It has been over two decades since NCIS first aired on television and somehow, it has managed to stay a fan-favorite despite the series being in its twenty-first season. NCIS began with Mark Harmon playing the role of Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs and the actor remained a part of the show up until the nineteenth season before bidding the role and the show adieu.
Throughout his time on NCIS, Mark Harmon received a lot of recognition for his work. He was nominated for a few awards and even took home the People’s Choice Award for Favorite Crime Drama TV Actor in 2017. However, Mark Harmon almost missed out on all of this because the actor almost turned down the role!
Can you imagine anyone else playing Special Agent Gibbs other than Mark Harmon? Neither can we! It is almost as if the role was made for him. Therefore, when the actor revealed to Entertainment Tonight that he almost said no to the show. Why? Well, Harmon was already looking into other projects and had wanted to stay more at home. But when he read the script for NCIS, his decision changed.
- “I didn’t expect to like the script as much as I did when I first read. I was reading other things and I was also trying to stay home — young family and I wanted to try and be home more.”
The one thing that intrigued Harmon was the name of his character – Leroy Jethro Gibbs. He read the name and it was like a switch flipped in his mind. However, as the name almost convinced the actor to say yes to NCIS, the show’s creator, Donald P. Bellisario, changed it.
- “I read ‘Leroy Jethro Gibbs’ and thought, ‘Huh, I like that name. And then for a brief second when I decided that I liked the idea of the project, the name changed. Bob Johnson or something like that.”
