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While some should know Wilmer Valderrama greatest for taking part in Fez for the whole thing of That ‘70s Show (plus a few episodes of the short-lived follow-up That ‘90s Show), at this point he’s been playing Special Agent Nick Torres on NCIS for lots longer. He joined the sequence in Season 14, i.e. 10 years in the past, to occupy the spot as soon as stuffed Michael Weatherly’s Tony DiNozzo. But because it seems, Valderrama might have joined this procedural franchise years earlier, as he was up for a key function in NCIS: Los Angeles.
The actor mentioned this near-entry level whereas visiting Partners & Probies to talk along with his NCIS co-stars Brian Dietzen and Diona Reasonover, who respectively Jimmy Palmer and Kasie Hines. While discussing his NCIS origins (to not be confused with the prequel NCIS: Origins), Valderrama shared these particulars about how the Los Angeles spinoff got here into his orbit:
Maybe two or three years earlier than that, I had a chance and I met with showrunners of NCIS: Los Angeles. I wasn’t prepared, and that present configuration, I believe Chris O’Donnell and LL Cool J had been doing such a fantastic job. They had been in search of someone reverse Dani [Ruah].
Brian Dietzen then clarified that Wilmer Valderrama was referring to the function of Marty Deeks, who Eric Christian Olsen was ultimately cast to play. Valderrama’s timeline is a bit off then, as Olsen first recurred as Deeks in two NCIS: Los Angeles Season 1 episodes in April 2010, after which was promoted to sequence common in Season 2. Valderrama first appeared as Nick Torres within the NCIS Season 14 premiere, which aired in September 2016.
That apart, it’s fascinating to consider a model of NCIS: Los Angeles the place Wilmer Valderrama performed Marty Deeks for 13 years as a substitute. So what stopped him from taking the function? Valderrama continued:
And I had a gathering there. It was a wonderful assembly, actually nice. They had a extremely nice artistic [direction] for the character. There had been another issues that I actually needed to see by. And so the timing was off for me to contemplate that. And then a yr later, I stated to myself, ‘If I’m ever going to do an NCIS, I just got to do the mothership.’… But that was my first response. So initially I used to be like, I really feel like I’d fairly go to a spot the place both they want me or I wish to begin one thing contemporary and new.
I believe most NCIS: Los Angeles followers would in all probability agree that this all labored out for one of the best. Eric Christian Olsen’s portrayal of Marty Deeks was among the finest elements of the spinoff, notably as viewers watched him and Daniela Ruah’s Kensi Blye go from bickering companions to a married couple with an adopted baby. As for Wilmer Valderrama, him agreeing to star in NCIS was actually “fresh and new” each for his profession and the present itself. Joining the favored procedural helped individuals who had been solely accustomed to his comedic work view him in a distinct gentle, and Nick Torres entrance marked a brand new period for the present following Michael Weatherly’s exit.
Continue following together with Nick Torres’ exploits on NCIS Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on CBS. Season 23 is in its ultimate stretch of episodes, and Season 24 will premier someday within the fall. If you’d wish to revisit NCIS: Los Angeles, it may be streamed with a Paramount+ subscription alongside all of the franchise’s different reveals.
