BEVERLY HILLS, California — Fans must be happy that NCIS has returned last September after three years off the air. Airing on CBS, NCIS (which started in 2003 and took a break in 2013) is the American action police procedural TV series revolving around a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) which investigates crimes involving the US Navy and Marine Corps.
Two of the series’ stars, Wilmer Valderrama (as Nick Torres, a deep-cover operative) and Jennifer Esposito (as former training instructor Alexandra Quinn), faced the international journalists invited to a two-day press conference last August for nine CBS shows (the other eight were already featured in Funfare), held at a function room of the Beverly Hilton.
Valderrama, 36, is, besides being an actor, a singer/producer who appeared in the sitcom That ‘70s Show (1998-2006) and in the horror series From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series (since 2014); while Esposito, 43, is, besides being an actress, an author/baker/health-advocate who starred in the films Crash, Summer of Sam and Welcome to Collinwood. She was divorced from her first husband, Bradley Cooper (2006 to 2007), and second husband Louis Dowler (2014 to 2016).
As you are both new to NCIS, can you just give us a bit of history of your relationship with the series? Did you watch it? Please introduce us to your characters.
Esposito: Yes, I had watched the show sporadically, but it has been on for so long. I really didn’t even realize how long. I mean, 14 years for a show…it’s insane. It’s really so amazing. The former training instructor character that I play is someone who is out in the field. Something happens, and then...Oh, would you rather just find out for yourselves what happens?
Valderrama: Like she said, the show has been around for so long. And I feel like every single member of my family has been religiously following it like a prescription. So it was exciting. There was an opportunity in the past to join but life just took me in a different direction. And then life came full circle. I got this amazing phone call from the studio, and then…
I had a great conversation with the writers and I appreciated the fact that they kind of just allowed me to shape a character with them and create something that was so far removed from who I was. It was a pleasure to come to work every day. So yeah, man, I’m having a really good time, a really good time.
Aside from watching episodes of the original series, did your preparation involve interviewing real-life agents? What else went into your preparation?
Esposito: I had played a detective. I trained how to shoot. But to really speak to the men and women who do the series every day is really incredible. So even today on set, just figuring out what made them decide to do this and why and how it all works, it’s remarkable.
Valderrama: I’ve done a number of jobs that allow me to either do Navy Seal training or a lot of investigative training in the LAPD. This is a whole different level. You’re talking about investigating cases inside the branches of the military, cases really rooted within the system. You want to get it right so you have to speak to undercover agents who are still in service, doing secret phone calls.
What do you think makes the show different from other crime stories?
Valderrama: The difference between this show and a lot of crime shows is that yeah, we’re rooting for the bad guys to be caught, and for the good guys to win. But it’s the relationships, it’s the people you see do their job. I think that the secret sauce for the show is that you truly know who these agents are. You truly live with them, you know what the relationships are with one another; they are dynamic and that’s what’s really exciting to watch.
Esposito: I agree. I would say the same thing. Mark (Harmon, their co-star who plays laconic investigator Leroy Jethro Gibbs) came up to me in one of the first episodes and said, “We have to get the exposition out there. We have to tell the story. But in telling that story, create things for yourself with someone, create it in the way you pass the information, the way you look at another character.”
So he really pushes that, and he knows what he is doing so I just said, “Yes, yup.” But it’s a great thing to be a part of the series.
The show is huge internationally. Are you ready to never be incognito again? And how are you going to interact with the fans, especially on social media?
Esposito: On the second day of the shoot, Mark came to me and said, “Your life is about to change?” And I thought, “Oh, is it really? Is that a good thing?” I’ve had series and movies that were international and had great success, but this is a whole different level that I’m definitely not familiar with. I don’t know if Wilmer feels the same. I’m not sure. It’s a little strange but it’s also wonderful. I don’t know because I’m definitely a private person, but I’m always gracious to fans. I think it’s lovely if people are watching and enjoying what you’re doing, and you can make people laugh or get away from their daily life for five minutes.
Valderrama: Well, I’ve been really fortunate I’ve done some things, from That ‘70s Show to a bunch of the other movies. Yeah, I’m sure, I’m sure. And then when it happens, I’m going to be very humbled by it, and I’m going to be very excited. I think what’s exciting is to play to a different audience. That’s really what it is. I think the question is, who is the NCIS fan? The NCIS fan is a passionate one, he knows episode numbers, and how many relationships, how many breakups there have been. So it’s beautiful to see that hopefully they now can see more of my work that’s really going to get there.
You have known each other for over a decade. So, did you know you were both up for the same show and what was your reaction when you found out that each of you were cast?
Esposito: He was cast first.
Valderrama: Two weeks after I closed the deal, I got an e-mail from Gary (Glasberg), the show runner, “Just so you know, we were talking to Jennifer Esposito, we’re pretty close to getting her.” And I just almost dropped my glass. I was like I couldn’t believe that like, one of my favorite people in this world was going to be sharing this on a daily basis with me. And getting her back from New York as well, because she lives in New York, was also really exciting. So it was great, it was special, it was a moment I’m never going to forget to be able to say, “Wow, I’m not alone in this thing, right?”
Esposito: I received a phone call; they really wanted to talk to me about the show. But I just didn’t know if I was the right fit. I wasn’t sure so I sat and spoke with Gary, and he mentioned that Wilmer was on. I said, “Okay, that’s interesting. They are trying to make me do something different.” One of the first questions I asked was, “How’s the cast after 14 years?”
Because like I said, being on something for 14 years, that’s a long time. And are they still happy to be there? And he said, “I’m telling you, this is one of the nicest group of people. Forget about show business, this is the nicest group of people around. And that you’re going to enjoy going to work every day.” And that made me happy. And working with Wilmer every day would be fun. I said, “We’ll have a great time.”