‘NCIS’ Execs Dish on How Cote de Pablo Landed Her Role as Ziva

Cote de Pablo portrayed Ziva David from Seasons 3-11 and came back for guest appearances in Seasons 16 and 17.

September 26, 2023, 3:38pm

"Defiance" — A botched assassination attempt in Belgravia forces NCIS to protect the Defense Minister's daughter, who is studying in the U.S. and smitten with McGee. Meanwhile, Gibbs investigates the death of the U.S. Marine who was killed in the bombing, on NCIS, Tuesday, Feb. 15 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Pictured: Cote de Pablo Photo: Ron P. Jaffe/ CBS ©2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.

It’s hard to imagine anyone but Cote de Pablo playing Ziva David on NCIS, and luckily, it was basically a no-brainer for the executives. In a new oral history from The Hollywood Reporter in honor of the procedural’s 20th anniversary, the producers, directors, and executives from NCIS and CBS got together to talk all about the show. One of the main things was how everyone was cast. After Sasha Alexander left at the end of Season 2, the series had to come up with another role.

Ziva David initially joined the D.C. team as a Mossad Liaison Officer at the beginning of Season 2 before becoming a full-fledged NCIS Special Agent. She instantly became a fan-favorite and found a family with Gibbs, Tony, Tim, and everyone else. When it came time to finding who would play the Mossad officer, former head of CBS casting Peter Golden said the actress “was just a home run. I remember she walked in the room, and we all were like, ‘Oh, my God, who is this woman?’ Which doesn’t happen now that much at network tests.”

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NCIS casting director Susan Bluestein, who initially brought Cote de Pablo in, said she’s “loved Cote for a long time from a series called The Jury. She was just unique, and then she read with Michael, and the chemistry was instantaneous.” Any NCIS fan knows that Ziva and Tony’s relationship was an important part of the series. Their partnership grew into something more in later seasons. While they weren’t ever officially together, they both knew there were feelings there and so did everyone else.

Golden pointed out that NCIS co-creator Donald P. Bellisario wasn’t 100 percent on board with de Pablo right away. “Not that he didn’t love her, but I think he had another choice that he felt was righter for the role. But everybody was so enthusiastic about Cote that he came around.” The actress ended up starring on NCIS from Seasons 3-11. She came back in a guest capacity in Seasons 16 and 17 so she could wrap up Ziva’s story, as well as her and Tony’s. Hopefully, Season 17 isn’t the last time that we see her, but fans will just have to wait and see.

It will still be a while until Season 21 of NCIS premieres. While the WGA strike has seemingly come to an end, there is still no telling when SAG-AFTRA will come to an agreement with AMPTP. Fingers crossed, that’s soon, but in the meantime, all 20 seasons are streaming on Paramount+. Fans can relive Ziva’s greatest hits.