"NCIS" Star Emily Wickersham Wasn't 'Expecting To Get The Job' And Was Intimidated At First

May 29, 2022 by apost team

Emily Wickersham was born in Kansas in 1984. She moved to New York as a young girl, where she was raised. After graduating high school, Wickersham at first pursued higher education and attended Muhlenberg College for two years before dropping out. Not knowing what direction her life was headed, Wickersham moved to New York City. She decided that she wanted to step outside of her comfort zone after feeling down from dropping out of school and tried out acting. 

The actress said she fell in love with it almost immediately. After beginning her acting class journey, Wickersham quickly started to see she had a knack and passion for acting. She started getting small television and film auditions and knew she had found her niche. She eventually from New York to Los Angeles to take acting even more seriously as a possible career. In 2009 she packed up her life away from everything she knew and made the journey to the West coast. 

It wasn't long after her big move from the Big Apple to Hollywood that Wickersham started to see her hard work pay off. She was cast in small roles in films like "How I Got Lost," and "Remember Me." She was also gaining momentum in the television series world getting gigs on "Law and Order: Criminal Intent," "Bored to Death," "Gossip Girl," and the "Sopranos."

In 2013 Wickersham would land a role that would change her life. She was cast on "NCIS," in a short role before being brought back to become a regular on the hit drama series. The star has shared that it all started with taking a chance on herself back in New York. 

In an exclusive interview with CBS in 2014, Wickersham shared her past experiences getting into acting. 

"I found it challenging. It was hard for me because at first, I didn't really know what I was doing. But with acting, you get the bug; it's intoxicating. I started getting smaller roles, TV and film auditions, and didn't want to stop," she said. 

However, she knew moving across the country would be the ideal move for her and her career in the acting industry. 

"I moved to Los Angeles five years ago. That was a big move because I didn't go that far away for college, and my family is still in New York. But I don't think I would have had this opportunity if I had still been living in New York," she said. 

Wickersham added, "When I first moved, I thought: "I don't know about this L.A. thing. It's so weird here and people are weird here." However, it didn't take long for her to find her groove; she went on to say that she found her crew and herself from the move. 

"But I've made the best friends—I have a good group of people around me, and I really like it. I go to yoga a lot, I go on hikes, I hang out with my friends. [Laughs.] I also just ate all of the french fries," Wickersham said. 

When she landed the biggest role of her career in 2013 on "NCIS", she said she couldn't help but feel nervous about joining a huge network show. 

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"I was shocked! By no means was I expecting to get the job. I had learned not to get my hopes up in this business," she said.

"You can feel like you've done such a great job and the powers that be will say, "Nah." Luckily this one clicked. I think my agents called me and I was probably home, studying for another audition or something," she went on to say. 

"It's my first big TV job, really being on a show as a main character, so I was nervous in the beginning. Coming onto a show where this tightknit cast has worked together for 10, 11 years was intimidating. Nerve-racking!," the star said. 

Wickersham went on to star in "NCIS," from 2013 to 2021 before her character 'Ellie Bishop' was removed from the cast. She posted to her Instagram following her last episode with the caption, "What a great ride it's been," she said. 

Aside from being a successful and loved actress, Wickersham is also a mom to a sweet baby boy named Cassius. She wrote these sweet words on her Instagram when she welcomed her son in 2021.

"Welcome to the world Cassius Wickersham Dale born 12/30/21 just in time to join the party to ring in the New Year. You are more than @jamesbadgedale and I could ever have imagined ❤️

We are so in love with you," she wrote. 

If you want to keep up with the "NCIS" star, you can follow her along with 375,000 other fans on her popular Instagram page. 

Do you miss Emily on NCIS? We hope to see her on another hit tv series soon! If you love this actress make sure to send this article on to someone else who loves her too!