[Editor’s note: The following contains some spoilers for the “Fire Starter” episode (Season 3, Episode 6) of FBI: International.]
The Big Picture
Special Agent Cameron Vo’s advocacy and leadership shine in ‘FBI: International’s “Fire Starter” episode, challenging dismissive responses to sexual assault.
Vidotto discusses Vo’s growth, balancing toughness with empathy, and deepening connections with the ensemble.
Vo learns to navigate power dynamics in male-dominated spaces, balancing assertiveness with vulnerability.
In the ‘Fire Starter” episode (Episode 306) of the CBS series FBI: International, Special Agent Cameron Vo (Vinessa Vidotto), who is still adjusting to her recent promotion, puts her previous sexual assault advocacy experience from her Army days to use on the Fly Team’s current case. After an American college student staying at a hostel in Prague tries to report an attack but is instead dismissed by local police, Vo steps in to ensure the victim gets justice and the accused cannot hurt anyone else.
During this interview with Collider, Vidotto talked about the three-season journey she’s taken with Vo, how she’s grown as an actress alongside her character, that the FBI world can get a little competitive, balancing being a badass with knowing when to be softer, bonding with her co-stars, what Vo has learned from working under Special Agent Scott Forrester (Luke Kleintank), why she was so passionate and excited about this specific episode, and that Vo shouldn’t be focused on romance right now.
FBI: International
Elite agents of the FBI’s International division travel the world with the mission of protecting Americans wherever they may be.
Release Date September 21, 2021
Creator Dick Wolf, Derek Haas
Main Genre Crime
Seasons 3
Vinessa Vidotto is Growing Alongside Her ‘FBI: International’ Character
Image via CBS
Collider: How different does your character feel to you now, compared to who she was when you started on this show? Does anything particularly surprise you about the path that she’s taken?
VINESSA VIDOTTO: I feel like she has to grow up. It wasn’t a smooth transition into Supervisory Relief. It was like, “Bam, here you go!” It was intense. Even as an actor, it was stretching my range, and it wasn’t simple to do. I tried to tell myself, “Okay, just pretend you’re auditioning for this character, and this character already has this power and this position.” I just simply could not play it like that because it’s Vo and I know it’s Vo. I know her past, for the past two years. It also tested my range as an actor. I wondered, “Can I jump like that?” And it’s taken me a while, but I feel like from episode six on, it’s been there. We just finished episode eight, and I’m really proud of that one, as well. I’m very, very proud of episode six. It was a great episode. It’s been challenging, but it’s been a good challenge.
Related The 10 Best ‘FBI: International’ Episodes From the First Two Seasons The FBI has gone international.
Is Vo someone who can appreciate what she’s already accomplished even if she still wants more, or is she just always thinking about what she hasn’t accomplished yet?
VIDOTTO: Yep, the latter. And it’s like a competition, too. In the FBI world, you just feel a little more masculine in this tough environment, and she’s in competition with Raines a bit. You have to be on your A-game at all times. You can’t slip. You have to bring it every single time. The directors won’t let us slip, that’s for sure.
It certainly seems like one of those professions where, as a woman, you can’t get emotional, or you’ll be “the emotional woman.”
VIDOTTO: Oh, my gosh, yes! It’s been such an interesting journey, as an actor. There are such dualities. Two opposing ideas can be held in the same place, and that’s been mind-boggling to me. Sometimes they want us to act angry like a man, but as women, we portray anger in a very different way, in a more emotional way. When they want us to get angry, they want us to do the male version, but that may not play well or look truthful. If the character isn’t a fully feminine female, she’s got that masculine edge, so it is possible. It’s been interesting to juggle and to push myself to really get into the Vo character and put Vinessa aside. It’s such an interesting space.
Related Heidi Reed Exits ‘FBI: International’ After Three Seasons The third season of the crime procedural premieres in February.
One of the things that I love about this show is that the ensemble feels like a real ensemble. It feels like these characters meet up off camera, and they have conversations, and that there are personal connections. What have you most enjoyed about building those bonds and finding that dynamic with this cast, over the seasons?
VIDOTTO: It’s been very natural, and it’s been a lot of fun. Because we film in Europe, and we’re very far away from family, with a nine-hour time difference for those coming from L.A., you have to become family immediately. You have to choose love. If you don’t agree with a person 100%, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you choose love, every day. People aren’t perfect and people don’t need to think or act the way you do. But once you choose love, then it’s just so natural to bond with everybody. We’ve had a blast. Season 1 was like freshman year of college. As the years have gone on, we’re getting old and our joints are hurting, and we’re going to bed at nine. We’re like, “Let’s maybe do karaoke once in a while. How about going to the circus? What about the zoo? Does anybody wanna go to the zoo?” We have fun games on set. We’re always poking fun at each other. It’s great.
I love that your character can be a badass when the situation requires it, but she can also be the one that really wins the trust of victims who are scared. What have you enjoyed about playing that balance? Does it feel like one comes more naturally for her than the other, or do those feel like very equal sides of who she is?
VIDOTTO: As you were asking me that question, I leaned to one side. And then, when you finished your question, I balanced out. That was so weird. I think it depends. Some days, based on our menstrual cycle as women, I’m more tender and easily understanding and soft. And then, other days, I am more of a badass and straightforward and I bring out my quarter-German side. It’s a balance. It’s fun. I’ve said it since Season 1, Vo is just a more resilient version of me. Everything that she’s going through, I’m actually going through myself in my personal life. Vo is stepping into more of a position of power this year, and I’ve been learning to use my voice more and to speak up, and not be so shy or hesitant. I’m also a very tender person, but then I know that I can be more assertive and cold. That’s okay because I’ve got the best of both worlds.
How did you find out that she would be taking more of a leadership role this season? Did they sit you down and tell you that ahead of time? Did you find out when you got that script? How did you find out that you were going to be stepping up in that way?
VIDOTTO: I sat down with Matt Olmstead, one of the executive producers. He works closely with the writers, and he came out to Budapest in November, and he sat us down individually and went over the vibe and breakdown for this whole season. That’s when he said it, and I was like, “I’m down.”
‘FBI: International’s Vinessa Vidotto Enjoys Getting to Explore A Mix of Passion and Anger
Image via CBS
We know that Forrester is the leader of this team, but how does Vo look at him? What are the qualities in him as a leader that she wants to emulate, and how does she want to handle things differently?
VIDOTTO: He just has pure confidence. You believe that he has the right answers, and he’s going to lead us to victory. Right now, Vo is growing into it. When she calls the shots, I’m like, “I don’t know, it could go well, or we could be in danger by the end of the episode.” She’s trying her best. Just acting alongside him, there’s this assurance that he has and this natural leadership. Men have their way of being assertive and aggressive. When we go to different countries, sometimes he has tension with the local police or the higher ups, wherever it is. It would be fun to play more of that, too. I think it’s fun when women show their anger or their passion. It shows that somebody has personality and somebody cares, even if it’s not classy or the right timing. It’s better to have personality than to be perfect. That’s something I would love to play with more.
Is her ultimate goal to lead the team? Does she have even bigger plans for herself than that? Does she even know what her bigger goals are right now?
VIDOTTO: Oh, girl, I don’t even know. That’s a big question. Right now, all she knows is that she’s climbing up the ranks, and it’s something that she’s wanted to do, but she’s taking it day by day because it is all a huge learning experience. She’s taken huge bites out of the cookie, and she’s realizing, “Okay, I need to take this in and really see if this is where I want to go.” She’s just living in the moment.
For ‘FBI: International’s Special Agent Vo, It’s Important to Advocate For Victims
This episode, “Fire Starter,” was emotional because it explored sexual assault and that’s never a light subject. It’s hard enough to be the victim of a crime like that, but to not fully remember what happened, and then to have everyone either doubt you or just dismiss you makes it all even worse. What was it like to read the script for the episode and really get a sense of how all that would play out, and see the role that your character would be playing, getting to go undercover as well?
VIDOTTO: Yeah, it was challenging. I was very passionate and excited to portray this script that Rachael Joyce wrote. It was about advocating when nobody believes in you and you’re away from your home country and your parents aren’t there, and the people who are the police, who are supposed to protect and serve the public, dismiss you and don’t believe in you. Even the female head officer is jaded and flips on us. It’s infuriating. Of course, you’re gonna want to investigate that thoroughly. Unless you’re a psychopath, what kind of victim would want to make up a story and go through all this, to claim that they were assaulted? That’s why I’m dumbfounded when people don’t believe it. I’m like, “Are you kidding me, right now? Why would they go through all this trouble?” I don’t know who would go to the lengths of doing that. Regardless, can we investigate this properly? Can we hear everybody out properly? There’s obviously law and order for a reason. You can’t just be jaded and not care because American girls have things happen in hostels or at parties all the time. You can’t just base it off stereotypes. That’s not why police officers are hired. They’re not supposed to do their job just based on their own opinions.
We get to see the anger in your character, we see her dealing with the victim, and we see her get to go undercover, but then you also get that moment in the interrogation room where you’re able to walk in and let the perp know who you really are. Was that just a very satisfying moment?
VIDOTTO: Yeah, it was fun to do a big, “Fuck you.” It was also heartbreaking to hold all those photos and look at him. That was disgusting.
Vinessa Vidotto Doesn’t Think Her ‘FBI: International’ Character Should Be Focused on Romance
Image via CBS
With all these new layers that we’re getting to see with Vo, would you also like to dig deeper into her romantic life or even just get to see her have one? We haven’t had much of that since the show started. Will we see any of that this season, or have you had conversations about exploring that in the future?
VIDOTTO: No, I haven’t had conversations about it. I don’t know what will happen. It’s up to all our amazing writers and EPs. Vo is exhausted. She’s had four guys, it just hasn’t bloomed properly, or in a healthy way, or at the right time. Even though I had this big episode where she’s passionate, and you get to see that side of her, I would like to see more of a personal life for Vo, but maybe not a love life necessarily.
Are you someone who’s all in for the drama, and you’d want to see her really get involved with someone from the team and stir all that up, or does Vo need somebody with a quiet life that’s totally outside of work?
VIDOTTO: She needs somebody quiet and not on the team, like a cat.
FBI: International airs on Tuesday nights on CBS and is available to stream at Paramount+. Check out the trailer:
Watch on Paramount+