Despite receiving mixed reactions from critics, CBS crime drama S.W.A.T. has been a rating success. The first season averaged 9.13 million viewers while the second season averaged 8.34 million viewers. The series is based in the '70s series of the same name.
After the completion of the third season in May 2020, CBS renewed it for a fourth season. Events in the show also happen to take place in a shared universe with the popular FX police procedural The Shield. Here are some previously unknown details about the cast members.
Stephanie Sigman Was A Bond Girl
In 2015, Sigman—who plays Captain Jessica Cortez in S.W.A.T.—starred in the James Bond film Spectre. She portrayed Estrella, a Mexican Secret Service agent who falls for Bond.
In the movie, her character is first seen in the opening sequence when she accompanies James Bond to the Day of the Dead festivities in Mexico City. Later on, the two go to a hotel room before Bond dresses up and leaves to go assassinate the villain Marco Sciarra.
Jay Harrington Is A Part-Time Basketball And Ice Hockey Player
Harrington's love for sports is as big as his love for acting. When he is not putting cuffs on criminals as Sergeant David "Deacon" Kay in S.W.A.T., he spends his time playing basketball in the Entertainment League. This is a private celebrity basketball league also known as the NBA-E League).
Harrington is also an amateur player for a local ice hockey team in his city. He is clearly multi-talented. Hopefully, he'll get to portray a Basketball legend like Bill Walton or Bob Cousy in a biopic someday. Portraying a fictional basketball player won't be bad either.
Amy Farrington Is The Queen Of Guest Starring
Farrington portrays Lt. Detective Piper Lynch in S.W.A.T. Amy has more guest-starring roles than any other actress in the TV landscape. She has appeared in over 60 TV shows since 1997 but she has only been a regular cast member in two TV shows in her career.
The upside is that her CV must be really huge and impressive. It's not surprising that she keeps getting all those toles. Amy has also starred in several TV movies.
Peter Onorati Was In Goodfellas
It's kinda like a blink and you'll miss it role. Peter who plays Jeff Mumford in the cop drama was in the popular Martin Scorsese film Goodfellas. His role was that of an unnamed Florida bookie. This was one of the first roles he got after becoming an actor.
Peter has previously revealed that before he made it as an actor, he once worked as a salesman. He spent a year making cold calls to clients in order to convince them to buy calculators and early versions of computers. He admitted that he wasn't a good salesman at all.
Shemar Moore Grew Up In Various Countries
Moore who plays Sergeant Daniel "Hondo" Harrelson in the show was born in Oakland, California to an African American father and a French-Canadian mother. He had to move with his mother when she got teaching jobs in Bahrain and later Denmark.
More and his family later returned to the US and settled in Chicago. After high school, he majored in Theatre Arts before becoming a model to pay his bills. He later ventured into acting.
Patrick St. Esprit Only Lands Authoritative Roles
99% of Patrick St. Esprit's movie and TV roles are either that of a high-ranking police officer, military man, or special agent. He just fits into these roles with ease. In S.W.A.T, he has portrayed LAPD Commander Robert Hicks since the second season.
Patrick has also been discussed as one of Hollywood's popular actors whose faces are well known but names remain a mystery to most fans. His commanding voice and tough persona have made him a favorite pick for most military and law enforcement roles.
David Lim Used To Be A Model
Apart from portraying, Victor Tan in S.W.A.T., Lim is also known for his role as the CIA recruit Sebastian Chen in Quantico. He is an American of Chinese descent.
Lim started out as a model in 2009. He was recruited by Ford Models and ended up moving from his home in San Diego to Los Angeles. He went on to appear in several commercials and it is during this time that he acquired connections that enabled him to get into the acting business.
Kenny Johnson Suffers From Dyslexia
Johnson portrays Dominique Luca in S.W.A.T. According to the documentary Under The Skin, he is Dyslexic. People with Dyslexia have reading difficulties due to their inability to identify speech sounds.
Despite his condition, Johnson still beat all odds and managed to be a successful actor. He has appeared in 42 TV shows in his career. While on set, someone always reads the scripts to him, thus making him master the dialogue quite easily.
Lina Esco Is An Activist
S.W.A.T. star Lina Esco is a staunch marine life activist. She is involved in the "Dolphin Project" which is also supported by several other stars. The aim of the organization is to help save dolphins from mindless killing and exploitation by humans.
She is also part of the "Free the Nipple" campaign, an organization that promotes sexual equality. She even went ahead to star in a Free the Nipple movie. In the CBS drama, she plays Cristina Alonso. In the show, she also gets involved in a polyamorous relationship.
Alex Russel Is A Director Too
Apart from being an actor, Russel sits in the director's chair too from time to time. He has directed a few films, his most popular one being Love And Dating In LA!. In S.W.A.T, Russel portrays Officer Jim Street.
Russel is Australian. He made his name after appearing in a number of Australian indie films. He later ventured into Hollywood where he has gone on to appear in numerous productions. His biggest role was in the critically acclaimed 2012 sci-fi film Chronicle.