guest star Comfort Clinton) about his past in Afghanistan.
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TVLine spoke with Zaki about the powerful reveal ahead, plus OA’s difficult decision to have Isobel bench Maggie, who this week is off-screen on a trip with Ella.
TVLINE | For starters, what’s it like for the cast to get not just a renewal but a three-season renewal? What are the conversations on set like that day?
For me, it really just represents the entire machine, the effort that everybody puts into it — from the cast to the crew. You really can’t ever assume or think that a three-season pick-up is due to one person or one thing, so it really makes you step back and go, “Wow, we’re all doing something correct and it’s being seen and validated.” When you’re filming 5 am to deep into the night on freezing cold days, it’s really nice to feel seen and appreciated.
TVLINE | The Case of the Week in this Tuesday‘s episode sounds like it will be a heavy one for OA.
Yes, it is. It is. We get to go into my personal side with my girlfriend. We get to go into my past with the Army. And we get to do what I really love doing as an actor here, and what’s super special, is having Arab characters on both sides of the line, the good and the bad. It’s definitely got it all.
TVLINE | I understand that we will learn new details about OA’s military past?
Yes, you get some things that justify why he has such a stiff brow. You really get to tap into some of the darker things that he’s had to deal with. We’re representing people that have been through hell and back, that have served and have been overseas and have been in these wars. We open the door and remind people of how intense that is, and some of the things that you can only imagine these people deal with.
TVLINE | What is it like for you, as someone who’s played OA for this many years, to learn these new details, especially the darker stuff?
I love the way we do it, that [franchise executive producer Dick] Wolf does it. You kind of live in each moment and learn things, and years might go by and then you learn something that would have sort of directed how you might have acted Season 1 or Season 2. But learning these darker things, to me, is really great because it shows that you don’t have to wear everything on your sleeves all the time. Compartmentalizing is a very big part of life, I think. So, it creates a stronger character that I get to play. I really enjoy kind of learning the darker paths because I think we all sort of have some darkness in our past, no matter who you are.
TVLINE | Some readers have been emailing me, asking how things are going with OA and Gemma. So, how are things going with OA and Gemma?
Things are going really good! I feel like we haven’t really hit it on the head or answered the proverbial question, “Does she do drugs?,” but I think you can kind of tell by the fact that we’re still together that she is on the good side of things. The character’s amazing, and so is the actress, and it’s been so much fun to play a relationship with boundaries, which we definitely dive into this episode. It’s probably the most mature relationship I’ve ever been in.
TVLINE | As OA revisits this part of his past, will it present an opportunity for things with Gemma to go in one direction or another?
In the moment it definitely brings us closer. We definitely get to see a vulnerable side of OA.
TVLINE | And without spoiling anything, how do you hope that this new information about OA informs how viewers perceive him?
I hope that they feel a little bit more connected. We all wear masks, and getting to take mine off in front of Gemma will hopefully create a closer connection with the audience.
TVLINE | I was worried when OA nudged Isobel (Alana De La Garza) to bench Maggie, and we see this week that Maggie has in fact taken some time off with Ella. Will we get any sense that Maggie bristled at being sidelined? Is she possibly sore with OA?
As partners we’re very connected, so I think he made the right decision. You see with the characters on these shows, it feels like all they do is work, so I think a little time off is definitely very welcomed by her character. I really loved that moment [with Isobel]. On the day [we filmed], it wasn’t written that she kind of makes me make the decision….
TVLINE | She was like, “Are you sure you want me to do this…?”
Yeah. And to me, it was like, “My partner’s a little stressed out. Maybe you should do something,” and then she turned it around on me, and it was a really great moment. I loved getting to play the grace between us and the connection that we have. We’re all human at the end of the day. We don’t want to burn out.
TVLINE | When OA is partnered with Tiffany (Katherine Renee Kane), how would you say that dynamic is different?
We all have our own characters, and when you combine them, they create this sort of third character. But it’s great because with Missy [Peregrym] I feel like I have a very protective, very “King Kong to my Jane” sort of energy, but with Tiff we don’t have that. There isn’t really that protective big brother or brother/sister relationship. It’s strong and it’s nice, because we can see how people can work together just as tightly and be just as connected without having it be because of a more emotional or relationship sort of dynamic. I love when we work with Tiff; [Katherine] is a great actress and her character’s awesome.
TVLINE | Lastly, what kind of season finale are we getting on May 21?
Oh, we are getting a proper, full circle loop closing on our Season 6 villain from Episode 1 [Hakim Siran]. It’s going to be really exciting, and hopefully we deliver on that.
TVLINE | Any cliffhangers or OMG moments?
Well, if you didn’t think we were going to hit you with another massive explosion, you better get ready — because there is another bomb coming.
TVLINE | Oh man. FBI and the bombs!
The “Federal Bombs of Investigation.”
Want scoop on FBI, or for any other TV show ? Email InsideLine@tvline.com, and your question may be answered via Matt’s Inside Line!
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