“The point of the character was to be unpredictable and to not really play so much by the rules,” Valderrama tells THR.
NCIS has been running for almost two decades — and 15 seasons on CBS. Wilmer Valderrama, who’s played Nick Torres on the show for the past two seasons, stopped by The Hollywood Reporter In Studio to discuss why he thinks NCIS is still successful after all these years.
“It’s pretty intense, man. They’ve carved out a place for them in pop culture that’s been almost two decades now, and to see what they’ve done in formula and science, and the fact that they stuck with the audience, it’s kind of crazy to think about,” he said. “Big tribute to Mark Harmon and the team and everybody there who’s made such a home in people’s hearts.”
Valderrama revealed his concerns when approached to join the show, asking himself what was something different that he could bring to the table.
“I think my biggest concern was, ‘What can I contribute to this ongoing train? Can I come in there and make a real splash? Can I play something that they’ve never seen?’ ” he told THR. “But I was very empowered by the writers and the showrunners, and their idea was to develop a character who could hopefully expand the NCIS universe a little bit.”
He continued, “They found a section off NCIS that was an undercover world and developed a character that was very dark, very multilayered and fun and funny and grumpy. It was a really cool character, and I felt like it was something really fun that I could do for work. I mean, you do 24 episodes a season. You better like the character you’re playing.”
Be the first to comment