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‘NCIS’ Star Sean Murray Opens Up About ‘Overwhelming’ Experience Working With Daughter

Sean Murray of NCIS had a great experience last season when he had his very own, real-life daughter working with him. Murray plays Special Field Agent Timothy McGee on NCIS. Cay Ryan Murray, his daughter, popped up in a Season 19 episode.

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Murray, speaking in a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, called the experience “so cool on so many levels”, though when it came to filming it all proved a bit overwhelming.

“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 recalled, Digital Spy reports.

‘NCIS’ Star Sean Murray Talked About Compartmentalizing Work, Home

“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 said. “I guess I didn’t realize how much I kind of compartmentalized work and home. And so all of a sudden, my home life sort of being at work, it flustered me just seeing a picture of her.”

He further reflected on that paternal nature coming through on the TV screen. Murray said, “That was easy to do, obviously. One of the things I was worried about was the chaos of people on set, everyone coming up, giving you direction, so many different things.

“I was like: ‘Oh, man, I hope she doesn’t get overwhelmed’, and Cay took it like a champ,” Murray said. “She was a total pro. I’m like: ‘I wish I was as cool as she is’ because she handled it so well. I’m so proud. It’s hard to… I’ll get choked up.”

Murray Reflected Back On His Daughter’s Work On The Show

Murray continued to reflect about Cay’s work on the show. “I will always have a piece of film — or digital video — of my daughter and I both doing what we love together on screen. So that’s something that will always be there, and I’ll always be thankful for that.” NCIS, which is currently in its 20th season, was recently renewed along with its sister show, NCIS: Hawaii.

Before he started appearing on NCIS, Murray had a role in the classic movie Hocus Pocus. He played Thackery Binx in the flick. So, there is an interesting thing to note about the role. Murray, apparently, is a crush magnet for elderly millennials. “It always cracks me up,” Murray said. “That has been brought up to me a couple of times.”