
Evan Roe was a Life Scout when Madam Secretary tapped him to join the family. Producers of the CBS drama wanted to cast Evan as Jason McCord, son of the title character played by Téa Leoni.
Slight problem, though. The show films in New York, so accepting the job would require Evan to leave San Diego and Troop 750 behind.
Rather than making a choice between Scouting and stardom, Evan chose option C: all of the above.
Lacking only his Eagle Scout service project, Evan planned it from afar. He identified a project site, recruited volunteers and crafted a plan — all three time zones away. When he needed materials from the hardware store near his project site, he sent his dad, Chris, who was still out west.
Evan flew to San Diego to complete the actual project: constructing a shade structure at Batiquitos Lagoon. All that planning paid off; Evan and his volunteers finished in half the time budgeted.
Back in New York at board of review time, Evan completed this final step by Skype — which is a BSA-approved practice as long as the council gives the OK.
“I think Scouting is a more flexible program than a lot of people realize,” Evan says. “I was a Life Scout, and I’d worked on it for seven years. I was so close to the finish line; it seemed pointless to give up.”
Behind-the-scenes photos
Here, some scenes from our visit to the set of Madam Secretary, the CBS drama that airs Sundays at 9/8c.









Photos by W. Garth Dowling.
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