After the actor grumbled about working long hours on set, the creator of “NCIS” decided to kill off this character. This is what took place. Fans of NCIS were given endearing characters that they would always cherish, yet several of those beloved characters are well-known for having passed away. The showrunners recently talked about the actors, characters, and plots they had collaborated on throughout the years. They also talked about a “shocking” fatality that occurred after an actor’s complaint about working long hours on production.
‘NCIS’ creators said actor Sasha Alexander didn’t want to work long, grueling hours
The writers of NCIS talked about Caitlin Todd, played by Sasha Alexander, passing away. Alexander made appearances in the first two seasons of the show, but in the season two finale, Ari Haswari, the archenemy of Leroy Jethro Gibbs, shot her in the head. Alexander was discussed by Peter Golden, the former chief of CBS casting, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “With Sasha, we were only able to work out a two-season contract,” he stated. “She was a key component of the show, so when she decided she wanted to move on to other things, it left a huge hole.”
Executive producer Charles Floyd Johnson explained more about the situation. He said that Alexander felt overworked on set.
“In year two, Sasha went to Don [Bellisario] and said, ‘I love this show, but I just can’t work this hard,’” Johnson stated. “We were doing long hours. I don’t think she wanted to leave the show — she just wanted a lighter workload.”
‘NCIS’ co-creator Don Bellisario pitched Caitlin Todd’s death
NCIS co-creator Don Bellisario had the idea to kill Sasha Alexander’s character, Caitlin Todd. “He went, ‘Well, what if we kill her off?’ Everybody goes, ‘What?’” Charles Floyd Johnson continued to The Hollywood Reporter. “And he went to her and told her, ‘Good news — your workload is going to be lighter. But you’re going to die.’ It was the very last minute or two of the show — the shot through the head. That’s always been one of the more shocking things on the internet of endings that you don’t see coming.”
In another interview with the Chicago Tribune, Bellisario confirmed that Alexander couldn’t hack it. “Sasha came in … with tears in her eyes,” he said, according to Newsweek. “She said, ‘I just can’t work this hard. We work very long hours.’ And Sasha just didn’t feel she was physically up to that kind of time and commitment.”
NCIS executive producer Mark Horowitz said Alexander’s character’s death was the first secret they ever kept from the audience. “Also, we actually shot an alternate ending. Even my wife didn’t know,” he stated. “We were watching the show, and [Caitlin] got shot, and she just jumped out of her chair.”
Sasha Alexander once said acting in Hollywood was a lot different than what she anticipated
NCIS star Sasha Alexander once discussed how she had different expectations of the Hollywood experience as an actor.
“I think that I’d hoped that it would be a little more like it was when I did drama in 7th grade when it was extremely collaborative between people,” she said in an interview, according to Outsider. “And that you got to work together, and you all got to create things that you loved and do things you felt comfortable doing.”
She added that she had to deal with “big egos” in the industry that had only financial gain as their motivation. Alexander had Hollywood friends who completely gave up on their careers.
“And it’s an extremely demanding job,” she added. “I consider myself extremely lucky to work in an industry where the majority of my friends have given up.” Furthermore, I’ve been in a position to decide for myself what I want to do and don’t want to do. It’s not always that way, though.