Why Jessica Knight From NCIS Looks So Familiar
Following the departure of Emily Wickersham as NCIS Special Agent Eleanor Bishop, one of the newest members of the "NCIS" team is former REACT Special Agent Jessica Knight (Katrina Law). Jessica left the REACT team last season and now occupies the seat previously held on the roster by Eleanor, Ziva David (Cote de Pablo), and Caitlin Todd (Sasha Alexander).
Law's Jessica Knight first appeared at the end of Season 18 and is scheduled to appear in every episode of the current season, as indicated by the actor's IMDb page, along with recent cast addition Gary Cole. While Jessica is an entirely new character to the series, Law is a name that quite a few TV fans will undoubtedly recognize.
She first appeared in film and TV projects in 2000. Since then, she has had a steady stream of roles over the years. If Law looks familiar to you, but you can't quite place her, you may know her from one of the following parts.
One of Katrina Law's earliest roles was a 24 web series
One of Katrina Law's first big roles came in 2007 when she appeared in "The Rookie: CTU" (via IMDb), a series of short webisodes which exists within the "24" universe made famous by Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland). The show's title was later shortened to just "The Rookie" — not to be confused with the Nathan Fillion-led series currently airing on ABC.
The three-season web series premiered shortly after the start of "24" Season 6. Led by Jeremy Ray Valdez as Jason Blaine, "The Rookie" explored the life of a new recruit at the Los Angeles branch of the Counter Terrorist Unit, the same office where Jack Bauer once worked. Law joined the third season as Kate Wyman, an FBI agent who comes to Blaine's aid and must eventually confront a mole located within the Federal Bureau of Investigation. "The Rookie" was canceled after its third season in 2008.
She starred in two seasons of Spartacus
Katrina Law also appeared in 15 episodes of Starz's short-lived "Spartacus" series, per the show's IMDb profile. She first appeared in Season 1, Episode 9 (via IMDb) as a slave named Mira. The character made an appearance in each remaining episode of Season 1 and was a series regular for Season 2. Mira eventually joins Spartacus (Andy Whitfield) in rebellion. She becomes one of his best fighters and most trusted allies before taking over the task of logistical matters.
In Season 2, Mira is the lover of Spartacus following the death of his wife, Sura (Erin Cummings), at the hands of Gaius Claudius Glaber (Craig Parker), the same man who enslaves Spartacus. However, Spartacus and Mira's courtship is not destined for longevity. Mira dies in the Season 2 finale when one of Glaber's men throws an ax intending to hit Spartacus. Instead, the weapon strikes Mira. Her death haunts Spartacus for the remainder of the series.
The series was canceled by Starz in 2012 ahead of its third season, per The Hollywood Reporter.
Katrina Law appeared in the Training Day TV series
Before she joined the cast of "NCIS," Katrina Law was a series regular on another CBS procedural. In 2017, she appeared on the first and only season of the "Training Day" TV series (via IMDb). She was joined by a formidable list of series regulars, including the late Bill Paxton, Justin Cornwell, Drew Van Acker, Christina Vidal, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, and Lex Scott Davis.
Law portrayed Detective Rebecca Lee, one of the most loyal officers in the LAPD's Special Investigation Section. Her history with the team went back further than any other character on the series. Frank Roarke (Paxton) saves four-year-old Rebecca from human traffickers. As a result, she is fiercely loyal to Frank every day after this life-changing event.
Sadly, the team's story was cut short by real-life tragedy when Bill Paxton died in 2017 at the age of 61. The series was canceled by CBS less than three months later (via TV Line).
She was a recurring character on Hawaii Five-0's final season
Like "NCIS," the Alex O'Loughlin and Scott Caan-led "Hawaii Five-0" made a number of casting changes throughout its 10-season run on CBS. In its final season, "Hawaii Five-0" added Katrina Law in a recurring role as Quinn Liu. At the time her casting was announced, Law's role was described by Deadline as "a loyal ally to the team" and further characterized as having "a deep understanding of military culture, a mysterious past, and a deft ability to match wits with McGarrett [O'Loughlin]."
While the first episode featuring Quinn places her in an adversarial position opposite Danny and McGarrett, she quickly takes an active role in the task force's investigations, becoming an integral team member. In one of the final scenes of "Hawaii Five-0," Quinn thanks McGarrett "for taking a chance on [her] and for giving [her] a family."
Law's appearance in the 2020 series finale of "Hawaii Five-0" occurred a few months after she showed up on the last episode of "Arrow" as Nyssa al Ghul.
Katrina Law played Nyssa al Ghul on Arrow
Most people will probably recognize Katrina Law from her multi-season arc on The CW's "Arrow." She appeared in 20 episodes total on the flagship Arrowverse series as Nyssa al Ghul, the daughter of Season 3's primary villain, Raʼs al Ghul (Matthew Nable), the head of the League of Assassins. While the infamous leader of the criminal organization first appears in the third season of the series, Nyssa is introduced in the Season 2 episode "Heir to the Demon" in 2014 (via IMDb).
Though she is married in name only to Oliver Queen at the end of Season 3, Nyssa is actually in a queer relationship with Oliver's former girlfriend, Sara Lance (Caity Lotz). Law's character is one of the first of many LGBTQ+ characters to appear on "Arrow." According to IMDb, the actor later reprised her role as Nyssa in a 2016 episode of "DC's Legends of Tomorrow," alongside series regular Lotz.