NCIS: LA star Daniela Ruah talks about how she's similar and different from her character Kensi

Daniela Ruah has been playing Kensi Blye on NCIS: Los Angeles since 2009. Ruah spoke about how she approaches playing the role, and how she is and isn’t like her character.

Eric Christian Olsen on his relationship with Daniela Ruah

One way Daniela Ruah is like Kensi is that she’s related to Eric Christian Olsen, who plays her on-screen husband, Deeks. In real life, Olsen is Ruah’s brother-in-law. Ruah is married to Olsen’s brother, David. During an interview with Cassidy Gard of CiGi TV, Olsen said he wanted to see two favorite people in his life find romantic partners who would make them happy.

[Ruah] was dating this guy who was a total a**hat, my brother was dating someone who wasn’t happy. And I was like, you have to meet this girl that I work with at work. She’s amazing, she’s fantastic, and she’s full of love. And I was like, ‘You have to meet my brother, because he’s amazing and fantastic.

And they started hanging out and became this wonderful couple, and now great parents together. And it makes my life so easy because they’re both happy. It’s good to see the people you love happy.

How Daniela Ruah is and isn’t like Kensi

In a separate interview, Ruah spoke about her role on NCIS: Los Angeles, and how her character, Kensi, is different from her in terms of temperament.

“I think Kensi is a lot more hot-headed than I am,” says Ruah. “I think she tends to jump into action a lot faster than I would. I kind of try and talk things down. I’ve never been in a fight my whole life. Once a month when I’m really irritated, once a month, I’m like, ‘Somebody mess with me so I have a reason to throw a punch,’ and nobody ever does,” joked Ruah.

When it comes to similarities, Ruah says she's ready to fight for her family. She told Gard that sometimes her protective instincts take over. She joked about how she would protect her children from an intruder:

I think [viewers] think I’m an actual badass, and I’m probably not, really. I just want to protect my kids. That’s kind of like the basis. I’m like, ‘If somebody gets into our house and my husband isn’t here, will I be able to jump over that wall with a 6 ½-month-old and a three-year-old? Do I toss them over [the wall], and he’ll be OK?’ I think I hope to be a super mom if needed.

What’s next for Daniela Ruah

So what does Ruah have planned next? This year, the actress appears in the television miniseries A Espia. She plays the role of Maria João Mascarenhas. Other actors who will appear in the series are Maria João Bastos, Diogo Morgado and Adriano Carvalho.