If you’ve watched TV for any length of time, “NCIS” is one of those programs you can’t escape.The renowned police procedural, a “JAG” spin-off, created by Donald P. Bellisario and Don McGill, has dominated the television landscape since it premiered in 2003. Because of this, its narratives and characters are now the stuff of TV lore.
Although, when it comes to the cast, a handful of names have reached a particularly high level of fame that they’re unlikely to lose regardless of whether they’re still on the program or have said goodbye to it.
No matter how big of a fan one is, a few names come to mind when one thinks of the “NCIS” cast. The actor Mark Harmon, who portrayed Leroy Jethro Gibbs from Season 1 to Season 19, who successfully led the Naval Criminal Investigative Service over the years, comes to mind first. Alongside him were luminaries like Donald “Ducky” Mallard (David McCallum), Ziva David (Cote de Pablo), and Abby Sciuto (Pauley Perrette). One of the select few original cast members who is still appearing in Season 20 of the show is McCallum.
On the road to earning this impressive accolade, David McCallum nearly gave it up. Here’s what almost caused him to leave “NCIS” for good and how the minds behind the hit series reeled him back in.
McCallum worried that Ducky had grown stagnant
Although legally still a primary cast member, David McCallum has made far less appearances on “NCIS” in recent seasons. It turns out that there is a reason why Ducky Mallard no longer appears as frequently on the show, and that reason has to do with McCallum’s opinion of the character.When he told those in charge of the show that he’d like to finish up, they countered by offering him a part-time job, with Ducky acting as a historian rather than the lead medical examiner. “Now he’s retired, I sort of realized the character was becoming a little redundant,” he explained (via Express).
There’s no denying that Ducky is a staple of “NCIS,” and that David McCallum has played the role to perfection no matter how often he appears. However, McCallum isn’t the only person who’s brought Ducky to life on television on “NCIS.” Adam Campbell has taken on the role of a younger Ducky for a few episodes — most famously acting opposite Mark Harmon’s son, Sean, in the episode “Everything Starts Somewhere” from Season 18. Sean Harmon played a younger version of Gibbs and seeing him and Campbell’s Ducky interact immediately led fans to ask for a prequel series about their adventures (via Distractify).
Adam Campbell did a fantastic job as Ducky, and he would undoubtedly succeed alongside Sean Harmon’s Gibbs on their own program. At the same time, David McCallum’s identity as Ducky cannot be disputed. One can only hope that he will continue to appear on “NCIS” sometimes for many years to come.