"Covert Affairs" Actor Christopher Gorham on the realism of the CIA-based show: 'The topics that we deal with are very real, but how we do it is always fictional'

The Navy Seal behind “No Easy Day”, the tell-all book about the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, told “60 Minutes” last night that a CIA agent was central to accomplishing the mission. Actor Christopher Gorham, who plays a blind tech ops expert for the CIA on hit the USA show, “Covert Affairs,” joins Zoraida Sambolin and Ali Velshi on “Starting Point” this morning to reveal his take on the realism of the show.

Gorham credits some of the realism of the show to the fact that the writers meet with CIA officers at Langley ever year. Actress Piper Parabo, who plays the lead role as CIA Agent Annie Walker, has met with real CIA officers as well. “The show is fictional, but we try to at least base some of the reality of the inner office dynamics on the stories that they hear from the real CIA officers,” Gorham says. But he tells Ali Velshi that it’s “much more fun to be on the show” than being a real CIA officer. “It’s definitely much safer to be on the show as well.”

CNN Contributor and Columnist for TheBlaze.com Will Cain asks Gorham about playing a blind CIA operative and making eye contact. Gorham’s character Auggie Anderson was in the Special Forces and had his sight until losing it in injury while serving in Iraq. “For guys like him, they’re actually very good at making eye contact even after they’ve lost their sight,” Gorham explains. Gorham says their excellent muscle memory allows it. “So, we have to make him worse at it on the show so that it’s not confusing for the audience,” he says.

CNN Contributor and Fmr. Clinton White House Special Assistant and Senior Adviser Richard Socarides asks Gorham if the government ever restricts them from subjects that may be secret. “Our storylines are pretty fictional,” Gorham says. “The kind of danger that we deal that with on the show is very real. And some of the topics that we deal with are very real, but how we do it is always fictional, so we don’t run into any problems.”