There have been many ships to come out of the long-running NCIS franchise across its 1,000 episodes and, while they don’t always work, many certainly do. A lot of that is thanks to the writers as well as the chemistry between the actors playing the characters. Kensi Blye and Marty Deeks of NCIS: Los Angeles proved to be endgame right from the start, and fans were definitely invested in them. (You needn’t look any further than their well-rated wedding episode.) And, as it turns out, what also helped is that when Eric Christian Olsen was first brought on, Daniela Ruah’s portrayal of Kensi went in a different direction.
Some may forget that Eric Christian Olsen did not join NCIS: LA at the beginning of the series. He did recur towards the end of Season 1, before being upped to series regular status the following season. However, before he came on, Kensi was a no-nonsense special agent. While speaking with NCIS alums Michael Weatherly and Cote de Pablo for their podcast, Off Duty: An NCIS Rewatch, Daniela Ruah revealed just how straight-laced her character was during the early days of the show:
There was a complete actual transformation, and I will add Eric [Christian Olsen] into this. Because when they said she’s strong, she’s smart, she’s powerful, she’s this, she’s that, I thought I had to act with a stick up my ass. I was like, ‘If she’s strong and she’s smart, she can’t be funny, she can’t goof around, she’s got to have a straight back.’ And it affected every part of my delivery, every part of my body language. And I just thought that smart and tough meant a very specific thing.
While Kensi remained tough and strong throughout the course of the series, she definitely wasn’t as stiff as Daniella Ruah initially played her. And it was all thanks to scene partner Eric Christian Olsen, who broke the ice as Deeks. Ruah revealed that due to Kensei and Deeks being polar opposites, showrunner Shane Brennan wanted the former to show a little bit more personality when paired with her love interest. Apparently, this was all due to a concern that Brennan had:
Anyway, Eric joined our show [at the] end of Season 1, beginning of Season 2, he became a regular. And he was the funny guy, and he would improv, and he would try to make me laugh, And I was still living in that ‘I don’t laugh at silly things’ persona. Shane Brennan pulled me aside, and he said, ‘The audience likes Kensi because she’s been on the show for a year now. If you react the way you’re reacting to Deeks, the audience is not going to like him, and you’re kind of an asshole… even if you don’t like him to his face if you just crack a smile when he walks away, now the audience is with you, and they’re with him, and now we’re starting to create something.’ And I’m such a goofball as a person that it was it was a challenge to keep it straight.
And the rest is history. “Densi” was born, and Kensi softened up. One also has to mention the fact that Daniela Ruah ended up marrying Eric Christian Olsen’s brother and stunt double just a few years later. It’s hard to imagine what the series would have been like if Shane Brennan didn’t make Ruah change Kensi’s personality. Perhaps Blye and Deeks wouldn’t have clicked and slowly gained feelings for each other. Maybe Olsen’s turn on LA would have been a brief one, and Deeks wouldn’t have become an NCIS liaison and later, an investigator.
There’s also the fact that many memorable moments from NCIS: LA include Densi, from their picture-perfect wedding to Kensi’s revealed pregnancy in the series finale. There are plenty of “what if” moments that you can’t help but think about when it comes to certain TV shows and movies. But, luckily, fans don’t have to think about what would happen if Kensi never transformed personality-wise because, and I’m thankful that the creative choice definitely helped changed a key aspect of the long-running procedural.
NCIS: LA may be finished, but cast members are still appearing within the franchise. Before its cancellation, LL Cool J joined NCIS: Hawai’i, while Daniela Ruah appeared on NCIS for the 1,000th episode. The actress also directed an episode of both shows. It’s unknown when or if any other LA cast will appear in the franchise, but fans will have to wait and see when the flagship show returns this fall as part of the 2024 TV schedule.