SEAL Team: The Full Metal Character Explained (& Where You’ve Seen The Actor Before)
Full Metal is a memorable character on the Paramount+ military drama, but viewers may have trouble pinpointing exactly where they’ve seen the actor before. While fans wait for SEAL Team season 7 to be confirmed, they can head back to Paramount+ and rewatch past seasons, while also reminding themselves of the large cast of characters who have come and gone on the show. Starring David Boreanaz as Jason Hayes, SEAL Team follows real-life elite soldiers as they go on various missions.
SEAL Team relies on the likable cast of characters that surround Hayes as they bond over the course of their missions and suffer losses together. The main cast of SEAL Team has remained the same throughout the show, but there are many recurring characters who have influenced the soldiers even after they’re gone, and that’s doubly true for Scott “Full Metal” Carter (Scott Foxx), who has influenced the show both as a character and as a behind-the-scenes contributor to the Emmy-nominated series.
Scott “Full Metal” Carter first appeared in season 1, episode 10, “Pattern of Life.” Full Metal is the Senior Special Warfare Commander of Bravo Team and is sometimes referred to as Alpha 1, as he was previously the commander of Alpha Team before moving to Bravo to replace Clay Spenser (Max Thieriot) after he was injured. A capable and loyal soldier, Full Metal is a useful addition to Bravo Team, following orders despite the fact that he was a team leader until recently.
Foxx’s portrayal of Full Metal has always brought a lightness to his scenes; Even though he was a capable killer, he always had time for a joke.
However, Full Metal’s time in SEAL Team was cut short, and in the season 4 finale, episode 16, “One Life to Live,” Bravo was caught in a fierce and unexpected firefight with Boko Haram militants. He died protecting his teammates from an RPG and had to be buried at sea. It was a shocking and sad end for a character who was trusted and loved by his SEAL team. Foxx’s portrayal of Full Metal always brought a sense of relief to his scenes; even though he was a capable killer, he always had time for a joke.
With no family or pets, Alpha Team and then Bravo were his real family, which made his death a little less painful. At least he died protecting the people he loved, the only family he ever knew. Before his death, Full Metal left behind a letter to them and no one else, filled with his usual humor, although Bravo couldn’t bring himself to laugh, a sign of how much Full Metal’s death affected them.
If Foxx seems so adept at playing a soldier, it’s probably because he was actually a Navy SEAL (via TVLine). Foxx was stationed in San Diego, California, and served two tours in Iraq in 2005 and 2007 (via Distractify). He posted about his time in the military on Instagram and was clearly proud of his former career. Foxx retired after his 2007 tour and began consulting with Hollywood productions on Special Forces units. That’s how he was eventually cast as Full Metal on SEAL Team.
However, just because Full Metal is dead doesn’t mean Foxx is leaving the show. Series executive producer Spencer Hudnut was quick to tell TVLine, “I want to add that Scott Foxx, who plays Metal and is a former SEAL, even though his character is dead, he’s going to be with the show. He’s going to be there every day with us as an advisor and in a dual capacity.”
Foxx’s filmography is limited, with his other roles being Travis Carter alongside Josh Brolin and Miles Teller in Joseph Kosinski’s Only the Brave and in the 2022 short film Innocence as Police Officer #1, but his 51-episode stint on SEAL Team has been productive enough that he’ll be appearing in more roles soon. If not, consulting in Hollywood is also a great career path.
