After 14 seasons of NCIS: Los Angeles, Daniela Ruah — best known as Special Agent Kensi Blye — has spent nearly half her life alongside her castmates. Over the years, her co-stars Chris O’Donnell, LL Cool J, and Eric Christian Olsen have become far more than colleagues. They’ve become, as she puts it, “family.”
“After all these years and so much time spent together — going through boyfriend breakups, meeting my husband, getting married, having children, having them around throughout the most important parts of my life — they’re like brothers at this point,” Ruah shared in an interview with Looper. “We support each other through everything. It’s quite literally a family.”
And just like family, that bond has carried them through tough moments — including one particularly challenging day on set when LL Cool J’s words gave Ruah the push she needed to keep going.
A Tough Day, A Gentle Push
While most fans know him as LL Cool J, to those on set he’s simply Todd — the name his friends and castmates use. And it was “Todd” who reminded Ruah of her own strength when she needed it most.
“There was one particular day that felt almost impossible to finish,” Ruah recalled. “We had a crazy schedule — a ton of action scenes, a company move, so much to do in so little time. I kneeled down next to [Todd] and said, ‘Dude, I don’t know how we’re going to finish this day.’ It was still morning, and I was already worried.”
LL Cool J’s response was simple but powerful:
“You underestimate your will to want to finish.”
That one line shifted everything. “He was right,” Ruah said. “I thought, ‘You know what? I am going to finish this day. Dang it!’”
The Kind of Support That Lasts
For Ruah, those words hit home because of who they came from.
“Todd is a total go-getter,” she explained. “He’s competitive with himself, but never in a negative way toward any of us. He said, ‘You’re underestimating yourself. You’ve done this before — now go do it again.’ It was exactly the kick in the pants I needed to keep moving.”
As both actor and director on NCIS: LA, Ruah often carried the responsibility of leading the team through long, demanding shoots. But in that moment, she let herself be human — and her co-star stepped up just like family would.
“As a director, I’m supposed to be the one driving the train and keeping everyone positive,” she admitted. “But because of my relationship with Todd, it was okay to show a little crack in my armor that day. He lifted me up — and that’s why we’ve always worked so well together.”
A Team Built on Trust and Friendship
What makes NCIS: Los Angeles special isn’t just the action or the cases — it’s the real-life bond behind the camera. For Daniela Ruah, that connection has been one of the defining parts of her 14-season journey.
Through long nights, impossible days, and personal milestones, her co-stars — especially LL Cool J — have been there to remind her of her own resilience.
That day on set may have just been one tough moment, but for Ruah, it perfectly captured what makes the NCIS: LA family so special: a group of people who believe in each other, even when one of them forgets to believe in themselves.
