‘FBI’ Star Zeeko Zaki Breaks Down OA’s ‘Hardest’ Episode Yet (Exclusive)

This week’s FBI episode forced Omar “O.A.” Zidan to face his toughest challenge yet in a role unfamiliar to the FBI special agent. O.A. was a victim of a mugging in the opening moments of the show, getting mugged by someone pretending to need his help. In an exclusive interview with PopCulture.com, Zeeko Zaki explained why “Victim” was one of the “hardest” episodes yet for O.A. and why he hopes the lessons of this episode will stick with O.A. in the long term. Spoilers ahead!

In “Victim,” O.A. is initially reluctant to help the New York Police Department find the muggers. He does not change his mind until learning later that the criminals have also stolen from other citizens. That means if O.A. spoke up, he would be helping more people than just himself. The story tracked parallel to a string of brutal assaults and a serial killer. During that investigation, O.A. met a victim who blamed herself, similar to how O.A. felt after he was robbed.

Playing a victim in the episode helped Zaki “target some new strings” for O.A., a character he has been developing for five seasons now. “I got to try my hardest to pull from some things, some different spaces in my life, and some different inspirations for the character,” Zaki told PopCulture. “So [this] being season five and getting to step into this new, vulnerable space with the character is definitely interesting.” The story also gave Zaki a “greater appreciation” for the actors who come in to play victims.

When asked if O.A. needed to come to terms with the idea that he was a victim, Zaki said the “keyword” for O.A. was “compartmentalizing.” The episode shows how agents will take “something, even as traumatic as being mugged at gunpoint” and try to show it is “not a big deal” by continuing to work. “This is just that interesting moment where the traumatic personal event and work are overlapping so well or so closely that it’s impossible not to acknowledge either or… the effect that they are both having on the character,” Zaki said.

FBI has a large ensemble cast, like many other crime procedurals, so showrunner Rick Eid could have picked any character to be a victim in this episode. Instead, he chose O.A., who had been “built up to be this superhero” on the show, as Zaki pointed out. The episode finally shows a “crack in that strength,” making the character far more interesting for Zaki to play. He really hopes that the lessons of “Victim” will stick with O.A. for the rest of Season 5. “I think there’s no reason to learn a lesson twice,” he said. “So it’s important to keep this one and moving forward and it’s a really great opportunity to get to add a really strong character moment or note to a character that hopefully will be able to be playing for a long time.”

This could mean that when Missy Peregrym‘s Maggie returns, she will meet a different O.A. “When she comes back, I think my instinct of course is to show her a fully finished product that is ready to protect her and ready to get back into the job and I’m good,” Zaki said. “I think the journey of finding out how good O.A. really is after something like what happened is what’s going to be exciting to play.”

Zaki went on to praise FBI for being realistic with its characters, even if the show is not a documentary series. “We do get to step into the TV show drama world and give you some really nice characters storylines and the fact that they’re remotely relatable and enjoyed by the audience just is very humbling and gratifying and just so grateful for it all,” he said.

As for a future crossover with the other FBI shows, Zaki joked that this information is “way above” his pay grade. However, he is looking forward to doing another one. “They’re a lot of fun and I just get really excited by the idea,” he said.

New episodes of FBI air Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on CBS, with FBI: International and FBI: Most Wanted following. Past episodes of all three shows are available to stream on Paramount+.