LL Cool J stars in CBS’ hit action drama NCIS: Los Angeles, and the rapper-turned-actor is thankful for all its success. “I didn’t expect it to be what it is. I just hoped for the best," he tells BET.com. "It’s like with music or anything. You can never say, ‘This is guaranteed to be a hit.’ If you have a long enough career you’re gonna have a lot of hits and misses, but you hope you have some good hits."

Coming up on NCIS: LA, according to LL: “A lot of agents’ lives are being put in jeopardy. There are going to be some changes. Things happen that are going to be pretty shocking."

He says the show works because of the cast’s easy, lighthearted chemistry: “We want to keep having fun, take it with a grain of salt.”

What he likes about his character, Sam Hanna, is “the fact that he’s vulnerable, the fact that he has a heart, the fact that he’s a real human being who cares about people. He’s not just the Saminator,” says LL.He calls his series experience “a roller coaster ride, a lot of fun on many different levels.”

When production breaks for the season, he looks forward to hanging out with his family and pursuing his business interests. He’s an ambassador for the men’s fragrance line Gendarme, and he supports his wife, Simone L Smith, in her line of bold metal cuffs and statement earrings. He’s also thinking about going back to his roots. “I might make some music. I’ve got music I’ve been working on. I’ve got quite a few albums that I did. I didn’t put them out.”

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