7 Takeaways: Behind The Scenes Of NCIS
4. Oh, Bloody Hell!
Death scenes can be tricky. And when lots of fake blood is involved, it can also be quite sticky.
Obviously, playing dead requires absolute stillness and resisting the urge to breathe. Unless, of course, you're playing a murdered FBI Agent who comes back to life to haunt the person that killed him.
Another challenge is relaxing your eyes so they don't flutter under the extreme glare of bright camera lights. Any slight twinge can ruin the scene, leading to repeated takes and the unwanted stink eye from the crew.
On NCIS, I was fortunate to have James Whitmore, Jr. direct our episode. The well-respected veteran is one of the show's more prolific shot callers, having directed a total of 38 episodes to date. And he's the spitting image of his father, the legendary actor James Whitmore (The Shawshank Redemption)