After more than 20 years on television, “NCIS” has surely made an impression on audiences everywhere.
“People are invested in these characters.”
Many fans know de Pablo asSpecial Agent Ziva Davidfrom the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
“But my real name is Maria Jose de Pablo Fernandez Chicharro Grace,” sherevealed.
There’s probably a lot of other things you never knew about her stunning transformation in the spotlight either.
There was one reason in particular that made the move especially difficult, too.
Luckily, she quickly found a place for herself at her performing arts high school.
As soon as casting directors saw her, she was immediately offered the job alongside Carlos Ponce.
She was just 14 years old.
It was then, presumably, that the performing bug bit her hard.
I was pretty complex: I was an immigrant, and my family was very far away."
Yet, her school’s support system made her certain that she wanted to tackle theater professionally.
In 2000, de Pablo graduated with her degree in musical theater.
Unfortunately, as it was about to hit the road, the show quickly came to a close.
“It never ended up going to Broadway,” de Pablo said during an interview withFront Row Features.
“During the audition, he grabbed my hair.
He would not follow the lines.
He totally went off script and started improvising,” de Pablo revealed during an interview withEntertainment Weekly.
“And this was my final audition with the heads of CBS.
I thought, ‘This guy is sabotaging my audition.'”
“That relationship was established the moment that we met,” de Pablo said.
She had todo her own stunts, too.
“Was I nervous?”
she recalled during an interview with “CBS This Morning.”
“That’s an understatement.”
so that prepare for the role, de Pablo spent time at a local shooting range.
Funnily enough, she had never even held a gun before becoming Ziva.
“And I remember holding the gun and just trembling,” she admitted.
“It was a very simple stunt,” de Pablo explained toPrevention.
Luckily, all her injuries have since healed completely.
They wanted her character to sing a song called “Temptation” on the show.
“I remember I fought it a little bit,” de Pablo admitted during an interview onBUILD Series.
“I was like, ‘Really?
I mean, she’s really good at, like, kicking butt, but singing?
Like, really singing?'”
“It turned out to be a really fun moment,” shesaid.
“I enjoyed it tremendously, and the fans really liked it.”
“I am actually exercising my emotions, which is really fun.”
“They never killed her, so you never know what can happen,” she said.
It was one of the show’s writers who wanted to chat about her character Ziva.
“The fans have been waiting for this,” she toldKTLA.
“I think there’s a part of my heart that’s been waiting for this.”
“It was like a top secret operation,” the actress explained onBUILD Series.
De Pablo only returned for five episodes, but fans were still freaking out.
In fact, her comeback episode drew in 11.9 million viewers.
“Cancer runs in our family,” de Pablo toldPrevention.
“I lost my grandmother to it.”
Bringing attention to important causes is what makes being on TV all that more special to de Pablo.
Will we see her on TV again soon?
What exactly has Cote de Pablo been up to ever since she left “NCIS”?
No one really seems to know.
“I’m an incredibly private person,” she even once admitted onBUILD Series.
Even Wilmer Valderrama’s character, Special Agent Nick Torres,will make an appearanceduring the first season.
When it comes to de Pablo’s return as Ziva, never say never.
After all, she never dreamed that she would come back to “NCIS.”
