Harrison Ford, a legendary Star Wars actor, was a candidate to play Leroy Jethro Gibbs on NCIS, it has been discovered.
Even though it’s difficult to think of anybody other than Mark Harmon as the NCIS Supervisory Special Agent, it appears he wasn’t the only candidate, according to some of the series’ creators.
“I know Harrison Ford was a name that everybody thought about for Gibbs because he was so perfect,” executive producer Charles Floyd Johnson revealed to The Hollywood Reporter as part of a new oral history of the series.
“But I don’t think it ever got further than, it was a name thrown out.”
According to Peter Golden, a former head of CBS casting, “no name is off the table” during the initial casting round. He continued, “Back in the early 2000s, the Harrison Fords of the world [rarely did TV]. However, it doesn’t imply that you didn’t include them on the list.
The names of other actors that were taken into consideration include Alec Baldwin, Chris Cooper, Clive Owen, Kevin Bacon, Tom Berenger, Val Kilmer, Charlie Sheen, Aidan Quinn, Patrick Swayze, Scott Glenn, and Andrew McCarthy.
In other NCIS news, some of the show’s stars have paid tribute to Donald ‘Ducky’ Mallard actor David McCallum following his death aged 90.
In his own tribute, Harmon said: “David lived a great, full, long life. I was in awe when I first met him and all of us on the show were honoured to have toed a mark opposite him. My condolences go out to Katherine and his family.”
The official media outlets for the franchise said, “David was a talented performer and author who was adored by people all across the world. He lived a remarkable life, and his family, as well as the many hours of film and television that will never end, will ensure that his legacy endures forever.
“We will miss his warmth, delightful sense of humor, and the wonderful tales he frequently offered from a life well lived. He brightened up whatever room or soundstage he walked into. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Katherine, his family as a whole, and everyone who knew and loved David.
NCIS airs on CBS in the US.