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CIA: Tom Ellis Explains Why Colin Glass Went From American to British

CIA star Tom Ellis on researching his role, the series mirroring real-world events, and his character changing from American to British.

Published Mon, 31 Aug 2026 23:52:10 -0500

by Ray Flook

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Article Summary

Tom Ellis says CIA research with ex-operatives revealed a lonely, secretive world that shaped Colin Glass.
CIA is already echoing headlines, with plots on Venezuela and the Straits of Hormuz later mirrored by real events.
Tom Ellis explains Dick Wolf changed Colin Glass from American to British, calling the accent a perfect CIA cover.
CIA season 2 kicks off October 5 with an FBI crossover, linking Colin Glass’s world to a major one-night event.

With the second-season premiere of the Tom Ellis and Nick Gehlfuss-starring CIA set for a big crossover when it lands on Monday, October 5th (more on that below), Ellis is offering insights into his research for the role, how the series is already mirroring real-world events, and how his character went from American to British. Speaking to Radio Times, here's a look at some of the highlights:

Ellis on What He Learned Preparing for "CIA": "We spoke to these advisors who were ex-CIA operatives that came into the writers room when we were first doing the show, and several things struck me. One is that I can't believe some of the operations that actually happened and the lives that these people have to live. One of the big things was how incredibly lonely an existence it is. You can't talk to anyone about it. Some people don't have partners who don't even know that they're doing what they do, and so a lot of them don't even have partners because it's just not even worth it. You have to be a sort of controlled sociopath to work in this kind of environment, basically. It's a dark, murky, voyeuristic world, and it was just really interesting territory to explore."

Ellis on "CIA" and Life Imitating Art: "We had a whole story in the first episode about Venezuela, about the use of a directed energy weapon, which, lo and behold, then happened months later. We had a storyline about the Straits of Hormuz, which seems to be a popular thing in the news at the moment now. But that again was after the fact. We were never intending to predict events in the news, but it just shows how sort of close to the wind we sail when we're doing this kind of a show."

Ellis on Why Colin Glass Went from American to British: "I was all in, ready to play an American character," Ellis shared, but that was before meeting famed EP Dick Wolf. "After about a minute, he was like, 'Tom, I've been talking to you for like five minutes, and we gotta make your character British. It's so damn charming.' It kind of is the perfect cover – they actually do have some British operatives in the CIA – but they wanted me to bring that to the show because they thought it would just be a kind of new, interesting dynamic."

CIA — Photo: Mark Schafer/CBS ©2026 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

CIA Season 2, FBI Season 9 Set for Premiere Crossovers in October

With "CBS Premiere Week" only a little more than a month away, it looks like the second season premiere of CIA will be crossing over in a big way with FBI – with the spinoff returning the favor for the franchise series's ninth season premiere. John Boyd's Stuart Scola will be appearing in CIA S02E01: "The Deep," while Necar Zadegan's Nikki Reynard is set for FBI S09E01: "Rendition," which is set to go down on Monday, October 5th. Here's a look at what was released about the big one-night event.

In S02E01: "The Deep," a dead DEA agent is discovered in New York City during the tracking of a notorious cartel fixer. According to the official overview reported exclusively by TVLine, "After it becomes clear the case is not what it seems, the team must work quickly to prevent additional murders. Meanwhile, Bill (Nick Gehlfuss) makes a shocking discovery when he returns to work after the death of his father, and the team enlists the help of FBI's Special Agent Stuart Scola (Boyd)." Fans are going to learn early on in the episode that Bill and Scola are longtime FBI friends. Meanwhile, the death of a traveler in a state park connects to the killing of someone involved in a top-secret government project. "Maggie struggles to bond with her new partner, Isaiah Green ("Chicago Med" actor Roland Buck III), OA adjusts to a new role, and the CIA's Deputy Chief of Station, Nikki Reynard (Necar Zadegan), lends a helping hand on the case."

"Later on in the episode when we need to hit a DEA target house, it's a great moment of CIA fusion cell/FBI collaboration where Bill calls his buddy Scola," CIA showrunner and executive producer Mike Weiss shared about "The Deep," adding, "They put together a SWAT team, and Bill and Scola go in shoulder-to-shoulder to this dangerous target, so we get to see Scola in bro-mode as well as in tactical mode." Gehlfuss teased, "We see Bill in a totally different and new light. By the end of the episode, there's a bombshell that's dropped that shakes Bill up quite a bit as far as, 'Who the hell is he?'"

As for Reynard offering the FBI a big assist, Weiss believes that it would only make sense to go to the best source for information on targets "who might have an international or intelligence or terror background to them" that are being tracked. "Why not go and talk to an expert, Nikki Reynard, who has been chasing and tracking and dealing with these guys for her entire career overseas?" Weiss shared. "We call on Nikki a couple of times in the season to come in and lend her expertise when there's something weird or exotic or global going on in a part of the FBI investigation."

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