Actors Who Were Considered To Play NCIS’ Gibbs Before Mark Harmon
hindsight, it’s impossible to imagine anyone but Mark Harmon in the role of gruff “NCIS” boss Leroy Jethro Gibbs. It wasn’t exactly a career-reigniting role for the actor, who had already built a legacy on shows like “St. Elsewhere” and “Chicago Hope” before joining the CBS military police procedural’s inaugural 2003 season. However, it soon became apparent that Gibbs would be his defining role. Harmon embodied the character in a way that made him the unquestionable centerpiece of the ensemble cast throughout his 19 seasons with the show. He left “NCIS” in 2021, but Gibbs perseveres: In 2024, CBS rolled out the prequel show “NCIS: Origins,” with Austin Stowell playing young Gibbs while Harmon narrates, “Young Sheldon”-style.
Knowing Harmon’s importance to the “NCIS” franchise, it may be surprising to find out that the people behind the show didn’t call his agent the second they conceived the character of Gibbs. In 2023, the makers of “NCIS” discussed the show’s storied history with The Hollywood Reporter, and ex-head of CBS casting Peter Golden revealed that Harmon’s name only came up after several other candidates, when casting director Susan Bluestein suggested him:
