Seventeen years later, LL Cool J says Special Agent Sam Hanna still has more to teach him. The rapper and actor first stepped into the role on NCIS: Los Angeles in 2009 and says he continues discovering new dimensions of the character as he prepares to lead Sam into his next chapter with NCIS: New York.
via PEOPLE:
At the show’s New York premiere at the Intrepid Museum on Thursday, Oct. 1, the 55-year-old rapper and actor explained why the role hasn’t become “natural” to him and still feels fresh today.
“Because we’re still finding new things and exploring new things and being introduced to new aspects of the character,” Cool J tells PEOPLE exclusively. “So natural in the sense that I know who Sam is, but still new in the sense that I’m still being surprised every day.”
And according to Cool J, the latest spinoff — which sends Sam to his hometown of New York to join a new team — offers the actor an opportunity to continue learning from his beloved character.
“Life is about learning, right? … If you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse, right?” Cool J says. “And so, you know, like the real gift is like reading one book for four or five years straight because you learn more. That’s how you become a black belt in a specific book as opposed to reading it once and putting it down, right?”
For LL Cool J, returning to his hometown to continue Sam’s story has made the new spinoff particularly meaningful. NCIS: New York, also starring Scott Caan and Jennifer Beals, premieres October 6th on CBS and Paramount+, giving LL another opportunity to evolve the character he has portrayed for nearly two decades.
