Lead: From sharing the best DJ on set to walking away from long-running characters and falling hard for fashion and jewellery-making, Olivia Swann has built a life on craft, creativity, and the quiet refusal to stop evolving.

Since swapping drama school for her first professional gig in 2018, Olivia Swann has stacked up a portfolio most actors would kill for, from NCIS and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow to the big screen with Together Alone and River Wild.

As an introvert, Swann pours everything she can’t say into the work itself, and lately, that work has meant the stage. From Dracula to a slate of upcoming productions including Three Sisters, Brecht’s The House of Spass, Hamlet, and The Long Weekend, the Virgo is quietly proving herself an all-rounded talent. With so many plans ahead and NCIS officially renewed, Swann now splits her time between the UK and Sydney. She’s getting stuck into Australian life, from Tim Tam slams to coming face to face with the country’s wildest and most iconic spiders. One thing’s for certain, she won’t be stopping anytime soon.

The 33-year-old misses home dearly, but she’s quick to point out that the best part of her job is being able to travel everywhere and try new things.

The self-confessed foodie, who has plans to try some of Australia’s most talked-about spots including Lune, declared by The New York Times as home to the best croissant, and Chin Chin for Thai fusion, sat down to discuss everything from who really is the best DJ on set to her growing love affair with fashion.

When you first walk onto a set that’s part of such an iconic franchise like NCIS, do you feel like you belong straight away, or does that connection come more slowly as you settle into the role?

It can take a minute, yeah. If I take Astra Logue from Legends of Tomorrow and Michelle Mackey from NCIS Sydney, they’re both proper strong presences, and those characters aren’t exactly natural for me. I’m an introvert. Astra? Total extrovert. And Mackey’s probably a bit more extroverted too, to be fair.

But she also has a strength in her quieter moments, if that makes sense. So stepping into those roles, I have to step out of myself first to find them and get my footing. It’s only once I’ve played them for a while that I can start pulling more of myself into them. That’s when you start seeing their softer sides, what’s under the armour, the more emotional stuff.

So it’s this wonderful progression, isn’t it? You start off with someone who’s very different from you, and then you slowly meet in the middle. You end up with this beautiful blend of yourself and the character, which is pretty cool, actually.

When a character takes up that much emotional and mental space, like Mackey for example, do you have a way of consciously letting her go at the end of filming, or does she tend to stick around?

Funny, isn’t it? With Mackey, we finish a season and we don’t know if that’s it. That’s just how the show works. We do a season and then we have to wait to hear if we’ve been renewed.

So you can’t properly let go of the character just yet. You have a bit of time to get back to yourself, get on with life. But then, next thing you know, we find out we’re going again. You’ve got to get back into their head, their mentality, their physicality. Mackey’s a former Marine. She has a very specific physical presence. So then you’re back in the gym, training again for who this person is.

With a series, you can’t really fully let a character go when you know you’re about to start filming again. But a film like River Wild? That’s a bit easier. It’s just a condensed seven weeks as one character, and then you’re done. It’s much easier to let that go when you know you’re probably not going back to that character again.

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Being an actress is no easy path. Growing up, who was your role model, the one who really pushed you to go for this kind of career?

Yeah, it’s not easy at all. To get to this point, I had to train. I went to drama school for three years, and before that, it took me four years just to get in. So that’s seven years altogether before I even landed my first job. It’s a long, slow slog. You’ve got to be dedicated. You’ve got to really want it. You need tenacity, drive, hope, patience, and a bit of faith in yourself.

But there are plenty of actors I look up to. My main one has to be Viola Davis. She’s fantastic, isn’t she? Such an incredible, formidable presence. She’s been in this game far longer than I have, but she also trained. She’s someone who puts the craft first, who really digs into the work and the character. That’s what inspires me. That’s how I like to work, and how I try to keep working on every job I get. So yeah, she’s a huge inspiration.

You’re bouncing between the UK and Australia while filming NCIS. What’s the most Australian thing you’ve had to deal with so far?

I had a run-in with a huntsman spider last season, which was absolutely terrifying. We were filming in the Blue Mountains, staying in these little cabins. So obviously, there’s me and Sean Sagar [NCIS Special Agent DeShawn Jackson] from the UK, and we’re both very aware of the wildlife out there. We’d go round to each other’s cabins checking for spiders, checking for anything really. Everyone else seemed fine.

Then we got to my cabin. In the bathroom, there’s this little spider on the floor. Tuuli Narkle [AFP Constable Evie Cooper] was with me, so I said, can you just grab that one and we’ll sort it? Easy. And then I looked up. On the window was the biggest huntsman I think I’ve ever seen, genuinely hand-sized, just sat there. I froze. I had to leave. Tuuli, bless her, had to catch it for me. But I could hear her in the bathroom going, “Oh my God, it’s massive. It’s absolutely huge.” It looked right into my soul, I swear. It had a face.

So that’s probably the most Australian thing I’ve had to deal with so far. I do love Tim Tams, though. You’ve got to have the proper Australian ones. Todd [Lasance, AFP Sergeant Jim “JD” Dempsey] taught me to do the Tim Tam Slam with peppermint tea. Controversial, I know, but it creates this warm, minty chocolate thing. It’s really good.

As an actress, do you have a dream role?

I’d love to play a mermaid. Oh, so many genres, honestly. I’m mad for fantasy. I’d love to do something really epic, Lord of the Rings style. That would be brilliant. And I’d love to do a horror film as well. I’d love to tick at least one thing from every genre before my career’s done.

When the music’s yours, who’s your go-to artist between takes? And who’s the unofficial DJ on set, that one co-star who always has the best playlist, or the most questionable one for that matter?

I’m definitely not in charge of any music, because my taste is all over the shop. Anything and everything, honestly. It ranges from classical to country to cheesy pop to musicals to emo rock. That’s why I never put anything on shuffle. It would be the most chaotic playlist you’ve ever heard.

I’d say it’s probably Todd or Sean who take the DJ duties. But honestly, when I look at my own music taste, I can see how it might raise a few eyebrows. I love Gregory Porter, he’s a soul and jazz singer, and Ella Fitzgerald. But then I’ll stick on ABBA or Shania Twain or some nineties pop if I want to feel good. And I’m really into a lot of country music at the minute. The cheesy kind. So yeah, the aux cord is probably safer in someone else’s hands.

What’s your between-takes personality like on set? Are you nattering with everyone, keeping yourself to yourself, or quietly commandeering the playlist? And do you buy into all that MBTI business?

It depends on the day, honestly. Some scenes demand a certain level of focus and emotional energy that you have to hold onto for yourself. And then there are days when everyone’s in the HQ messing about on a lighter scene, and that’s when you can have a good old chat and relax a bit.

My result is Defender, I think. But look, I can be extroverted when I need to be. My natural instinct, though? Definitely introverted. I recharge best on my own. When I’m on set, I have to be “on,” putting out energy and social effort because that’s just part of being around people all day. When I get home, I get to recharge and return to myself, so I can wake up the next day ready to go again.

Aside from MBTI, do you believe in astrology? What’s the most Virgo thing about you?

Yeah, I do believe in astrology. Oh my God. I mean, we’re organised. I can be quite judgmental and very practical. But I do care deeply. I’m very loyal, and I can be a bit of a mama bear to my friends.

Seeing all those rings you wear, it’s been mentioned you’re into jewellery-making as a creative outlet. What first sparked that interest, and what does working with something so tactile and hands-on give you that acting doesn’t?

I did some ring-making courses while I was in London. Then I bought myself a jewellery bench and all the gear you need, to solder and hammer and all that. It’s something I really want to get back into when I’m not working. These ones I’m wearing now are all bought, but I have a massive collection of rings that have kind of become part of my identity, which I quite like.

I wouldn’t say I’m the most fashion-forward person, to be honest. My main thing is my jewellery. Fashion-wise, I just chuck on whatever feels comfortable. When you spend all day wearing someone else’s clothes and stuck in a costume, all you want at the end of the day is to throw on a big T-shirt and jeans. That’s when I feel like myself again.

Do you have any favourite gemstones? And have you ever thought about starting your own line?

I love moonstone. So I have a lot of moonstone. This is moonstone. You can’t really see, but it’s like a beautiful kind of blue flash. So I can have a lot. I have a lot of moonstones. But, my birthstone is sapphire.  I would love to at some point.

Yeah, I’d love to have a jewellery collection. I’d love to have a jewellery brand and be a jewellery designer. That would also be very cool. And I have that alongside my acting. That is a goal of mine. But I’m starting very small with very, very simple rings so far.

NCIS: Sydney is out now on Paramount+

Words by Yohana Belinda

Photographer David Reiss

Stylist Keeley Dawson

Make up Emma Miles at Caren using Brow Aid 

Hair Nicola Harrowell at Premier Hair and Make up

Hair Assistant Melody Chantler

Top image credit – Full Look Joseph SS26