‘NCIS’: Gary Cole Talks Parker & Vera’s Crossover Conflict and Team Secrets (VIDEO)

Gary Cole is a fan of scenes with conflict like we’re seeing between his and Rocky Carroll‘s characters, Parker and Vance, on NCIS right now. And fortunately for him, there’s some more of that, with the return of Roma Maffia as Vera Strickland, now retired, in the NCIS half of the Origins crossover airing on Tuesday, November 11.

“We annoy each other to a great degree, which was fun to play,” Cole tells TV Insider in the video interview above from a recent visit to our office.

As for what it will take to change that and the two to warm up to each other, “I think progress in the case is the only thing,” he says. “I would say it’s more one-sided. I would say I’m more annoyed than Vera is.”

When it comes to the aforementioned tension between Parker and Vance, which started when the latter tried other hold the former back from going after his father’s killer in the Season 23 premiere, don’t expect it to go completely away immediately even as it’s lessening.

“We’re told there’s a couple of things coming that have to do with the agency itself that are larger than their relationship that might keep them at some kind of odds,” Cole teases. “There’s a lot of conflict going on with who’s going to stay in power at certain agencies, are different agencies going to change, stuff like that.”

Speaking of conflict, there could be more coming up in Parker’s life when he finds out that Palmer (Brian Dietzen), Knight (Katrina Law), and Kasie (Diona Reasonover) are keeping two secrets from him: the fact that there was someone with his father the night he died and the discrepancy in his mother’s autopsy report and death certificate. Given the fact that he’s still grieving and what we’ve seen from him thus far, are they right to not tell him yet?

“I think it’s a catch-22 for him because they kind of walk on eggshells about stuff and how much they want to reveal and how soon they want to reveal it. I would be honest and say that Parker is not somebody that has a long fuse,” Cole admits. “He gets irritated pretty quickly, and so that’s why they hold back things. But then there comes a point where they can’t. But then one of the things that irritates him is to not have information.”

Watch the full video interview with Gary Cole above about the crossover, Parker’s arc this season, and more teases about what’s coming up.

NCIS, Tuesdays, 8/7c, CBS