With a modeling portfolio that has taken her around the globe, Lisa Marcos, one of the stars of CTV's new series, "The Listener," is thankful her acting career has finally brought her home.

According to Marcos, she turned to acting when as young model she began feeling the effects of isolation after many years on jobs internationally.

"I was working abroad by myself because my family didn't have the money to come with me," Marcos tells CTV.ca. "And a lot of that time was in countries where people didn't speak English, so I was very alone."

"I learned how to work really hard for what I want and I decided to spend more time at home, and to get into acting."

Marcos, who was born and raised in Toronto, began her career in modeling at 12 after placing in second out of 3,500 girls in a modeling competition in Los Angeles. From the competition she earned a contract that sent Marcos to Spain, Milan, South Africa, and more.

But since altering her course, Marcos has landed roles on television in "Da Kink in my Hair" and "Flashpoint," with appearances in the films "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" and "King's Ransom."

Now the actress is eager to show off all her home town has to offer in "The Listener," from the elegant Yorkville neighborhoods to the graffiti-strewn alleys of Queen Street West.

"Being able to film on our streets and be proud of it and not have to hide it, like make up different names and titles is fantastic" says Marcos.

"I really think that anybody who's not from Toronto is going to fall in love with the city, simply because it is so beautiful on film."

In "The Listener," Marcos plays Detective Charlie Marks, a young, brash cop with something to prove. While investigating cases, she keeps bumping into a strange paramedic, Toby Logan (Craig Olejnik), either at the police station or at her crime scenes, who always has information that nobody else seems to have.

But Charlie has a good reason to be suspicious: Toby is a telepath, and no one knows his secret.

"She has a high level of strength and determination to get her point across," says Marcos, describing her character. "I think people may not understand until they get into the story that she only wants to do what's right and doesn't have any time to waste."

"Toby's always in her stuff, while her main priority is to make sure the job is done right."

Marcos confesses that playing Charlie is a challenge, especially because she finds herself in conflict with many of the choices Charlie makes.

"For me the hardest part is being able to make sure that everything she does resembles her. She and I are very different; in certain situations I can see how I would handle it differently than she did. Certain areas I would have more compassion, when she doesn't," says Marcos.

"It's really great therapy"

Another obstacle Marcos faced in preparing for the role of Charlie involved an important aspect of playing a cop: learning to fire a gun.

Having never held a gun before, Marcos spent time at a firing range learning to shoot the real thing, and discovered she liked it.

"It was nothing like anything you could expect. It's tough -- the gun has a lot of power, and if you're not holding it correctly you could pull a muscle or end up really bruised," says Marcos.

"I didn't think it was that complicated. It's like really great therapy!"

"The Listener" airs Thursday nights on CTV, with full episodes available online in the CTV Video Player at CTV.ca.

Visit the "Listener Official Online Experience" at http://thelistener.ctv.ca and find out what it's really like being a telepath.