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Who was Shannon Melendi?
According to NCIS Fandom, actor Marina Sirtis played Mossad director Orli Elbaz in “NCIS.” IMDb lists three episodes in which Elbaz appeared, from 2013 to 2016. TVLine reported the news of Sirtis’s casting in 2013, noting that Elbaz was replacing the recently dispatched Eli David (Michael Nouri), father of Ziva, and former head of Mossad. “The search to replace Eli David as Mossad Director was tricky for us, but we ended up with a true find in Marina Sirtis,” showrunner Gary Glasberg enthused at the time, per TVLine. “I’ve always been a ‘Star Trek’ fan, but Marina really owns this part. And the cast loves her. She’s everything I wanted for the role and then some. We are lucky to have her.”
Clearly, Sirtis was in high demand, since the actor revealed in a 2017 interview with AV Club that she didn’t even have to audition for the role. “It was literally, ‘We want you to play this. Would you do it?'” Sirtis recalled. The “Star Trek” alum was drawn to Elbaz immediately, explaining, “I love to play strong women. I love it. Because that’s who I am. And man, Orli Elbaz can kick anyone’s a**.” Sirtis continued, “I love that about her. Mossad, they don’t mess about. To me, that was an amazing, amazing character to play. She’s a spy. Everything has to be subterfuge. I think she’s an awesome character.”
