The conflict between Pauley Perrette and Mark Harmon deteriorated to the point where no sequences for NCIS could be filmed involving the two actors. NCIS, one of the most watched and longest-running procedural TV shows ever, has 20 seasons and more than 450 episodes. NCIS began as a spin-off of another successful series, but it quickly grew to be so well-liked that it spawned numerous more franchises.
Despite its successful 20-year run on the air, the making of NCIS has not been easy. While the cast seems to get great along in front of the cameras, things are very different behind the scenes. For instance, two of the show’s most beloved actors, Pauley Perrette and Mark Harmon, couldn’t stand each other. Things got so bad that NCIS producers had to stop filming scenes with both actors together.
Were Mark Harmon and Pauley Perrett Feuding Behind the Scenes?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs and Abby Sciuto’s on-screen interactions on NCIS were adored by viewers. Pauley Perrette and Mark Harmon, the actors who played these characters, don’t appear to have had a particularly wholesome relationship in real life. When they first started working together, Perrette and Harmon didn’t have a poor relationship, but it all changed in 2016. One day when Harmon brought his dog to the scene, the dog bit a crew member who required fifteen stitches. The cast and crew were uneasy, but the actor persisted in bringing his dog to work despite the event.
Ultimately, Perrette decided to confront Harmon, and that’s when the rift between the two started.
“In Pauley Perrette’s case, there was an incident with the show with a dog. The dog was Mark Harmon’s, and apparently the dog bit someone. Pauley was a huge, huge SPCA [Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals] animal person. And then the dog kept coming with Harmon, and she felt it wasn’t safe for the show,” executive producer Charles Floyd Johnson revealed.
While working on NCIS, Harmon didn’t exactly have the best track record. For instance, the actor once engaged in physical contact with Michael Weatherly, his co-star, deviating from the script in the middle of a passionate scene. The creator of the program, Don Bellisario, and Harmon reportedly had a contentious relationship, frequently fighting on the set. Some contend that Bellisario’s termination from NCIS was ultimately caused by Harmon.
Pauley Perrette And Mark Harmon Had To Be Separated From One Another While Working On NCIS
Following the incident with Mark Harmon’s dog, things got tense between him and his co-star Pauley Perrette. Things ultimately got so bad that the two stars made an arrangement with the producers so they wouldn’t have to be in the same scenes moving forward. This is why Harmon and Perrette didn’t appear in any scenes together throughout NCIS’ season 15.
Moreover, a source working on the set of this procedural series revealed that from this point onward, producers made sure the two actors were never in the same room together. Scripts were written deliberately so they didn’t have to film together.
“She did her scenes on one day, and he did his work on other days, and they still produced a great show,” the source explained. “It was simply scheduled that they did not work the same days.”
Even in Perrette’s final episode on the show, she and Harmon didn’t shoot any scenes together. “The episode featured flashbacks focusing on the almost father-daughter bond between Gibbs and Abby, but Harmon and Perrette never appeared together in Abby’s finale,” Bill Keveney wrote for USA Today. Although in the final scene of this episode Perrette and Harmon appear side by side, this was done purely through editing.
Did Pauley Perrette Leave NCIS Because Of Mark Harmon?
Pauley Perrette confirmed her departure from NCIS in late 2017, telling CBS Sunday Morning that even though it had been her decision, she was “still grieving.” Although Perrette had an appearance in the CBS sitcom Broke soon after leaving NCIS, she ended her professional career in 2020. Perrette has implied that Mark Harmon was a significant factor in her decision to leave NCIS, despite the fact that she has never publicly discussed her reasons for leaving the show after ten seasons. Perrette made several cryptic tweets about her fight with Harmon shortly after leaving the show.
.“No morals, no obligation to truth, and I’m just left here, reading the lies, trying to protect my crew,” the actress once wrote in one post. “Trying to remain calm. He did it.”
In 2019, a fan asked Perrette on Twitter whether she’d be open to reprising the role of Abby on the show. The actress responded, “NO I AM NOT COMING BACK! EVER! (Please stop asking?) I am terrified of Harmon and him attacking me. I have nightmares about it.”
Despite her feud with Harmon, Perrette maintains a good relationship with her other NCIS castmates, including Brian Dietzen, who played Jimmy Palmer on the show.