NCIS: Hawaii's Noah Mills On What It's Really Like Working With Vanessa Lachey – Exclusive

On "NCIS: Hawaii," Noah Mills plays Vanessa Lachey's right-hand man, agent Jesse Boone. Together, along with a crack team of Naval Criminal Investigation Service agents who work out of the Pearl Harbor office, they solve crimes related to the military and national security on the island of Oahu.

Mills, who got his start as a runway model, previously appeared in 2010's "Sex and the City 2" and in the more recent "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier" before starring on "NCIS: Hawaii," which airs Mondays on CBS. Lachey, meanwhile, burst onto the scene in 1998 by winning Miss Teen USA and quickly went on to host MTV's "Total Request Live" and became a correspondent for "Entertainment Tonight."

For both Mills and Lachey, their respective roles on "NCIS: Hawaii" are easily their biggest acting gigs to date — but that doesn't mean they can't have a little fun on the set. During an exclusive interview with Looper, Mills revealed that Lachey is just a big "goof" behind the scenes.

Vanessa Lachey, who is married to 98 Degrees singer Nick Lachey, plays Special Agent in Charge Jane Tennant on "NCIS: Hawaii," making history as the first woman to helm a series in the long-running franchise, which includes the original "NCIS" that's now in its 19th season as well s three previous spin-offs.

As Tennant's second-in-command on "NCIS: Hawaii," Noah Mills obviously has a lot of interaction with Lachey, whom he calls an "amazing" co-star.

"Vanessa is so generous," Mills shared in the interview. "She really is. The way she makes the crew feel, the way she organizes and the energy she brings is really astonishing ... Vanessa is a leader, and her generosity and rallying of the troops in real life, it works so well for the show and for [her character] Jane."

Mills said that comradery behind the scenes spills over onto the show itself, too. "That's all stuff that's symbiotically happening with us in real life," he said. "It's bleeding into the show and mixing together. Season 1 was a really nice mix of that, and Vanessa was an amazing lead and amazing leader and kept us all together. She fell in love with the island and the crew and everybody, and we all followed suit. She's awesome."

But beyond being a strong leader on the set, Lachey is also someone who keeps the cast and crew laughing and on their toes. "Vanessa's a goof ... she's so funny," revealed Mills. "We're a goofy, goofy set, [but] we work hard and we get it done. Maybe some of that stuff is too ... not peachy enough, but, yeah, we have a lot of fun."

"NCIS: Hawaii" airs Mondays at 10:00 p.m. ET on CBS.