Mavournee Hazel really loves the character of Blue. That much is clear when talking to her. But she’s also given a lot of thought and put a lot of work into building Blue into someone people can relate to, and that shows. So, as we sat down with her to talk about NCIS: Sydney, perhaps the most important thing we wanted to talk about was the process of making Blue such a unique character.
Well, that, and of course, if she’s taking home any of Blue’s very particular wardrobe.
Blue’s most important relationship in the show is with Doctor Roy “Rosie” Penrose (William McInnes), and in a way, that’s the most surprising relationship on NCIS: Sydney. Two very different people who found companionship and the family they needed in each other, in a way that’s giving paternal, but also a mentorship, and mostly a friendship. And Hazel has given a lot of thought to Doc and Blue.
“Her relationship with everyone is so unique and different. What she has with Doc is so different from what she has with Mackey, and that was really easy to monitor and sort of follow for like my own continuity, because obviously my relationship with William (McInnes) is quite different from that of Olivia (Swann), like on and off screen,” Hazel shared.
“But William and I have a really beautiful friendship as well… and it’s kind of taken three seasons for us to really get close, and that’s me ice picking away day in day out on set, being like I will crack this nut that is William McInnes, and I feel like I finally have,” she laughed. “I feel like this season, especially, with the Ebola episode, we got to see so much more of how deep their relationship really is, and it’s been tested so many times in this season alone.”
And there’s more to come. “In future episodes to come, we kind of see them getting closer and closer,” Hazel shared. “That Ebola episode was so beautiful to watch, to do. William’s such a veteran, he’s a very well-respected Australian actor, and watching him do those scenes when he’s talking about Alice when I go and visit him in the bed, and I’m trying to convince him to sign the waiver, it was amazing.”
But it’s not just about the acting, either. Hazel had a lot of praise for McInnes as a person. “Right up until they call action, he’ll be laughing and telling anecdotes from 30 years ago and making everyone laugh, and then he just has this incredible ability to drop in and pull on everyone’s heartstrings, crew, cast, and audience.”
Hazel is part of a lot of those scenes that are pulling at our heartstrings, as she said. And some of them came earlier in Season 3, when we found out Blue’s backstory. But the backstory wasn’t a surprise for Hazel. She’d known from the beginning. “
From my first audition, I knew Blue’s backstory. So, for the past three years I’ve known it, and I’ve had to be so patient as an actor and also try to play Blue to not show all my cards, to place things really specifically.”
It sounds very, very hard. “I always had it in my mind. I was like, I want… in years to come, if someone re-watches this, for them to go, ‘oh my gosh, that’s why she did that in episode three, or that’s why she did that in, you know, the second season.’ I just want these little easter eggs for the audience, because the loyalty and the dedication that the audience has for the show, we all want to reward the fans and their loyalty.” Plus, it’s also a lot of fun. “So much fun to play, so much fun to place, and so much fun to pick up as well when you’re watching something, and you’re like, ‘that’s why she said that.'”
However, Hazel did share with us that the backstory did change a little bit. “In the show, she has a twin brother, but originally, there was like a hot minute where I was going to play my own identical twin sister. That changed like the night before. The cliffhanger for Season 2 was going to be slightly different, and then my twin was going to be there instead.”
That would have made the wait so much harder, we’re not going to lie. “So, we did all these wig fittings, I bleached my eyebrows… so, like on Instagram for a while I had bleached eyebrows, and that was because of what we were going to do. And then it was like the night before we shot, and I got a phone call from my showrunner being like, “Hey, we’re going to have to pivot. You’re not going to play your identical twin sister.” And then we cast Jacob (Collins-Levy), who was incredible as Eli. I’m glad we did that, but it would have been really fun to play something completely different.”
But Hazel loves Blue enough that if she could tell the character something, she’d tell her that “You don’t need to hide yourself. Don’t feel like you need to censor who you are or hide who you are.”
And in a way, a character can be healing for the actor, too. “I found playing her very cathartic and the journey of playing her. In the past, like Mavorne, me as an actor, I’ve really struggled with this right to speak complex, and feeling like I can’t take up space, and you know, as women we all feel that. So, playing that in Season 1, I really noticed that even when I was on set not doing scenes, I was kind of still like, “oh sorry, sorry,” and I was kind of becoming Blue, and it just made me aware of how far I’ve come from that space.”
“So, it’s been a really cathartic playing Blue this season as she’s really like stepping into her authenticity and embracing who she is, flaws and all. I really hope that… because I’ve received so much love and so many messages from audience members about Blue and what she represents for them, and I hope that this season gives them strength as well.”
We still had time for lighter questions, like Blue’s wardrobe! “We’ve actually, for the three seasons, we’ve had three different wardrobe designers, and each of them has brought their own interpretation of the character. And now, looking back, I feel like each of them can be justified and explained… You know, she was hiding who she was, and her identity and how she fit in, and I think you can really see that from her wardrobe. And then this season, when she is a bit more sure of herself and a little bit more comfortable to express who she is, we’re seeing her play with more colors, more silhouettes, and showing a little bit more skin.”
Every good character starts with a defined look, after all. “Clothing is like a costume for her, and like a shield, so it’s been really fun working with Rita (Carmody) this season to really place all of that.”
And the other thing that helps Hazel get into character? Music. “This whole season, I’ve listened to the song that we did for the Nova episode. Like, that is Blue’s anthem. There’s also a Lana Del Rey song, I think it’s called “Bluebird,” that’s really lovely. But I just love that Nova song. I remember I was in Darwin airport when the showrunner, Morgan (O’Neill) came over and he said “listen to this,” and it was the song. And I was in the airport with headphones on just balling listening to this song.”
We all got kind of emotional seeing that episode, too. And we’ve continued to get emotional learning so much about Blue. And we really can’t wait for what’s coming next.
NCIS: Sydney airs Tuesdays at 10/9c on CBS.
