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Sure, being on “NCIS” has taught Cote de Pablo a thing or two about stressful situations. But the Chilean born, Miami raised actress isn’t all about the drama. In fact, the very sweet, very funny stage performer let’s us in on why she has an affinity for Andre 3000, what gives her butterflies, and who she thinks should be on the cover of Vogue.

You were born in Santiago, Chile. Why did you move to Miami?

When I was 10 I moved to Miami because my mom was sort of a big television personality then and she got this amazing job with Univision and Telemundo at the time. Things just sort of went so well that they ended up staying and I ended up going to Performing Arts High School in Miami. From there I went to Pittsburgh because I was accepted at Carnegie Mellon University, great conservatory training for actors.

Is that how you got into acting?

I always wanted to be a singer. Singing was my first thing when I went to Performing Arts High School and later to conservatory training I studied music theater. I always wanted to do music but acting has always been a way of expression, a way of communication for me.

Do you still write/perform music?

You know, it’s been awhile. I was singing a lot obviously when I was in school and when I went to college. And when I graduated I had to sing a lot because I had to go to auditions and I was doing musicals because I was in New York. But frankly, the past year and a half I haven’t been able to do much music just because the schedule is so grueling and there’s really no time. The voice requires a certain amount of attention. You really have to be on top of it.

What type of music do you listen to?

I love world music. I love jazz, Spanish music, Indy rock. Andre 3000…that CD that came out The Love Below, is genius. He was able to sort of go into commercial mainstream music and still have a pretty audacious and unique sound. I listened to the whole album, from the beginning to the very end. It’s an amazing, amazing, amazing CD.

Do you prefer theater or television?

They’re both incredibly different. I’m a sucker for the stage. There’s a certain level of comfort when I go up and I do a play that is great. For example, when I started doing “NCIS” the beginning month, 2 months, I would get butterflies every single time they said ‘action.’ The great thing about television is you can get many takes and the great thing about theater is you don’t get any takes.

What’s your experience on “NCIS” been like?

“NCIS” is the best thing that’s happened to me since college. It’s been like boot camp. I’ve been surrounded by playmates that I see every single day like school buddies. I work with the most incredible people, all drastically different. They’re all lovely, lovely human beings. They all really care about each other. It’s like a family.

Speaking of family, how does yours feel about your success?

I come from a really smart, cool headed family and they’ve been doing this for a long time. They keep me incredibly grounded and they know how to keep my feet on this earth. They know that I don’t want to be a flash in the pan. I want to have longevity in this, which means a certain responsibility as to the roles you play and as to the image you want to portray.

If you weren’t acting, what do you think you’d be doing?

I’ve always been really into the Discovery Health Channel. I know it’s kind of geeky of me, but instead of watching any of the other shows I’ve always been glued to the Discovery Health Channel. If I had nothing to do with the art world, I would try to be something in the health/medical field. Pauley Perrette, who plays “Abby” in the show, her and I always talk like wouldn’t it be great, like on the cover of Cosmopolitan or Vogue, or any of these magazines, we had doctors and teachers? And wouldn’t it be fantastic if they were really the celebrities, because they are the ones who are really changing the world.