NCIS star Eric Christian Olsen has a huge fanbase thanks to his time as Marty Deeks on NCIS: LA, but his co-star Daniela Ruah, who plays his on-screen love interest Kensi Blye, is just as adored.
Fans might be surprised to learn that the actors share a unique bond away from the show. Daniela is in fact married to Eric’s brother, David Paul Olsen, meaning that in the show they might play romantic partners, but in real life they’re family! The pair recently appeared in the epic NCIS crossover
The in-laws clearly get on like a house on fire and they have previously opened up about working together and playing boyfriend and girlfriend on the show, including whether it gets a little awkward. Find out what they have said about their unique bond in the past below…
Eric previously spoke to TV Insider about introducing Daniela to his brother, and it’s such a sweet story. “I introduced her to my brother because they are wonderful human beings and I want them to be happy,” he said. “It worked. They have two amazing kids. And they’re great parents.”
The pair play on-screen couple Marty Deeks and Kensi Blye
In 2020, the pair gave a joint interview with ET Canada in which they were asked if they were best friends. The Marty actor made a joke and said: “We have matching bracelets, best friend bracelets that I made for her in season 12 and then she lost it and I didn’t speak to her for like two seasons but now we’re besties again.”
Daniela added: “We do Thanksgiving, Christmas, and half the summers together, we can’t get enough!”
Eric added further about the cast in general: “We really do know how lucky we are. There’s chemistry, and once in a while you just get really lucky and you have something like this happen.”
The actors are in-laws in real life
The stars have also opened up about whether their unique bond gets in the way of them acting out a romantic relationship on screen. Daniela was asked by Queen Latifah about having to kiss her brother-in-law in the show, and whether or not it was awkward.
She replied: “The obvious answer would be ‘yes,’ 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.”
