Diona Reasonover, who stars as Kasie Hines on Season 16 of Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), was introduced last season as Ducky’s (David McCallum) new graduate assistant.
She quickly became a fan favourite in the aftermath of Abby’s (Pauley Perrette) departure from NCIS, which debuted in 2003 and revolves around a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
WATCH BELOW: The latest on Pauley Perrette
Reasonover’s previous TV credits include 2 Broke Girls, Girl Meets World, Grace and Frankie and Superstore.
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Global News spoke to Reasonover about becoming a series regular on the show, advice Perrette gave her before her departure, and fan interactions.
Global News: Your character is still pretty new on the scene. How does Kasie mesh with the other NCIS characters?
Diona Reasonover: She meshes really well. She gets along really well, obviously, with Ducky because they have a previous relationship. I think she’s kind of starting to learn how to do that. She really wants to get along with everyone. She’s so sweet. She is so nervous, she just wants to please everyone. I think during this season you’ll actually see her struggle a little bit with what she thinks people’s expectations of her will be. She wants to do such a good job that she puts a lot of pressure on herself. And you’re going to see her struggle with that. I think that’s something people can relate to.
What’s different in Season 16 compared to Season 15?
Last season she was a temp so it was kind of like, ‘Well, you know, she’s trying her best so whatever happens, happens.’ But this season she really feels the pressure. … She’s trying to live up to everyone else’s expectations of what she should be.
How does it feel to play a series regular after Pauley Perrette’s departure?
It feels so good to be a series regular (singing). It feels so good and it feels so cool. I actually have been feeling a lot like Kasie. I’ve been having these moments where I’m like, ‘I hope I continue to live up to what this show is and what people continue to love about this show.’ So, I feel like I’m having my own Kasie moment.
Did Pauley Perrette give you any advice before she left the show?
She honestly told me to just be myself and don’t be afraid to go in there and have fun with it.
Have any fans of the show reached out to you yet?
I had the cutest thing happen to me. I was downtown in Los Angeles and I actually had jury duty.
That’s not fun.
Actually, you know what, I’m actually a big proponent of jury duty because I always say that if I were to be on the stand, I would want someone like me on the jury. So I’m a big, like, ‘Yes, jury duty is important. You must do jury duty. It is your civic duty.’
That’s a good way to look at it though.
Right, right? So I was there and it was a break. I was eating lunch and a woman slipped a note to me. It said, ‘I don’t know if you’re her but you look a lot like the actress who plays Kasie on NCIS. If you’re her, great job, my family really loves you. If you’re not her, well you look like a famous actress. Have a great day.’ I was on the phone at the time and I told the person I was speaking to that I had to call them back. I jumped up and said, ‘Thank you so much.’ It was so sweet. I still have the note. It was really nice of her.
Do you find it really weird to see yourself on a primetime TV show?
It’s so weird. It’s because it’s like you see everything out of your own eyes so you’re only seeing the room while you’re shooting. And then all of a sudden you’re seeing yourself from another perspective. It’s very cool, though, because it’s like I’m watching it for the first time, too.
What’s your biggest lesson that you’ve learned while working in this industry?
Don’t be afraid to fail. Just go out there and try.
How much do you really need to know about science and forensics while working on NCIS?
I am super lucky that we have very smart writers who make it so that I don’t have to know about those things initially (laughing). I can kind of look up what they’re telling me. I’ll be totally honest, my sister is a doctor and I am not (laughing).
If you could describe this season of NCIS in one word what would it be?
Action.
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All new episodes of NCIS air on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Global.
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