Why Mandy Ellis From SEAL Team Looks So Familiar

"SEAL Team" was a below-the-radar ratings hit for CBS and Paramount+ until it ended its run in 2024 at the close of its seventh season. The ensemble cast, led by television veteran David Boreanaz, entertained procedural fans with their undercover missions that they could not, under any circumstances, share with their families. That's what we call tension, folks!

"SEAL Team" has been off the air for two years, but it's become a must-watch for procedural addicts because it's available to stream on Paramount+ and Prime Video. This means newcomers are bingeing the show and wondering where they've seen these talented actors before. Boreanaz is easy. He was Angel in the Buffy-verse, and found a whole new fan base as Seeley Booth on the long-running "Bones." Boreanaz immediately transitioned from the Jeffersonian Institute to "SEAL Team," where his presence as Master Chief Special Operator Warfare Jason Hayes gave the show a ratings jump-start. As for the rest of the cast, it featured Max Thieriot, then best-known for being third on the call sheet on "Catch That Kid" (wherein Kristin Stewart tread water between "Panic Room" and "Twilight"), and, later in the run, "Nip/Tuck" star Dylan Walsh.

One of the more notable cast members was Jessica Pare, who played CIA liaison Amanda "Mandy" Ellis. She was certainly familiar to "Mad Men" fans, who enjoyed her superb work as aspiring actor Megan Calvet Draper, the second wife of philandering advertising executive Don Draper (Jon Hamm) in the Peak TV classic "Mad Men." For those who've denied themselves the pleasure of watching "Mad Men," she's given memorable performances in other films and television shows.

Paré first hit my radar as the star of Denys Arcand's "Stardom" in 2000. It's not one of the Canadian filmmaker's best works (it's a pretty ham-fisted satire about fame), but Pare was compelling as the young woman who has, y'know, stardom thrust upon her. She was also excellent in Léa Pool's "Lost & Delirious," a heartbreaking romantic drama about two private schoolgirls (Pare and Piper Perabo) who fall in love. It's well worth seeking out.

Pare also made brief appearances in Steve Pink's "Hot Tub Time Machine" and John Crowley's lovely 2015 drama "Brooklyn." She's been largely committed to television throughout the 2020s, but like so many talented actors, she's one breakthrough role away from hitting the awards circuit. Until then, I'm sure she's enjoying the residuals from her seven seasons as Mandy Ellis on "SEAL Team," which is currently streaming on Netflix, and also features another familiar face in Clay Spenser.