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!Main Characters
!!G. Callen (Chris O'Donnell)
* ActionGenreHeroGuy
* BrokenPedestal: Is a bit upset with Hetty when he finds out he's just one of many agents she's recruited and trained from broken homes. He seems to forgive her though.
* CombatPragmatist: As a contrast to his partner's more typical fighting style.
* DeadpanSnarker: To give just one example, Callen and Hetty are in a graveyard remembering the dead. Hetty remarks she wants to just be gone: no flowers on the grave, etc. Callen says it won't happen, because he hears Granger's going to have her stuffed.
* FeudingFamilies: The almost 70 year old feud between Callen's family and the Comescu family is the reason why he is an orphan.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Sam. When they're not the below.
* LastNameBasis: At one point, Callen asks Hetty why she never calls him by his first name (though she usually calls most of the other agents by their last names, too). She responds, "It's not a name. It's a letter."
* LastOfHisKind: Callen is apparently the only living member of his family, which a certain Eastern European crime family has been hellbent on wiping out.
* MarriedToTheJob
* MysteriousPast: Hell, he doesn't even know his own first name.
* NoNameGiven
* {{Omniglot}}: G can speak English, Arabic, French, German (Which some people says has an Austrian accent), Italian (With a Northern accent), Polish, Russian and Spanish. He says that he can speak Czech and Romanian.
* OneLetterName: Due to the paperwork with his full name on it getting lost by the foster system.
* OrphansOrdeal: His time in foster care was rather rough.
* ParentalAbandonment: His father is a question mark, and [[spoiler:his mother was killed by the Comescus]].
* TraumaInducedAmnesia: Callen witnessed his mother's murder but suppressed the memory most of his life.

!!Sam Hanna (LL Cool J)
* BaldOfAwesome
* BigBrotherInstinct: According to Nate, it's his biggest weakness: trying to protect everyone.
* CulturedBadass
* CunningLinguist: If there's a foreign language the team needs, Sam probably has it. Thus far, he's demonstrated Arabic and Japanese (two particularly hard languages).
** {{Omniglot}}: Sam speaks native English with Arabic, Japanese and Spanish. He's familiar with Farsi, but he didn't speak the language for a long time.
* GeniusBruiser: A former Navy SEAL and all around ScaryBlackMan. As previously mentioned he speaks three additional languages fluently and can handle himself in Farsi, and he has extensively studied sharia law and the Literature/{{Quran}}.
* HappilyMarried: Although it isn't brought up much.
** [[spoiler:SpyCouple: As revealed in season 4, although Quinn retired when they started a family.]]
* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Callen. When they're not the below.
* Hot Dad
* LivingEmotionalCrutch: For Callen. It's said that "his partnership is the only stable thing in his partner's life."
* TheLancer
* ParentalAbandonment: At least to his kids. The only thing Sam doesn't like is that extended hours makes him miss out on his kids' lives like school graduation.
* ScaryBlackMan

!!Eric Beale (Barrett Foa)
* {{Adorkable}}: Very.
* BelligerentSexualTension: He and Nell can lapse into this when she feels he doesn't give her enough importance, or when they get competitive. It's mostly playful and benign.
* ClosetGeek: A very, very transparent closet--one that embarasses him occasionally around Nell. Varies between this and ProudToBeAGeek.
* HollywoodNerd
* HollywoodHacking: Generally averted, occasionally played painfully straight.
* MissionControl
* TheSmartGuy
* NonActionGuy: The one time he's forced into the field, he's terrified he'll have to carry a gun. Hetty gently informs him she wouldn't forgive herself for forcing him to carry a weapon, and he's happy to return to Ops when he's done.
* [[SheCleansUpNicely He Is Already Clean To Begin With, But The Custom Officer Uniform Suits Him So Well!]]
* UnresolvedSexualTension: With Nell. The 2012 ChristmasEpisode had them [[ShipTease kissing under mistletoe]].

!!Kensi Blye (Daniela Ruah)
* ActionGirl
* TheBigGuy
* ClearMyName
* DisappearedDad: He died.
* EyeScream: To a degree. Kensi - and, of course, the actress - has an unusual birthmark ''on the white of one of her eyes'' which gives her a distinctive look. Viewers who might not be aware of this unusual trait might think that Kensi, or the actress, has some sort of eye injury or a ''completely dark eyeball'' depending on the lighting and camera angle. In reality, of course, neither is the case.
* FriendlySniper: She enjoys the usual camaraderie with her colleagues, has an "are they or aren't they" relationship with another agent, and often takes part in the show's humor. And the in the next scene she is cold-bloodedly sniping bad guys to death. She doesn't fit the "loner" aspect of the trope, but otherwise ... shudder.
* {{Ladette}}: Views of her home are basically that of a bachelor pad.
* MsFanservice: Perhaps the inevitable result of being the only female regular under the age of 40, although she's fairly mild compared with some - but a lot stronger than Ziva David.
* {{Omniglot}}: She can speak English with Portuguese and Spanish. (In real life, Daniela can speak the last two languages fluently aside from English). In "The Dragon and the Fairy", she displays her proficiency in French.
* VitriolicBestBuds: With Deeks
* WrenchWench: She was an only child, so her father taught her everything he'd teach a son, including things like fixing a car and wiring a house.
* YouKilledMyFather

!!Nate "Doc" Getz (Peter Cambor)
* ADayInTheLimelight: One episode has him contemplating becoming an agent and teaming up with Kensi temporarily. Everyone thinks he wouldn't make a good agent.
* CommutingOnABus
* HiddenDepths: Plays the harmonica.
* TheProfiler
* PutOnABus
* TookALevelInBadass: In season two, Nate goes away for an episode or two, comes back, and somehow picked up the ability to shoot. Everyone wonders what happened.
** Turns out [[spoiler: He's become a deep-cover agent in an ongoing terrorist investigation, then a sleeper agent in Egypt. ''Serious'' level in badass.]]
** NonActionGuy: He used to be--his desire to carry a gun and end up in the field were mostly PlayedForLaughs. Then he took the aforementioned level of badass.

!!Dominic "Dom" Vail (Adam Jamal Craig)
* BlackAndNerdy: He had his moments. His bobble-head was the best example.
* ButtMonkey: As the new guy, Dom copped a lot of flak.
* [[spoiler: KilledOffForReal]]
* NewMeat: A PoliceProcedural version of this.
* PutOnABus
* TheSmartGuy

!!Marty Deeks (Eric Christian Olsen)
* AbusiveParents: His dad tried to shoot him at least twice. Or maybe once. The show is a little unclear about it.
* AfraidOfNeedles: He faints when Hetty gives him a shot in 3x21
* AllTakeAndNoGive: Despite his ButtMonkey tendencies, he would probably be this wasn't it for casual hints from the team that they do care... which become increasingly less casual.
* AscendedExtra: Got promoted from recurring character to principal cast in season 2.
* ButtMonkey: As the newest on the team, G, Sam and his partner Kensi all tend to pick on him, though he tends to either shrug it off or play it up. In one or two tense episodes, it's implied he sets himself up for teasing to lighten the mood.
* TheChick: To an extent
* ChivalrousPervert: For variable levels of chivalry and perversion.
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass
* DisappearedDad
* DistressedDude: After being shot twice, kidnapped, used as bait, beat up on numerous occasions, and being involved in more explosions than this troper can count - honestly, the only person who MIGHT rival him is Callen, and that's only because [[spoiler: he's the last surviving member of a family that's been feuding with another for decades and everybody wants to kill him.]]
** Though he may count, at times, as a BadassInDistress since he does tend to get himself out of those messes.
*** Considering he saved Kensi's life by [[spoiler: shooting the baddie before he could kidnap her]] after racing down a couple flights of stairs to get to her when he worked it out in his head that [[spoiler: he was the bait to lure her out of hiding]]. And that was after he'd been shot. Twice.
* DramaQueen: He is always freaking out in the worst times. Normally used for comical relief.
* FriendToAllChildren: Seems to have a knack for bringing kids out of their shells.
* HiddenDepths: Grew up playing the violin, and seems to be able to sing as well.
* ShipTease: With Kensi.
* SixthRanger [[spoiler: After Dom is killed]]
* StandardCopBackstory : He shot his father when he was 11. The last time Deeks saw him, his father tried to shoot him with a shotgun on Thanksgiving.
* UnresolvedSexualTension: With Kensi
* VitriolicBestBuds: With Kensi

!!Nell Jones (Renee Felice Smith)
* {{Adorkable}}
* BelligerentSexualTension: She and Eric lapse into this when she feels he doesn't give her enough attention, or when they become slightly competitive. It is mostly playful and benign.
* TheChick: Occasionally.
* CryCute: Well almost. In "Free Ride", she almost went to this since Nell wants to spend the holidays with her family. Due to the case, she can't leave until it's solved.
* {{Exposition}}: What she's commonly used for.
* TheSmartGuy
* SugarAndIcePersonality: When forced to take Hetty's place, she reveals that she can become just as authoritative and efficient as her for routine work.
* HollywoodHacking: Generally averted, occasionally played painfully straight.
* UnresolvedSexualTension: With Eric.

!!Henrietta "Hetty" Lange (Linda Hunt)
* TheAtoner: [[spoiler:She has blamed herself for the deaths of several agents to a point that she has tried to resign. ''Three times.'' All she does is change the date on the letter.]]
* BadassBureaucrat
* TheChessmaster
* CoolOldLady
* CutHisHeartOutWithASpoon
* ExpansionPackPast: At times.
* GenreSavvy: Her team always approaches her desk one at a time unless called over. When Callen and Hanna walk up to her together:
-->'''Hetty:''' I sense impending mayhem. And perhaps an outrageous petty cash request.
* GuileHero: She is once called ''The Duchess of Deception''
* HeyItsThatVoice: Since when did [[VideoGame/GodOfWar Gaia]] become the head of an NCIS branch?
* MamaBear: Hetty does some long distance Mama Bearing when Sam and Callen are held hostage by militia— she uses her "political capital" with SecNav to send them backup in the form of fighter jets.
* TheMentor
* MiniatureSeniorCitizens
* MyGreatestFailure: [[spoiler: Failing to save Callen's mom. As well as the deaths of previous agents.]]
* MysteriousPast: She could tell you, but she'd probably have to kill you.
* NeverMessWithGranny
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Hetty, like a certain [[TheIncredibles Edna Mode]], is modelled after of costume designer Edith Head. In "Imposters" she mentiones to have worked with BetteDavis on [[HerculePoirot Death on the Nile]], so Hetty might actually be Edith Head in the [=NCIS=] universe.
* NotSoAboveItAll: At the end of the street racing episode, Hetty spots Eric's Segway in the empty office. The last few seconds of the episode is her riding it, whooping.
* NotSoStoic: Snaps at Callen when he challenges her on recruiting and losing so many vulnerable agents. See his BrokenPedestal moment, above.
* NoodleIncident: Has many, often from the ExpansionPackPast being a MysteriousPast.
** She once ruled Nicaragua for 72 hours. "Don't ask."
** "Hetty, plus tequila, plus mechanical bull, equals bar fight."
* ParentalSubstitute: To Callen. She's always had a special connection to him given their shared history.
* ParentalAbandonment: Her parents died shortly after being freed from a Nazi concentration camp and she was adopted.
* ShroudedInMyth
* SpotOfTea
* TeamMom
* TookALevelInKindness : Though she proved kind and caring since the pilot, she reached new levels in season 2 and 3.

!Recurring Characters
!!Mike Renko (Brian Avers)
* [[spoiler:BackForTheDead]]
* {{Badass}}
* DeadpanSnarker
* [[spoiler:KilledOffForReal]]
* PermaStubble
* PutOnABus: Near the end of season one.
** TheBusCameBack: In the season three finale.

!!Owen Granger (Miguel Ferrer)
* GuileHero: He prefers to manipulate targets into revealing something or tricking them into leading NCIS to something unwittingly.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold
* ObstructiveBureaucrat: He has good reasons sometimes...
** ReasonableAuthorityFigure: ...and has been very accommodating to the team the more he works with them.

!!Lara Macy (Louise Lombard)
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome / ThePeteBest: She only appears in the ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' 2-parter "Legend". Hetty was added to the team in her place.
* [[spoiler: KilledOffForReal]] Offscreen on ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' as part of the Port to Port plot.