Nick Gehlfuss Introduces ‘CIA’ Dynamic & Talks Working With Tom Ellis

First, there was Will and now there’s Bill for Nick Gehlfuss. The Chicago Med alum, who reprised his role as Dr. Will Halstead in the fall, stars in the newest Dick Wolf drama, CIA, and his character does have a somewhat familiar name.

Bill Goodman is “by-the-book” and “has this moral compass that he will never veer from,” Gehlfuss told TV Insider on the red carpet celebrating Law & Order‘s 25th season on January 6. “Very different from Will. Still, they both have good hearts and are protectors. I mean, William and Bill actually means protector. Anyways, they’re both passionate about what they do, of course, but Bill follows the rules.”

The FBI agent is then partnered up with secretive and roguish CIA case officer Colin Glass (Tom Ellis) for a joint, clandestine task force between the two agencies. According to the official description, “Bill will learn the rules of this murky world on the fly as Colin leads him deeper into spy games where only one thing is clear — their work keeps America safe, even if no one will ever know what they did in the shadows.”

Colin also follows the rules, added Gehlfuss, “but it’s such a gray area. Bill operates black and white. CIA, we don’t even know what they do. But it’s a wonderful combination of these two characters and I’m really excited.”

Related

'CIA' Trailer: Tom Ellis & Nick Gehlfuss Are a Fun Law Enforcement Duo (VIDEO)

He’s enjoying working with Ellis. “He’s awesome. I did not know Tom until this happened and then we had an audition together and right away I knew that we were just going to be … I don’t know. It’s hard to articulate sometimes when you have a chemistry with somebody. And I felt it, but we’re hearing from everybody else that it’s working,” Gehlfuss shared. “It’s always nice to have that validation, but he’s a consummate professional and he’s very charming and he’s a great leader.”

Due to the expansive universe of Dick Wolf shows, we had to ask him his dream crossover for CIA, and he immediately named FBI. “It’s probably going to happen,” he added. “Although it really would be interesting to have CIA crossover with Law & Order: SVU or Law & Order. That would be awesome because funnily enough, I’ve never been on a Law & Order. I think the closest I got was Law & Order: SVU and Chicago P.D. when they were introducing my character for Chicago Med.”

What are you hoping to see from CIA? Let us know in the comments section below.

CIA, Series Premiere, Monday, February 23, 10/9c, CBS