Eric Christian Olsen is behind the lovable NCIS Los Angeles agent Marty Deeks who has been in the drama since season one.
NCIS Los Angeles’ Agent Marty Deeks (played by Eric Christian Olsen) is a fan-favourite who married fellow agent Kensi Blye (Daniela Ruah) in season 10. They now have to juggle their work/life balance after fostering refugee Rosa Reyes (Alana) de la Garza) in the 13th series. But what is there to know about the NCIS LA actor’s personal life away from the small screen?
What is NCIS LA actor Eric Christian Olsen’s ethnicity?
NCIS LA star Eric Christian Olsen is American, born on May 31, 1977, in Eugene, Oregon.
He is the son of non-denominational chaplain Jeanne and English professor Paul V. Olsen who was also the head track and cross country coach of Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois.
While he was born and grew up in the USA, Olsen, his older brother David Paul Olsen, is of Norwegian descent.
The strong Scandinavian connection comes from both sides of his family.
According to Ethnic Celebs, the actor’s paternal grandfather was Rolf Gerhard Olsen, who was himself born in Minnesota, to Norwegian parents.
They were Engel Olai Helgesen, who was born in Hordaland, while his grandmother Gunda Marie Lund was born in Christiania, Denmark.
Olsen’s paternal grandmother Borghild V. Fjelsted was born in Wisconsin, also to Norwegian parents, Severin S. Fjelsted and Sofie/Sophie Anna Gulliksen.
The same can be said for the actor’s maternal client as well who were both born in Wisconsin to parents from Scandinavian countries.
In 2011, Olsen starred in The Thing, a direct prequel of the 1982 horror film of the same name by John Carpenter.
The movie tells the story of a team of scientists on a Norwegian Antarctic research station who discover a parasitic alien buried deep in the ice.
As a result of the plot, many of the actors involved in The Thing were either Norwegian or of Norwegian descent, like Olsen.
This was a factor which intrigued the NCIS LA actor when he signed up to the film.
Speaking to Collier about casting for The Thing, he said: “I’m 100% Norwegian.
“Three generations removed and all continuous inbreeding of Norwegian of Minnesota and Iowa, so I traveled to Norway before.
“We literally grabbed the burliest Vikings that we could find in this movie and shipped them over here and you met them.
“They are creatures from Where the Wild Things Are. They are literally giant paws and beards, rummaging through stuff and eating berries with their paws.
“They are Vikings, some of these dudes are full-on Vikings, and that’s great because it adds to the paranoia.”
Unfortunately, it is the beginning of the end for NCIS Los Angeles on CBS.
The network announced last month that the drama would be ending with its current 14th season.
NCIS LA’s final ever episode
