On NCIS: Los Angeles, the team enlists the help of an elite knife fighting Nepali solider from their past, Jemadar “Jay” Thapa, to track down the guy who shot Sam (LL Cool J). The name Jemadar Thapa doesn’t come out of the thin air. Jemadar Jangia Thapa was a soldier of British India during the 2nd Afghan War (1878-1880). He got the nickname “Bullets” because “he had once been hit on the forehead by a bullet which had been completely flattened without causing him the least discomfort.”
Thapa on NCIS: Los Angeles is portrayed by 43-year-old actor Ernie Reyes Jr., who was born and raised in California. He’s the grandson of Filipino immigrants. Reyes is best known for his work in The Rundown with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Rush Hour 2 with Jackie Chan, and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. What few know about Reyes is that he was a fight performer/stunt double in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies. In the original TMNT in 1990, Reyes was the stunt double for Donatello!
