From 2003 till 2021, the actor portrayed Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Mark Harmon, who co-wrote Ghosts of Honolulu: A Japanese spy, a Japanese American spy hunter, and the true narrative of Pearl Harbor with actual NCIS Special Agent Leon Carroll Jr., is currently touring in support of the book.
Mark, who played SSA Leroy Jethro Gibbs on the long-running CBS crime series NCIS from 2003 to 2021, first commented about his connection with the show on the November 28 broadcast of The Kelly Clarkson Show. The two got together while working on the show.
Host Kelly Clarkson asked the 72-year-old actor about how he felt leaving the show behind two years ago after nearly two decades as the lead and eventual executive producer.
He said, “I think for the longest time, I was just tired,” and mentioned that the show required long labor and filming hours, at least in the early seasons.
A portion of accepting the position required me to stay at home with my young family and not travel as much for work. We put in 22 hours of effort the first day. That’s not quite what I had anticipated this to be, I thought to myself. However, those kinds of days were common over the first four years.”
Mark added, however, that the joy in working on the long-running series came in remaining on his toes, keeping aware of the people coming in and out of the fray, and building relationships with them.
“That it’s been the success it’s become, that’s great. To be a part of that, that’s great. Writers change, runners change, casts change, all that. And I always tried to pay attention to that, daily.
“I tried to do what my title said, which is read ahead, note ahead, stay ahead of things. And it’s a lot. I paid attention to the writing room. That was successful, I’m proud of [it]. The people who I met through it, I’m proud of it in a different way.”
Leon was a technical advisor on NCIS when Mark first met him, and it was because of their friendship that they thought it would be interesting to look into the actual histories of the organizations and individuals that helped create NCIS. In an interview with People, the Freaky Friday star talked more about his book and life after NCIS, admitting that although he wasn’t retired, he was able to unwind a little.
Actress Pam Dawber and Mark were wed in 1987; they have a son named Ty Christian, 31, and a son named Sean, 35. He expressed to the newspaper that he considered himself “lucky” to spend a great deal more time with his adult boys and wife, who don’t make a lot of news.
“I’ve got time to do whatever I want to. I can plan a dinner with the boys, we can take a trip. I’m so fortunate, I don’t ever wake up not thinking that.”