Daniela Ruah on Directing the Emotional Episode of 'NCIS: Los Angeles' Dealing with Domestic Violence
Daniela Ruah on directing the “Flesh & Blood” episode of 'NCIS: Los Angeles,' which deals with the issue of domestic violence.
As the saying goes, timing is everything, and NCIS: Los Angeles star Daniela Ruah, who plays Kensi Blye, lucked into some great timing when she was assigned the “Flesh & Blood” episode of the CBS series as one of the two episodes she will direct this season.
Airing on Sunday night, the episode deals with the issue of spousal abuse, and it’s outstanding that a woman director was assigned to it, even if it was by happenstance, as the directors are allocated their episodes even before the scripts are written. That said, there’s a distinctive sensitivity that a woman brings to the subject, so it was a happy coincidence that Ruah got the assignment, which becomes apparent when watching the episode.
“I don’t know that it’s more sensitivity or just a different perspective of sensitivity,” Ruah tells Parade in this exclusive interview. “I don’t know any male director that I love or any male who’s a friend of mine who would not be sensitive to this subject as well. I would love to be a feminist about this. I definitely think that the female perspective is incredibly important, just as it is to get more women in jobs in every part of our business to tell stories from the female perspective, but I also find it hard to disparage my male colleagues who I love. The ones that I love and look up to would never not be sensitive to a subject like this.”
Photo: Sonja Flemming/CBS
In the episode, Deeks (Eric Christian Olsen) is questioning a female suspect when he sees bruises on her arm and realizes her situation. He asks to speak to her alone, and when it’s just the two of them, he tells her the story of his mother—but not the fact that he shot his father—at least, not until later—to get her to open up to him.
It’s an emotion-charged scene and as such is one of the most riveting of the episode. You would also think it would be one of the most difficult to direct, but Ruah credits her actors—Olsen and Marnee Carpenter as Alice Morgan—with doing the heavy lifting and setting exactly the right tone.
“When I have the privilege of working with actors like Marnee and like Eric, who tap into something and are so giving emotionally, I actually don’t have to do a lot,” she admitted. “I think that’s when you say, ‘These actors are so skilled and so truthful and they listen to each other in the scene,' you almost just put the camera there, like, 'Where would I want to be sitting if I were a fly on the wall?’ and just let them play the scene.”
It takes a good director to be able to decipher those times and, happily, Ruah got it right.
“I realize I am not saying much about myself as a director, but I do think it’s important for a director to know when they need to step in more intensively, when there’s something more designed that they have in mind for a scene, and there are times when it’s my job to step back and let somebody else do their magic.”
Photo: Sonja Flemming/CBS
To bring the episode full circle, it also sees the return of Deeks’ mother Roberta (Pamela Reed), who has been MIA off on what she calls her Eat Pray Love adventure across the United States.
“She enriches any episode she’s in but the fact that Deeks and she have a history of domestic violence because of his father on the show made it pertinent to Marnee Carpenter’s character and her suffering domestic violence,” Ruah pointed out. “Deeks was able to connect with Alice on a very personal level, which was also a segue to talk about something very important that unfortunately happens in many places. In this case, our show deals with the military aspect of it but also dives into these characters a little deeper.
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Deeks' history with his father has been revealed but he never talked about it extensively nor did he ever confront his mom about it to find out how she pushed past it. But in “Flesh & Blood,” Deeks finally bridges the topic to his mother, who makes a joke.
“You can see maybe where his sense of humor comes from, like maybe it’s a deflecting thing because his mom does that, too,” Ruah continued. “Then he pushes her a little more and she says, ‘I don’t know. I hated the person I became but I found her. It may not be perfect, but it’s mine’ Those words hit so hard.”
Photo: Sonja Flemming/CBS
Also, during our conversation, Ruah talked about Kensi’s relationship with Roberta, the casting of Lauren “Lolo” Spencer, and Callen’s (Chris O’Donnell) obsession with Hetty (Linda Hunt).
One of the other reasons I thought the writers might have brought Roberta back was so she and Kensi could have that parenting talk.
Oh, yes! I’m so focused on other characters, I forget about my own. Of course, yes, she’s a guide.
And during their chat, Kensi says that she’s tired and hungry all the time. Maybe it’s just me, but when a woman says she’s tired and hungry all the time, I wonder if she’s pregnant. Now that Kensi and Deeks have Rosa Reyes (Natalia Del Riego), and you’re not trying to get pregnant, maybe it happened!
No! No! No! That’s not in the cards for them. I think they’ve covered that already with the infertility issues. By the way, let me say this, there are plenty of families who go through infertility and then they adopt, and find out, “Oh, my gosh! I’m pregnant now.” It happens more often than we think.
No, and I can say this for myself, you’re working, and you’re cooking, and you’re putting stuff away, and then you put the kids in bed, and you’re, “Oh, wait! I didn’t eat.” Or I picked at stuff as I was having dinner and I sat with the kids, and they ate. Or your kids are eating off of your plate and so you don’t eat as much, because you’re, “Yes, of course. Eat everything my little ones. Grow! Grow!” I think the hunger is more from that. You just forget to eat. So, before bed, you’re like, “I’m starving, and I don’t even know how I got here.”
So, we’ve talked about the personal elements of this story, but what about the case. What can you tease about this episode? It turns out that the dead guy was a bad guy in more than one way.
He’s going to do some bad guy things and sell the C-4 and then he pulls out at the last minute, so the guy who he’s supposed to be doing business with comes over to try and bring him back into it and he says no, and he ends up being killed by the bad guy who we capture at the end after a grand explosion. It’s typical of NCIS: LA.
It’s interesting that you ask that because I have less to say about the case itself, and I think it comes down to the fact that our show is set up is that, yes, every episode we have to have a case, but really, the heart of the show is far bigger than the action of the show. I think it’s developed into that. I’m going to say that’s why people have stuck with us this long. The heart, the personal side, the stories, the journeys, the past, how we’ve dealt with it, how we’ve grown from our experiences will override the job at times. I kind of love that about the show.
I don’t even know how the writers do that. After 14 years how do you even think of new things to introduce now? I’m impressed.
How much input do you have into casting? I thought it was terrific to use Lauren “Lolo” Spencer in the role of Ella. It was not a role that required someone in a wheelchair.
I think because of the way that society has raised us all, we assume that characters are fully able bodied, right? Why wouldn’t a person working there be in a wheelchair? Why wouldn’t a doctor be in a wheelchair? It doesn’t have to be because it plays in the scene. It could be that this person is like this in their own life, and they are just playing this character. If you think about it, why not?
I think it’s also about trying to be inclusive and make jobs for everybody. Lolo was the best for that part. I also know that Chad Mazero, who wrote that episode, he wrote that part with her in mind. He’s a fan of hers. I was, “Why are we saying, ‘a girl like her,’ let’s try and get her if you wrote the part for her. We saw myriad of other actresses for the part, all exceptional who made us laugh. Lolo just had the edge that we wanted for that character.
At the end of the episode when Callen and Anna (Bar Paly) talk about how he wants Hetty at his wedding, is that the start of the search for Hetty? Showrunner R. Scott Gemmill did say that there would be a Hetty arc this season.
I don’t have the answer to that. That’s a Scott question. I think it’s really interesting how Callen is still so attached to Hetty. As independent, and as strong, and as skilled as he is as an agent, really, as a human being, he’s still so broken. At what point do you transfer your dependence from someone in childhood to the person you’ve now chosen to spend your life with? I will never not be attached to my mother, but, obviously, my husband is now my rock at home. So, it’s interesting that that is still really important to Callen, and Anna is incredibly understanding and patient with him, which says a lot about her character.
NCIS: Los Angeles airs Sunday nights at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.
Next, Callen, Sam, Kensi, and Deeks Return for High-Stakes Assignment in 'NCIS: Los Angeles' Season 14!