llpic | NCISLA Magazine

Thirteen albums. Millions of records. Nine Grammy nominations, two Grammy awards, three Grammys hosted. Twenty-plus movies. An autobiography, a children’s book, a New York Times best-seller fitness book. And now six—and counting—seasons of NCIS: Los Angeles, which is watched by 15 million people every week, including an untold number of Ladies (Who Still) Love Cool James.

As for the numbers that really matter: four kids with one wife, Simone, to whom the 46-year-old star has been married for almost 25 years. And what better place than Paris to do all that math with the man himself, who opened up about fame, family and his final frontier. Make that frontiers, plural. But who’s counting?

The whole interview with LL Cool J in this month’s issue of CBS Watch Magazine…

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Hello everyone!
My name is Christian and I am a huge NCIS: Los Angeles fan!

I have a friend that worked on the NCIS:LA set and he was fantastic enough to help me visit them on location and meet the cast. It was such a wonderful experience and I would love to tell you all about it! First, I must add that I received permission beforehand from the crew that allowed me to visit set. Although I know it is easy to find them filming in LA, please do not go to the location sites without permission! They are all very nice about it, but you have to realize that if they had fans walking around constantly asking for pictures and autographs, they would never be able to get anything done. So lets get started on my recap!

About a year and a half ago, I came to California and was lucky enough to visit the sets of NCIS, NCIS:LA, and Criminal Minds. I had such a wonderful week and on the last day of my trip (on a Friday), I headed over to the Biltmore in Los Angeles where the cast and crew were filming “Raven & the Swans”. My father and I told security our situation and they walked us to meet my friend. We almost walked in on one of the shots and one of the ADs had to pull us out of the way. After walking a couple of more feet, I felt completely immersed in the world of NCIS:LA. I saw Renee Felice Smith and Eric Christian Olsen sitting on the steps talking. I also saw LL Cool J and Chris O’Donnell going over their lines. I felt like a deer in headlights because I didn’t know if I could talk to them, where to stand, and what to do.

Luckily, my friend guided me around and told me that in between shots I could go over and talk to the cast. He told me that they were very friendly and personable. I was sitting on the stairs and watching LL and Chris film when out of nowhere I hear Eric’s voice and he sits right on the step above me. Normally, I would’ve been extremely star struck. However, after meeting 10 or so celebrities in the past 3 days, I was pretty comfortable. I turned around and introduced myself and we began talking about the show and somehow we got into New York City (where I am originally from). I then asked him if he would mind taking a quick photo and signing an autograph and he was more than happy to do so. I got scared as we were taking the picture because I heard them call action and I got worried that we might be in the shot. I was yelling at my dad to hurry up and Eric was hysterical laughing at me. I guess that’s what happens when you put a tourist on a TV set!

After we got our picture, Eric introduced me to LL who had just finished filming a scene. He was massive! You see how big he is on TV, but it just doesn’t compare to real life. He was a really cool guy and signed a photo and took a picture with me as well. He had to run pretty quickly because he had to go over his lines for the upcoming scene. One of the ADs then asked me to go upstairs where we would be out of sight in the next scene. They were shooting under the stairs and I remember thinking it was so cool when watching the episode that if they would’ve panned up a little bit that I would’ve been standing there! It truly is a surreal feeling to see actors transform into their characters in the blink of an eye.

After that scene was finished, I met Renee and our conversation was centered on New York because I remembered that that is where she is from. She was actually leaving set and going straight to the airport to fly home, which was the same thing we were doing! We started comparing flights to see if we were flying together, but unfortunately we were not. At that point I head someone shout “Nice meeting you Christian! Catch you later!”. I turned around and it was Eric Christian Olsen leaving the set to go home. I remember freaking out in my head because he remembered my name! How exciting! I got a photo with Renee, but not an autograph because (at that time) she wasn’t out in the field. I didn’t expect her to be there so I didn’t print a photo of her! Darn! She then left to catch her flight and I looked at my watch. We were going to be late if we didn’t leave in 5 minutes. But, wait! I didn’t meet Chris O’Donnell yet! How can you come on the NCIS:LA set and not meet G Callen?

I asked my friend where he went and if we could say hello really quick and he found him (thank goodness). We took a quick photo and got a signature and then he ran to go finish filming with LL and I ran to go catch my flight. All in all, it was a great visit. It’s so much fun to watch one of your favorite shows being made right in front of you and to meet the cast and crew that make it all possible.

If anyone has any questions about the trip please feel free to comment on this post or email me at capo_christian@yahoo.com. All of the photos I have from the trip are included in this post. Also, the other autographs I have and the script were all gifts from production for my birthday. They are all such nice people and I couldn’t have asked for a better trip.

Regards,
Christian

Thanks, Christian, for sharing this awesome experience with us and our readers !!
Dear Readers: You can follow Christian and his adventures on Twitter – @ChristianCapo97 !!