“NCIS” star Emily Wickersham was “intimated” when it came time to replace Cote de Pablo. “Obviously everyone loved Ziva,” Wickersham confessed during an Instagram Live video (via Showbiz CheatSheet) with Wilmer Valderrama. “And I was so intimidated and nervous about what the fans were going to think about my character.” Wickersham told the New York Post, “My first day here, I was really, really nervous and intimidated. When I get nervous, my heart races and I talk more than I usually do.” The loyal fans of “NCIS” were very attached to Agent Ziva David and her romance with Anthony DiNozzo; some even thought Micheal Weatherly and de Pablo had a relationship in real life.
Adding to Wickersham’s nerves about being on “NCIS” was the fact that she’d never held a gun before. In 2014, Wickersham told the New York Post, “I had never held a gun in my life, but my character becomes an agent so I had to know how to shoot.” The “NCIS” newbie explained, “The tech adviser took me to the gun range, and I felt like the gun was going to turn around and shoot me, even though I was pointing it away … and I went to Camp Pendelton — hardcore! — and met with real NCIS agents, which was pretty cool.” Naturally, viewers grew to love Eleanor Bishop, and Wickersham played Bishop from 2013 to 2021.
