Here's Where You've Seen Kate Whistler From NCIS: Hawaii Before
The "NCIS" franchise has seen some of the biggest stars in the world appear in front of its cameras. Of course, the hugely popular CBS franchise has made a household name of Mark Harmon over the years, while other big name stars including Sasha Alexander, Wilmer Valderrama, LL Cool J, and Scott Bakula all popping up either on the main show or one of its spin-offs.
The latest addition to the "NCIS" roster is "NCIS: Hawai'i," with former "TRL" host and "Entertainment Tonight" correspondent Vanessa Lachey taking on the role of Jane Tennant. Tennant is the first woman to nab the role of Special Agent in Charge of the NCIS: Pearl and the character marks the first female main lead role in the franchise's history.
In June, it was revealed that Tori Anderson would be joining the cast as the no nonsense Kate Whistler. Deadline described the character as "an ambitious agent of the Defense Intelligence Agency who is intent on climbing the professional ladder." She's a hardworker, but it turns out there's a lot more to her than meets the eye, as fans of the show have been seeing.
The Canadian actor was clearly thrilled to have landed the role, with Anderson writing on Instagram at the time, "Couldn't be more excited to join this historic franchise AND the first female led one!! Hawai'i here I come!!"
But those tuning in may have seen Anderson on their screens before. But where? Keep scrolling for why she looks so familiar...
What has Tori Anderson been in?
Tori Anderson may still be somewhat on the rise to fame, but she already has quite the impressive career. Before she took on Kate Whistler in "NCIS: Hawaii," the star popped up in quite a few big time TV shows and TV movies.
All the way back in 2012, Anderson played Charlotte in six episodes of the CTV series "The L.A. Complex" before moving over to a few shows aimed at kids and young adults. She starred as Dr. London Blake in the drama "Open Heart," which aired on YTV in Canada and on Teen Nick in the US, before popping up as Queen Titania in Nickelodeon's "The Other Kingdom." If none of those are ringing any bells, it could be that "NCIS: Hawai'i" fans have seen Anderson in The CW's romcom series "No Tomorrow" as Evie or — in arguably her biggest role before "NCIS: Hawai'i" — as Blake Crawford in the NBC crime drama "Blindspot."
For those who have a bit of a soft spot for a TV movie (particularly a festive one, which is where we're guilty), Anderson has some experience there too. She starred in the Hallmark Holiday offering "Return to Christmas Creek" in 2018 and "Spotlight on Christmas" in 2020. She also had a main role in Hallmark's "Love Under the Olive Tree," also in 2020, plus the uber romantic "You May Kiss the Bridesmaid" and "A Chance For Christmas," which both debuted earlier this year.
Tori Anderson's important NCIS storyline
With such an impressive resume to her name, it's probably not all too surprising that Tori Anderson was trusted with an important storyline when she joined the "NCIS" franchise. As fans saw in the "NCIS: Hawaii" pilot, Anderson's character Kate Whistler has a romantic past with Yasmine Al-Bustami's Lucy Tara as it was confirmed both are members of the LGBTQ+ community.
The two were spotted sharing a kiss as the show brought more visibility and diversity to the franchise. "Our desire was to create a show that had a really diverse — and we meant that in every way — palette of characters. And having these two characters was part of that," "NCIS: Hawai'i" executive producer Jan Nash told TV Line. "It is not a situation where either of them is a straight woman who was suddenly, magically attracted to somebody else. It's not that."
And it sounds like we could be seeing plenty more of the actor on our screens as this storyline develops more over the season. "Having Whistler in our world, in an NCIS-adjacent role, seemed like a way we could add relational qualities to our show that wouldn't impede our procedural storytelling," Nash added, so it definitely sounds like Anderson impressing her new bosses.
The star also has plenty of big things to come. According to her IMDb page, she has two more TV movies coming up in 2021, "The Secret Sauce" and "A Bridesmaid in Love." We can't wait!