On the hit TV show “NCIS,” Special Agent Nick Torres has a murky undercover background. While Torres —played by USO Global Ambassador Wilmer Valderrama— has become an integral part of the team over the past 10 years, fans are going to see a whole other side of one of their favorite characters this season.
NCISverse
In the “NCIS” world (aka the NCISverse), Torres has become an agency staple known for his fearlessness and willingness to do what the job requires, as well as for his quick wit and sarcasm. Before joining NCIS, Torres was a skilled undercover agent, and in the latest episode, “Sleeping Dogs,” his undercover past catches up to him. Now he is forced to confront old behaviors — and share the darkest version of himself with his team.
“The world of Torres, the universe of Torres, has been a mystery to so many, right? And we’ve only flirted with the idea, like ‘this is a person from the past,’ ‘this is how his dad abandoned his family,’ and like we just kind of breadcrumbed it a little bit to give a little context on who he is,” Valderrama explained to Military Families Magazine on his character.
“But I will say that there is an entire existence before this, before he joined the NCIS team, that has never seen the light of day because he works and performs with it between agencies, and this [undercover] guy was built to be the one guy that does what most can’t or what most won’t,” he said.
The actor went on to say that this season, “that lone wolf” in Torres is “trying to wake up.”
‘Lone wolf’
Torres does seem restless lately, lamenting to Special Agent Jessica Knight (played by Katrina Law) in the previous episode that he has unused “special skills” in his current role. When pressed what skills those are, Torres turns it into a half-joke, saying he can hold his breath for four minutes.
As for himself, Valderrama recognized that Torres’ breathwork beats his own.
“I haven’t timed myself on how long I can hold my breath. All I can tell you is that I can hold my breath, but I would say that like I can probably do maybe two minutes or something like that. I don’t know; I don’t know what’s customary for a human being!” he laughed.
But Valderrama also suggested that Torres’ sarcasm hid an alarming reason for such a skill.
“I felt like it was also [a] cover up for the things that he really is capable of doing; as you know from the military community, if they’re training a certain set of skills to be used upon mission or task, the last thing they do is talk about them… And so saying that he holds his breath should tell you and give you a little bit of a sneak peek that… the pun is deeper than that statement. And what’s exciting is that we’re gonna see it play out this season; we’re gonna see him do things that the fans have never seen before,” he said.
Torres is struggling with his past and present versions of himself, Valderrama shared.
“In this season, you’re gonna see that kind of tug-of-war from the guy that he’s become in the last 10 years of NCIS and the guy that’s inside that he has suppressed — because now he shows up when the body’s cold. When before, you know, he was trying to get there before the body dropped,” he said.
Can Torres escape his past? Can he escape himself? Whatever Special Agent Torres’ future holds, the NCISverse fans will eagerly follow him — even into darkness.
Watch “NCIS” on Tuesdays, 8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT on the CBS Television Network, and streaming live on Paramount+ (Premium) and next day.
Editor’s note: this is part one of a two-part interview with Valderrama.
