As Officer Victor Tan, actor David Lim has been chasing down the bad guys for eight seasons on the TV series, S.W.A.T. The character began as a rookie young gun before evolving into one of the more seasoned veterans on the team.
This year, Tan took over running the S.W.A.T. Academy to groom the next generation of officers, a position that’s given him a great sense of pride. But the recent episode, “Deep Cover,” proved the role is not without challenges. An officer’s injury during a training exercise caused Tan to doubt his leadership abilities.
In addition to all the drama on the show, fiction and reality collided a couple of years ago when Tan’s home was burglarized. Following the break in and theft, Tan and his wife launched Maya David, a line of jewelry crafted with love that embodies their resilience.
Lim recently spoke to me about Tan’s growth, the S.W.A.T. Academy, entrepreneurship, and his character’s style. S.W.A.T. season 8 airs on Global TV in Canada, Saturdays, and STACKTV. In the U.S., watch S.W.A.T. on CBS Fridays.
Each S.W.A.T member contributes to the team in a special way. What does Victor Tan bring to the table?
David Lim: “He has evolved over eight seasons and 150 episodes. He started as this young S.W.A.T. officer trying to prove himself, trying to balance his personal life and his family life with the demands of the job. He’s really grown and evolved into one of the leaders on 20 Squad. I see him as a big brother to the newbies, which this season are Alfaro [Niko Pepaj], Powell [Anna Enger Ritch] and, now, Gamble [Annie Llonzeh].”
“So, he’s taken more of this leadership role. Obviously, he’s taken over S.W.A.T. Academy. That’s been a hot storyline this season that will kind of wrap up over the next few episodes. That was a fun storyline to play. Tan is a seasoned cop now. He’s been doing it for a long time, so he doesn’t get the luxury of making mistakes like an amateur rookie cop would make because he has been around. He demands and expects perfection from himself.”
“In turn, he still looks up to Hondo [Shemar Moore] and Deacon [Jay Harrington], but he’s also trying to help guide the younger guys.”
In what ways do you feel that Tan taking over the Academy has allowed you to explore a different side of the character?
Lim: “It’s been a totally new side and I have loved it. You have more power. You are really tough on these recruits. It reminded me a lot of when I played sports, when I was a kid, and I had tough coaches… one of them being my dad, who was probably my toughest coach.”
“It’s not malicious in any way. It comes from a place of wanting perfection and demanding perfection from the next generation of S.W.A.T. officers. When you are out in the field, perfection could be the difference between life or death. I have really enjoyed exploring that side of Victor Tan and being more in a leadership role.”
“Things have, obviously, gone awry as we saw in the last episode with Dobers [Emerson Brooks] setting off the breach too early. Now he’s in the hospital and he’s not happy. That will continue.”
“Going back to what I said about the character evolving over eight seasons, Tan would never have taken on this type of position in the first few seasons. Now, here we are, in season eight. It’s just been so much fun to take this journey with him.”
In those early days, Tan and Street [Alex Russell] were the young guns out to prove themselves…
Lim: “Absolutely. That was a lot of fun. We just had Alex back directing and not in the capacity people maybe would like him back. But he’s back as a director and he’s a fantastic director. He’s good at all aspects of filmmaking. It was a bit of a reunion.”
“One of my favourite scenes on the show was the Tan and Street goodbye in season six. A lot of that was real… two buddies who spent a long time together saying goodbye.”
Let’s expand on the ramifications of what went down with Dobers last week. How heavily does that weigh on Tan?
Lim: “A lot. I think we saw a little bit in that episode. He clearly puts a lot of the blame on himself. How Tan is hard on these new recruits, he’s just as hard on himself. He demands perfection on himself. I think one of the lines was, ‘“’Deacon, if you were in charge, this never would have happened.'”
“He really does believe that. Tan feels he is at fault for someone possibly losing a leg or their career. You will see that going forward into the next few episodes, as the S.W.A.T. Academy storyline wraps up.”
Another significant development found Hondo and Hicks [Patrick St. Esprit] butting heads over Officer Gamble. What kind of domino effect is that going to have on the rest of S.W.A.T.?
Lim: “That is definitely a storyline that will continue through the end of our season. You have seen a lot of the characters have different takes on Gamble coming into the team and having her history. But some of the younger guys, Tan included, have really accepted her as part of the family. That is what you do on 20 Squad.”
“But Hondo probably shoulders the most of it because he picked her. And it’s Hicks’ team. At the end of the day, he runs S.W.A.T. It’s nice to see that conflict. Throw Deputy Chief Bennett [Merrin Dungey] in the mix and you have three different characters having this conflict, which in TV world we all love.”
This type of series fuels the inner adrenaline junkie and you love performing your own stunts. Is there one on the horizon that you are particularly proud of?
Lim: “Tan has a couple of fight sequences coming up. The way our stunt coordinators choreograph our fights, they don’t look choreographed. They are very messy and dirty, and often in tight quarters, like a kitchen or a bathroom. I have always loved action. I love those fights that look so realistic and you are like, ‘Oh my gosh. They are actually doing this. It doesn’t look fake.'”
“So, there are a couple of fight sequences coming up. I still feel them now. You never leave filming a fight scene without a few bumps and bruises on S.W.A.T. To me, they are like battle scars and they are worth it. We want to bring signature action that might be different than other network television shows. That has helped us set ourselves apart.”
If this proves to be the final season of S.W.A.T., how satisfied are you with where Tan ends up?
Lim: “I’d be satisfied. It would be tough because myself, and the rest of the cast, we all love this show so much. I love being part of it. It’s been the most amazing journey. I would be OK with the arc that he has had. He has had a full-fledged life. He got married. He got divorced. He found new love. But obviously, deep down, I want to continue.”
“There are even more great stories to tell with the Tan character and the rest of our cast, some of whom are newer and we’ve barely scratched the surface. Fingers crossed. We would all like to continue.”
Switching gears, you and your wife were victims of a home burglary. In the moment, how did that make you feel?
Lim: “Wow. It happened almost two years ago. Your heart sinks. You feel very violated. We were just happy our little guy, our little dog, was okay [but] you don’t feel safe.”
“I literally watched a group of officers perform a S.W.A.T. breach on my house, very ironic, as I stood back and watched and hoped that there was nobody still inside. It definitely stays with you. It still affects us to this day. You just feel so violated. The material things that you lose can be replaced, but that sense of security and home, which is a place you are supposed to feel the most safe, you never fully get that back. Maybe in a few years you do.”
How did creating your own line of jewelry, Maya David, help you heal and move on from that incident?
Lim: “It was a way for us to turn the loss into something of meaning. My wife and I are generally optimistic people. We wanted to turn this experience, if we could, into something positive.”
“We lost a lot of jewelry in the burglary, that was very sentimental to us. I lost my wedding band that was sitting here at home. We decided we were not going to replace them, but we would create them and make them ourselves. We taught ourselves how to handmake jewelry. It was a way to reclaim our own narrative and fill that void. It just brought us a lot of joy and happiness. We would gift it to people. Seeing the reaction on their faces was priceless, so we decided to turn it into a business.”
“We have always loved timeless and beautiful jewelry. When we launched our company, we wanted to use the highest quality material. We used a lot of sterling silver and 14-karat gold. We try to hand select stones that speak to us, that we would wear, that we think other people would love that hold meaning, because all of these stones have different properties. We just hope that when people where them, that they have this sense of resilience or that beautiful things can come from a loss, which they often do.”
It sounds as if you have crafted pieces that can be sentimental and personal.
Lim: “Absolutely. Gifting jewelry is a very personal thing. For the longest time, my wife and I gifted each other jewelry for special occasions or when we travel. We love to find unique treasures that you can’t find in the States. At the end of the day, we would never make stuff that we wouldn’t wear ourselves. It just brings a lot of joy and keeps us busy. I come home from a 10-hour day on set and we go straight to the studio. We pack up some orders or we spend our weekends doing it. But it’s a beautiful thing because my wife and I can do it together. We are excited to see where the journey goes.”
To end on a fun note, what piece from your collection would fit into Tan’s style?
Lim: “Ohhhh, Victor Tan is a S.W.A.T. officer, so he’s not going to layer it up like David would layer it up. A simple silver chain for Victor Tan, maybe with a pendant. He would do something like a couple of bracelets. I’ve worn a couple on the show when we do our more casual looks. So, he would wear a silver chain and maybe a stone bracelet with a Tiger’s Eye. That would be the most that he would do.”
Images courtesy of CBS Broadcasting.
