LL Cool J Credits Bruce Lee for His Hands-On Sam Hanna Stunt Work

LL Cool J says Bruce Lee remains a central influence on how he approaches action scenes as Sam Hanna. During a New York Comic Con panel for NCIS: New York, the performer said he handles “80 or 90 percent” of his own stunts, framing that involvement as part of making the character’s action feel credible rather than simply outsourcing its most physical moments.

That figure should not be read as a dismissal of professional stunt work. LL Cool J specifically recognized stunt performer Brennan Dyson, while joking that the hardest impacts are exactly where a double can be the right person for the job. The distinction matters: an actor can be deeply involved in physical performance while a stunt team remains essential to planning, rehearsing, protecting performers and executing the moments where the risk is too high or a specialized technique is required.

Bruce Lee’s influence is about commitment, not just combat

LL Cool J connected his own approach to Bruce Lee’s drive to make on-screen action persuasive. In this context, “convincing” does not necessarily mean that every blow is real. Film and television action is built through choreography, camera placement, timing, performer reactions and editing. A scene can look immediate because the actor is present for key movements, expressions and transitions—even when a stunt double takes over for the most punishing or technically demanding work.

That is the useful takeaway from LL Cool J’s 80-to-90-percent estimate. The value of being hands-on is not merely a numerical claim about who performs what. It is the continuity it can create between dialogue, character behavior and movement. Sam’s face, body language and rhythm can carry from a close conversation into a pursuit or fight, helping an action sequence feel like an extension of the character rather than an interruption.

Bruce Lee’s legacy is particularly relevant to that idea because his screen presence placed a premium on clarity and intention in physical movement. LL Cool J’s comments point to that standard of commitment: action works best when it communicates something about the person moving, not only the mechanics of a hit, fall or chase.

Sam Hanna’s physicality has long been part of the role

The actor has made similar points before. In a 2011 interview during his years on NCIS: Los Angeles, LL Cool J said performing the physical work demonstrated his investment in Sam and made the experience more direct for viewers. He compared routinely passing such scenes to another performer with sending a look-alike on tour to rap in his place.

The comparison is revealing because it ties stunt work to performance authorship. Music audiences expect the artist’s delivery, cadence and presence; LL Cool J’s view is that action audiences can likewise feel a difference when the actor playing the character remains meaningfully involved in the movement. It is not an argument that doubles should disappear. Rather, it is an explanation for why he wants to do as much as is practical.

His recollections from that period also show the range of preparation an action-oriented procedural can demand. LL Cool J discussed learning to handle, disassemble and clean weapons, saying the knowledge made him more comfortable with the role’s technical requirements. He also highlighted a chase-scene moment that involved sliding across a car trunk as a stunt he enjoyed.

Technical familiarity can help an actor avoid looking disconnected from the equipment or tasks a character is meant to understand. It does not turn a performer into an expert outside the production, nor does it replace professional safety protocols. But within a role, it can improve confidence and reduce the sense that the character is merely holding a prop between cuts.

A new setting gives the familiar character different stakes

Sam’s return in NCIS: New York follows 14 seasons of NCIS: Los Angeles. The new series does not treat the move east as a simple change of backdrop. Showrunner Byron Balasco explained that the death of a friend brings Sam back to New York for a personal case, where he is paired with Scott Caan’s Nick Schaeffer.

That premise gives the action a character-based reason to exist. Sam is not simply assigned to a new office; he returns to a place that has changed during his years away. LL Cool J said Sam feels out of place amid altered neighborhoods and changed relationships, forcing him to determine where he belongs. Balasco has said the series will examine the people and connections that shaped Sam before audiences knew him in Los Angeles, including the responsibilities that accompany those older ties.

For a long-running character, that setup creates a useful contrast. Audiences already know Sam as a seasoned figure capable of navigating dangerous situations. The New York story can place that assured physical competence alongside uncertainty of a more personal kind. A character may know how to respond under pressure while still struggling with what home means, whom he owes, or how much of his past he wants to revisit.

That approach also develops an element LL Cool J once preferred to keep less defined: Sam’s past. Earlier, he said he liked preserving some mystery around the character’s history. The new series appears poised to explore more of those roots while maintaining the practical, action-driven side that has defined Sam on screen.

Why the stunt-double acknowledgment matters

Action storytelling often encourages a misleading either-or framing: either a star performs everything, or the action is somehow less authentic. LL Cool J’s comments offer a more sensible picture. He places himself in most of the work, yet singles out Brennan Dyson for recognition and notes that certain hits justify bringing in a double.

That is how a stunt double functions in the broadest sense: as a trained specialist who can take on a dangerous piece of action when the production judges it appropriate. The resulting sequence may combine the actor’s work, the double’s work, stunt coordination and editorial construction. Viewers see the completed scene; safety and storytelling depend on a much larger collaborative process.

It also means that “doing your own stunts” is not a single, uniform activity. One day it may mean delivering a choreographed movement that is filmed close enough for the audience to clearly see the actor. Another may involve physical preparation, weapon handling or reacting to staged impact. A high-risk fall or especially punishing hit may call for the double. The key point in LL Cool J’s account is judgment: commitment does not require treating every stunt as something an actor must personally perform.

Maintaining an action role over time

LL Cool J has said consistency in the gym remains part of sustaining the physical side of playing Sam. He also said years of action work have helped him stay calm afterward. Together, those remarks suggest that longevity in this kind of role is less about a one-off spectacle than repeatable preparation—keeping fit, understanding the demands of choreography and maintaining composure around scenes built to look chaotic.

His future as Sam, meanwhile, remains tied to whether the part continues to work and whether viewers continue to enjoy it. That is a straightforward position for a character whose appeal has always included both competence and presence. The more NCIS: New York explores Sam’s return home, the more that longstanding physical credibility can serve a larger dramatic purpose.

It is also a reminder that television action is a form of character performance, not just a collection of crashes and fights. LL Cool J’s Bruce Lee-inspired approach places the actor inside as much of that performance as he can safely take on, while giving stunt professionals their due when the moment requires their specialized work. For Sam Hanna, that balance is part of what makes the action feel connected to the man at its center.

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