Exclusive Interview: Pop-Culturailst Chats with SEAL Team’s Judd Lormand

When Judd Lormand became an actor, he made a bucket list of roles he hoped to get and people he wanted to work with. On that list was lending his voice to an animated feature, as well as suiting up as a superhero on screen—either of which would be a special moment that he could share with his three young children.

In 2017, the talented actor accomplished one of those goals when he was cast as LT. Commander Eric Blackburn in CBS’ SEAL Team. His character is a member of Bravo Team, an elite group of Navy SEALs who protect and serve our country.


Pop Culturalist caught up with Judd to talk all things SEAL Team.

PC: Tell us about SEAL Team, your character, and what drew you to this project.
Judd: SEAL Team follows our elite soldiers, known on the show as Bravo Team. Many may know, there are usually six guys in a unit, and we follow their journey. The show depicts what they do, how they do it, the problems they face, and most importantly, it presents who these guys are. Navy SEALs are real-life badasses; they’re superheroes.


SEAL Team also explores these soldiers’ home lives. How do they handle making a marriage work? It shows their missions and the challenges they face as Navy SEALs, but also their obstacles at home.


I play LT. Commander Eric Blackburn. He is the strategist of the group. Every now and then, he’s out on the field with the guys, doing what he has to do, but he’s typically the guy at command who’s telling them where the guys are and how fast they need to get out. He’s the one that’s ultimately responsible for what happens on a mission. In other words, if something goes wrong, he’s going to hear about it from the guys upstairs.

For Blackburn, the task at hand is getting his guys to accomplish the mission as effectively and safely as possible. Many times, he’s working with foreign leaders, so he needs to deal with their agendas. The CIA is there, they have their agenda. He has to juggle all of these agendas and still make the mission work. That’s Blackburn in a nutshell.

As an actor, you’re always trying to get work. You audition for everything you can. It’s the equivalent of throwing a bunch of things against a wall and seeing what sticks. When I got the job, I still hadn’t read the full script. Many times as an actor, you don’t get the whole script. You get chopped up scenes that you’re in to audition with, so I didn’t know the big picture, the full story. When I finally got down to New Orleans to shoot the pilot, I arrived a day early to do my fitting and then finally got the full pilot script. I went back to the hotel as quickly as I could to read the whole thing and I was immediately like, “Wow! This is incredible. This is amazing television. If they can shoot this as well as it reads on page, it will be great!”

That was the first thing, and then I kept seeing the dailies of what we were shooting and how it was coming out, and I was blown away. Then, I met the cast and crew and we all really hit it off. So, there were a multitude of things that attracted me to SEAL Team. The story, what it was about, how it was written, the crew, cast, and the producers. They had a sincere vision of what they were trying to accomplish and that was the icing on the cake for me. What’s not to like about it?

PC: You’ve had quite the journey with the series. Originally, you were slated to be a guest star, but ended up being in all twenty-two episodes. Did that change your approach to the character or the process?
Judd: I think everyone’s approach to Blackburn changed. His role was to give the team their mission and to help them get out of trouble when they’re on the ground: that was his purpose. I don’t think any of us saw the potential right away. I mean this guy’s job in itself is a story. When I landed the role, I chatted with several people in the military, one, in particular, was a Navy SEAL, and I got a feel of how he handled himself and his superiors.

As we moved forward, probably in episode seven or eight, I was told that on occasion, Blackburn may have to go into the field with these guys. That changed my physical idea of what the character should be. I was already working on changing my mentality to fit Blackburn’s. He’s upfront, he’s a thinker, he’s a strategist. He has to stay several steps ahead of people and what’s going on. That was the first step, mentally. Second, when I found out he may be on the field, it became a physical thing. I quickly got a nutritionist and started a different workout program than I was used to, and tried to get into the physical mold of the character. It’s been a journey throughout season one and even currently. I’m always learning more with every script, and every time I talk to a different person who’s done this type of job, you add it to your repertoire.

PC: In the first season, we learned about Eric and what he does for the team, but in season two, we’re slowly learning more about who he is as a person. What can you tease about his story arc moving forward?
Judd: It’s funny because I actually don’t know. We’re not privy to anything prior to what we shoot. We get our scripts a little beforehand, maybe a week or so before we start shooting an episode. So, it’s hard for me to tease anything specific, but I can tell you that it’s definitely on the producers’ and writers’ minds. I can’t wait to go there, but whenever it happens, we’ll see the man behind the job. It’s coming, though.

PC: Did you create your own backstory for your character in season one?
Judd: Yes! It’s funny you ask that because I definitely did. I wasn’t given anything other than what was scripted. As a guest star, I took the responsibility to create my own backstory, to do my own homework. When they’re writing a season, the writers have their regulars and have to create their story arcs. I didn’t want to bother anyone and say, “Hey, what’s Eric’s backstory?”

I figured that I was going to do it. It would help me relate to what’s going in Blackburn’s life. Now, how much of that creation is going to match? I have no idea. [laugh] I’ll tell you, I envisioned Blackburn as a couple of years older than the guys, and I didn’t play him as if he was definitely divorced, let’s say, or not married, but I played him as though been through some of the same things that these guys have been through at home.

So, when I would overhear a guy saying, “Yeah, it’s been tough lately with the bills. The wife and I have been at it.” I would envision when that happened to Blackburn. It allowed him to be empathetic to what these guys are going through. It also allowed him to show the guys that it’s not the end of the world, since he’s been through it. This helped him put it all aside, focus on his job, and be laser-focused throughout these missions, which is the end result of what you see on the show.

PC: You’ve said in previous interviews that SEAL Team has been the best project that you’ve ever worked on. What has made it so special and why do you think SEAL team has resonated with audiences?
Judd: This is as real as you can get for television. I have three children. I’ve got twin boys that are six and a daughter who just turned eight, and for years while I was acting, I always had these different things on my bucket list. “I want to work with this person” or “I want to do this type of movie or show.” One thing on my list was I wanted to do a voice over in a kids animated feature—something that my kids could be like, “Oh look! My dad plays the voice of that guy in the new animated movies.” In that same vein, I wanted to do a superhero film. After several episodes of shooting SEAL Team, working with actual SEALs and the actual tier-one operators, these Delta Force guys, that are on our set all the time, I realized that my kids may not know it right now, but years later, they’re going to realize that daddy did play a superhero.

That’s been so cool for me, and humbling, to say the least. I’m honored to get to be a part of something like this. We have dozens and dozens of vets on our crew in every department. Of course, we want to tell the story that’s written on the page, but everyone’s number one priority on our set is to get it right, to make it authentic. If the SEALs wouldn’t do something, then it’s not going to happen—everything from holding the gun the right way to planning out these missions. If it’s not real, we don’t do it. It’s a privilege to portray individuals who have done this for our country.

PC: Is there more pressure when you’re working on a show that depicts real-life men and women who’ve served our country. Was there a moment when you realized the magnitude of this role/project?
Judd: It was during our pilot. I was talking with two of our consultants, both of these guys served as operators in different aspects of the military. I was talking to them in New Orleans, and I realized one of them had a massive injury, very visible, to his left arm from war. Then, the other guy had a very similar massive, visible injury to his right arm. That was one of the first things that really touched me. We’re playing these guys that do this. They’re here to help us get it right, but seeing the long-lasting effects if you make it out alive, seeing that first-hand was a gulp moment.


In addition to that, we get the chance to do a lot of appearances and meetings with actual military groups. It’s been a huge learning experience for me and has changed my perspective a lot. When I got to meet the gold star wives, who are wives who have lost their husbands in combat, it was such an emotional visit. Even prior to SEAL Team, I’ve always had the upmost respect for our troops, but this brought it to a new level. I’ve always been one to go up to our troops and thank them for their services, but I think a lot of the time we forget it’s not just the man or woman that serves, it’s their family too. It’s the ones they’re leaving behind. I can’t even imagine how excruciatingly difficult it must be for the spouses and their kids. That was a huge eye-opener for me. I’ll never look at that the same way again.

Career Questions

PC: How did you discover your passion for acting and make the decision that you wanted to pursue it professionally?
Judd: I’ve had a passion for acting since I was in grade school. I remember doing plays in second and third grade when I was living in Saudi Arabia. It was one of those things that I just loved. Then in middle school, I did some more acting as well. In middle and high school, I started doing competitive drama, which was so much fun for me. In high school, I did wrestling and drama, both of which required time on the weekends. I was juggling them and finally made the decision that I liked acting more. I put wrestling aside and I did acting all four years.

But, by the time I graduated high school, I was having so much fun in my hometown. Back then, I was in Louisiana and the only way you could be an actor was to move to New York or Los Angeles. That was it. So, I put the desire to be an actor on hold.

I finished college and then I heard the movie industry was coming to Louisiana. I was like, “Wait, what? Real movies and stuff are being shot here? I can audition for them?”

PC: How challenging is it to balance your career and life as a father and husband?
Judd: You have to have a strong foundation at home. In the beginning, prior to SEAL Team, I would always go from one gig to the next. When you’re doing that, you might complete two or three days working on a movie, and you may have nothing lined up after that. You have no idea where the next paycheck is coming from. You need a partner who’s able to pick up your slack when you’re gone, but also have the mentality that there are no guarantees on where the next check is coming from. You have to have faith; you have to relax and let things happen the way they will. Now that I’m on SEAL Team, I work in Los Angeles, and my wife and kids live in Georgia. It’s a commitment. Every chance I get when I have two or three days off of the shooting schedule, I jump on a plane and fly home. It’s a grind. I don’t get to sit with my feet up on my days off, but it’s worth it. Between the two of us, my wife and I, we’re doing our best to make it work.


To keep up with Judd, make sure to follow him on Twitter and Instagram, and catch SEAL Team every Wednesday at 9/8c.