Daniela Ruah Talks NCIS: Los Angeles, Her Enduring Character, and Her TV Family
Daniela Ruah has loved enjoying Kensi Blye, essentially the most enduring feminine agent within the standard NCIS franchise.
NCIS: Los Angeles returns for its 14th season at 10 p.m. Sunday on CBS, and Ruah has been there from the start, as have LL Cool J and Chris O’Donnell as companions Sam Hanna and G Callen.
In this unique interview with TV Fanatic, when she calls from her residence base of, not surprisingly, Los Angeles, Ruah admits she feels a kinship to Kensi.
“That’s like asking what is your favorite part about playing yourself because that’s how close I am to Kensi at this point,” she says. “She is me, except I don’t catch bad guys for a living.”
Try more durable, Daniela.
The floodgates open: “I love her spontaneity. I love her sense of humor. I love her relationships with all the other characters, especially her relationship with her husband, Deeks. I love how much of a well-rounded human being Kensi is. I love how she’s matured and undergone life experiences in front of an audience.”
The NCIS: Los Angeles writers have taken Kensi on fairly a journey, Ruah explains.
“She started off being kind of a loner,” she says. “I can do it myself. I’m unbiased. I lived on the streets, and I can fend for myself. Then she discovered somebody she might really share her fears and issues, and worries with, somebody who makes her snort and brings her pleasure.
“At first, she did not need to be a guardian as a result of all she is aware of is that this job, and she or he’s afraid of not being on this job due to being a guardian. Then she runs into infertility when she decides she does need to be a mother, a battle that’s so true and so tough for a lot of would-be dad and mom. Then she discovered an answer to that.
“I figure she’s about the same age as me. So she started around age 25 and is now turning 39. A lot can happen in that period of time.”
In the brand new season, Kensi faces maybe her greatest problem, as she and Deeks function foster dad and mom to Rosa, who she rescued from Guatemala on NCIS: Los Angeles Season 13 Episode 8.
Ruah explains that Kensi has no blueprint for being a guardian, as her beloved father died younger, and her mom wasn’t current for her. As a outcome, Kensi places an excessive amount of stress on herself.
“I love how insecure she is as a brand-new foster mom,” she says. “She loves so much and cares so much that she just wants to get it right and sort of ends up overthinking and being nervous about everything. She tries to be the perfect foster parent. One, nobody’s perfect, and two, you’re more likely to fail if you try to be perfect.”
Some would argue that Kensi has all the time needed to be the accountable one in her relationship with Deeks. But Ruah refused to see Deeks as infantile.
“I don’t agree with that,” she rebutted. “In spite of Deeks being a complete goofball and he is humorous, on the finish of the day if you watch Deeks activate his mature, clever self, he can maintain the room. When he desires to placed on his lawyer hat for the suspect, or he desires to dive deep emotionally with one thing, we have seen him try this.
“He is no child, even though he makes some silly moves and says some silly things,” she added. “At the end of the day, he knows exactly what he’s doing. Also, I don’t think Kensi would fall in love with a man-child.”
One of the sequence’ many hanging storylines is David Kessler, who started stalking Kensi on NCIS: Los Angeles Season 12 Episode 5. He’s been talked about as soon as in passing since then. Ruah is sport to tie up that storyline.
“I’d love to see Kensi stepping out of character and making more erratic decisions,” she says. “She’s become more logical through the years. Earlier, she was more likely to be a loose cannon and go off and do what she needed to do. I’d love to see her being driven by instinct rather than being driven by logic.”
Other teammates even have lingering storylines from NCIS: Los Angeles Season 13.
Sam is caring for his curmudgeonly father, Raymond, who’s slowly growing dementia.
Callen is getting ready to marry Anna. Hetty’s absence will weigh closely on him, and that may trigger pressure between them.
Roundtree remains to be coping with the fallout of mistakenly being stopped by racist police on NCIS: Los Angeles Season 13 Episode 15.
After years with motherly Hetty, Ruah says the squad has adjusted to Kilbride’s administration model, even when some viewers have not. Pointing to an episode she directed, “Live Free or Die Standing” (NCIS: Los Angeles Season 13 Episode 19), she says that Kilbride will do what must be finished.
“Even though Kilbride is his brusque self, he’s still coming from the Hetty generations-of-experience way of doing things,” she added. “He’s by the book until he can’t be because he’s also the guy who’s going to do the right thing. He’s a good guy.”
Ruah has been working extra as a director. She has directed her present for 3 seasons, directing two episodes this season. She additionally has directed in her residence firm of Portugal.
Much of the core group of lead actors have been collectively for all the run of NCIS: Los Angeles.
“We’ve become a family that’s been cemented throughout the years,” Ruah says. “Us being collectively for as long as a forged has introduced individuals consolation. Being in individuals’s houses each week for 14 years is a giant deal.
“A lot of people have said, ‘This is a show we sit down as a family to watch every Sunday.’ That brings me so much joy.”
NCIS: Los Angeles airs at 10/9c on CBS.
