Why Ezra Moretti From NCIS Looks So Familiar
Because CBS's extremely popular police procedural "NCIS" has been around for nearly two decades, it's no wonder that the series' cast has changed dramatically over the years. Indeed, except for a few key characters, each new season acts as a revolving door for the series' cast: introducing us to a slew of special agents and suspects while saying goodbye to characters from past seasons.
This is not even to mention the numerous guest stars who appear, as each new investigation seems to feature an entirely different cast of suspects and victims. Such is the case in Season 20, Episode 3, "Unearth," which introduced fans to a character named Ezra Moretti: a treasure hunter who kidnaps Nicholas Torres (Wilmer Valderrama) and Dr. Grace Confalone (Laura San Giacomo) and questions Grace about the location of an ancient treasure — which he stole alongside one of her patients.
Ezra Moretti is undoubtedly one of the more extravagant villains we've met in "NCIS," seeming more like the antagonist of an "Indiana Jones" or "National Treasure" movie than the kind you'd meet in a police procedural. Although this hunter might seem a bit out of place in "NCIS," the actor who plays Ezra Moretti, Billy Miller, should look very familiar to most fans — as he has a long career acting in both film and television. Here are a few projects where you might have seen Miller before his appearance in "NCIS."
Billy Miller's breakthrough role was Richie Novak in All My Children
Although Billy Miller's first acting credit came with a brief appearance on "CSI: NY" back in 2006, his actual breakthrough role came in the iconic and long-running daytime soap opera "All My Children" (via IMDb). "All My Children" primarily focuses on the members of the tumultuous and strife-ridden Pine Valley Suburb, centering around protagonist Erica Kane (Susan Lucci) and the numerous families she shares her neighborhood with.
From 2007 to 2008, Miller played the character of Richie Novak in "All My Children": a member of the Novak family who moved back to Pine Valley after an extended stint in prison and assumed the false identity of "Wes." Much of Richie's time in the series was spent quarreling with his sister Annie (Melissa Claire Egan), whom he blamed for his incarceration, and who would later murder him in cold blood by beating him to death with a tire iron.
Although Miller's time on "All My Children" was relatively short (given the immense scope of the series itself), he still appeared in an impressive 124 episodes of the soap opera before his character's untimely demise.
Next, Miller was cast as Billy Abbott in The Young and The Restless
Following his departure from "All My Children," Billy Miller stayed within the soap opera genre and joined the cast of "The Young and The Restless." The soap opera has been broadcast regularly on CBS since 1973 and centers around several bickering families within the fictitious Genoa City.
One of these hostile families happens to be the Abbotts, and in 2008, Billy Miller joined the series as Billy Abbott. Growing up spoiled and arrogant due to his family's extreme wealth, Billy Abbott's adulthood is marred by his numerous addictions and love of gambling — which frequently puts him at odds with other family members.
From 2008 to 2014, Miller starred in 719 episodes of "The Young and The Restless" as Billy Abbott. His performance earned him three Daytime Emmy Awards: two for outstanding supporting actor and one for outstanding lead actor (via IMDb). In any case, there's no doubt that Miller's acclaimed performance as Billy Abbott remains one of his most recognizable roles of all time.
Miller moved to yet another soap opera in 2014, joining the cast of General Hospital
Despite the immense praise he received for his portrayal of Billy Abbott, Billy Miller exited "The Young and the Restless" in 2014 and that same year joined the cast of "General Hospital" as Jake Doe, Jason Morgan, and Drew Cain. "General Hospital" (where one thing hasn't changed in 30 years) is the longest-running soap opera currently on television and, for nearly 60 years, has focused on the work and lives of employees within its titular hospital — with later storylines expanding to explore a variety of interpersonal drama throughout the city of Port Charles, New York.
In 2014 Miller joined the series as Jason Morgan, a "General Hospital" regular who had been a major part of the series since the 1980s. That said, Miller's lengthy stint as Jason Morgan was fraught with numerous cases of mistaken identity — as Miller's version of the character experiences amnesia shortly after his return and begins using the name Jake Doe. Later, after it was revealed that the mysterious Jake Doe was, in fact, Jason Morgan, the character's history was retconned, and he became a new character named Andrew Cain: the twin brother of Morgan. He inherited Morgan's memories after being experimented on by the malevolent Victor Cassidine (Thaao Penghlis).
Miller would appear in 592 episodes of "General Hospital" from 2014 to 2019. As such, there's no question that fans of the soap opera ought to recognize Miller from his electric (albeit somewhat confusing) performance as Andrew Cain (via IMDb).
From 2015 to 2019, Miller had a recurring role on Suits
Although he remained a series regular on "General Hospital" from 2014 to 2019, Billy Miller also enjoyed a variety of television and film — including a recurring role on "Suits." "Suits" was a legal drama that ran from 2011 to 2019 and followed the story of a college dropout and legal prodigy, Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams), who earns an associate position at a prestigious New York law firm despite never actually attending law school.
Billy Miller first joined the cast of "Suits" during the series' fourth season, starring as Marcus Specter — the younger brother of Mike's partner and de facto mentor Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht). Marcus is a deadbeat whom Harvey blames for tearing apart the Specter family and pops up throughout the series to cause further strife in Harvey's already tumultuous life. Although Marcus and Harvey eventually reconcile near the end of the series, the show makes it clear that their antagonistic relationship is a constant source of guilt, frustration, and anger in Harvey's life.
As such, it's safe to say that Marcus is one of the more important minor characters in "Suits," despite his limited appearance throughout the series.
In 2017, Miller had a brief but important role on Showtime's Ray Donovan
During his time on "General Hospital" and "Suits," Billy Miller also had a brief guest appearance in the fifth season of the Showtime crime drama "Ray Donovan." Starring Liev Schreiber as its titular character, "Ray Donovan" centered around a professional "fixer" in Los Angeles who solves problems for a host of high-profile clientele — using any means necessary to ensure the job gets done.
Miller joined the cast of "Ray Donovan" as a character named Todd Dougherty, a strong-willed police officer who finds himself at odds with Ray Donavan's brother Terry (Eddie Marsan) once the latter becomes engaged to his sister Maureen (Tara Buck). Unfortunately for Maureen and Terry, the tension between the Doughertys and the Donavans comes to a head when Todd gives an insulting and incendiary speech at their wedding, which ends with a fight in which Todd's head is slammed into the table.
Even though Maureen and Terry's marriage is a brief part of the season, it's still worth noting Miller's performance due to the crucial role he played — especially since the marriage between Terry and Maureen inevitably fails, just like Todd Dougherty wanted.