MATTHEW WILLIG ON HIS ADDITION TO ‘NCIS’: ‘JEALOUSY’ WILL BE FELT WHEN NEW AGENTS ARRIVE
The power struggle between E.J. and Gibbs is about to hit new heights on NCIS — about 6-foot 8-inches to be exact. Former NFL player Matthew Willig debuts (along with fellow newbie Alimi Ballard) on Tuesday’s episode as agent Simon Cade, an Ivy Leaguer with a brain that’s just as intimidating as his towering presence. Cade joins the NCIS team to help with the Port-to-Port killer case. Between his character’s photographic memory and 160 IQ, you’d think he’d be a dream addition to the team, right? Not so much, says Willig.

“The power struggle is there for who’s in charge and who’s going to take over the case. And then to have a couple of other people and EJ’s team come in to fully attack the case makes it even harder for the regulars to handle,” Willig teases. “As the episodes go on and the team gathers and the plot intensifies, there’s definitely a feeling of ‘Wait, what’s going on? Are these guys are stealing our thunder?’… There’s that jealousy thing that starts to happen as the case unfolds.”

Not that Willig or Ballard’s characters are to blame. In fact, the newest additions, and one member of our favorite team, get off on the wrong foot to say the least. “[Dinozzo and Cade] have a fun and interesting opening scene. There are some items that sort of give away how big I am, and so there’s a little bit of comedy that goes on there. When I come in, he’s sort of fooling around with my clothing that kind of give away how big I’ll be. It’s all in typical [Dinozzo] fashion,” Willig says, laughing.

But before you start to put the recurring characters in the “Do not like because they’re new” pile, Willig says fans might be surprised at the dynamic between Cade and his partner. “We’ve traveled around the world and become buds. We watch each other’s back. We have that team aspect,” he says. Hmm…sound familiar?

PLEASE. I need some NCIS! — Pam
You mean the above wasn’t enough? Pfft. Ungrateful…grumble…ehem. (Kidding.) Mike Franks (Muse Watson) and Trent Kort (David Dayan Fisher) will officially be rejoining the mix at NCIS to help hunt down the elusive port-to-port killer as the case heats up in the final episodes of this season. But will one of them — or another member of the team — not make it to the end? “Tracking the P2P killer will prove to be deadly for at least one of the people involved,” exec producer Gary Glasberg warns. I don’t like the sound of that…you shouldn’t either.