Daniela Ruah, best known for playing Kensi Blye on NCIS: Los Angeles, continues to expand her behind-the-camera career as she directs an episode of The Equalizer titled “Deception,” airing tonight.
Ruah, who honed her directing skills on NCIS: LA and later directed episodes of NCIS and NCIS: Hawai’i, is now stepping outside the franchise that launched her directing journey. But the move felt natural.
“It was actually a very seamless transition,” Ruah tells Parade. “We put the work in and made calls and told people, ‘I’m available, I’d love to direct on your show.’ Then for The Equalizer, we’re talking about a genre that is also procedural, so it’s definitely in my comfort zone. I would love to start working outside of that, as well as maintaining the procedural world because I love it. It’s what I know best obviously. So it wasn’t that far-fetched of a step.”
Ruah’s journey to The Equalizer was helped along by some familiar faces. She had previously met Queen Latifah during her talk show days and already knew showrunner Joe Wilson from his time as a staff writer on NCIS: LA. But relationships alone weren’t enough—timing and trust were key.
“People have to know they’re going to have another season. They have to put their list of directors together,” Ruah explains. “When they’ve never met you, as much as they may like you or hear good things about you, that doesn’t necessarily translate into you’re good at doing the directing part of the job. It’s putting in the work to show people that you know what you’re talking about and you’re perfectly capable of taking on the challenge.”
Tonight’s episode, “Deception,” follows Robin McCall (Queen Latifah) as she takes a break from her vigilante work to spend quality time with her daughter Delilah (Laya DeLeon Hayes). Meanwhile, the team becomes suspicious that Aunt Vi’s (Lorraine Toussaint) friend Evelyn (Michael Michele) may be the target of a con artist.
With “Deception,” Ruah proves she’s more than ready to take on challenges beyond NCIS—and that her career behind the camera is just getting started.
