Kissing scenes are just part of the job for most TV actors. But usually, you’re not locking lips with someone you have to sit next to at Thanksgiving dinner.
For 14 seasons of NCIS: Los Angeles, fans were obsessed with the slow-burn romance between Special Agent Kensi Blye and LAPD Liaison Marty Deeks.
Their chemistry was off the charts, but behind the camera, their relationship had a pretty wild twist: Daniela Ruah and Eric Christian Olsen are actually in-laws.
A few years into filming, Eric introduced Daniela to his older brother, David Paul Olsen—who also happened to be Eric’s stunt double on the show. The two hit it off, tied the knot in 2014, and made the NCIS: LA set an official family affair.
That left fans with one obvious, burning question: Did things get super weird whenever the script called for Kensi and Deeks to get romantic?
During an appearance on The Queen Latifah Show, Daniela looked back at their first big holiday kiss from Season 6’s “Humbug” and laughed off the idea that it caused any real drama at home.
“The obvious answer would be ‘yes,'” she admitted about whether it felt strange, “but at the same time we’re so invested in our characters, and we’re so interested that the audience who has been following these characters is happy with what’s happening on the show. We’re kinda trying to stay faithful to that more than anything else.”
It also helped that everyone in the family already understood the entertainment industry inside and out.
“Dave is in the business, and Eric’s wife [Sarah Wright] is an actress, she’s in the business, and I think everybody knows what that feels like,” Daniela explained.
By the time the series wrapped, Kensi and Deeks had grown from bantering partners to husband and wife, eventually adopting their daughter Rosa. Selling a TV romance across hundreds of episodes is tough enough, but keeping it convincing while your real-life husband is doing the stunt falls on the same soundstage? That takes some serious professionalism—and a great sense of humor.
