Mark Harmon Reveals Secret Behind ‘NCIS’ Success – ‘It’s Very Rare’

The Hollywood star Mark Harmon spoke out earlier this month to talk about his 19-year run on the hit CBS drama television series “NCIS,” and to reveal what he believes the secret behind the show’s success really is.

Happy 20th anniversary NCIS! @M_Weatherly @sashaalexander @SeanHMurray @PauleyP Cote Pablo,Mark Harmon @MuseWatson @LaurenHolly DavidMcullen @BrianDietzen Robert Wagner @RockyCOfficial @RealJoeSpano @EmilyWickersham @WValderrama @RealDuaneHenry @maria_bello @katrinalaw @mostx1 pic.twitter.com/DHrjYp9MIT

— Marcella Pagano 🇮🇹 (@MarcellaPagan0) September 25, 2023

Harmon Reveals Secret Behind ‘NCIS’ Success

Harmon believes that a large part of the success of “NCIS” is how close the cast and crew has always been.

“I think you’re really lucky to find that,” Harmon, 72, told Fox News. “At times it’s really rare. I always thought that the show was about characters and it had humor. And yeah, there was a case and originally the case was based on the real. And then television changes, showrunners change, writers change, actors change, lots of changes. And that changes as well.”

Harmon went on to admit that when he was first presented with the script for “NCIS,” which stands for Naval Criminal Investigative Services, he had “never heard of it before. There wasn’t much information to be found.”

Acclaimed actor Mark Harmon reflects on his four decades in Hollywood — starring in everything from ‘Freaky Friday,’ ‘The West Wing’ to ‘NCIS,’ — and tells us about making his literary debut with co-author Leon Carroll, Jr. titled ‘Ghosts of Honolulu.’ https://t.co/cVclFZQmjA pic.twitter.com/AYi9QC3ZZH

— The View (@TheView) November 15, 2023

Related: Mark Harmon Finally Breaks His Silence About Leaving ‘NCIS’ After 19 Seasons

Harmon On Why He Took ‘NCIS’ Role

It was only the unusual name of his character of Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs that led Harmon to take the role before the show’s premiere in 2003.

“I was reading a lot of scripts, and I read this one, and the name Leroy Jethro Gibbs hit me,” he recalled. “And there was a moment there where in that couple of days I think it changed to Bob Robinson or something. … And I right away called up and said, ‘The name has got to change back.’ And then someone said, ‘You can’t play a guy named Leroy Jethro Gibbs.’ I said, ‘Why not?’”

“If that name had not been there, I don’t think I would have been there,” he confessed.

Though Harmon left “NCIS” in 2021, the show is still a huge hit, and fans are still hoping that he’ll return someday.

“I don’t see how we don’t see him one more time at some point,” executive producer Steven D. Binder said earlier this year. “Gibbs has, in my mind, advanced to a higher plane of existence for now. … We left him smiling on a river happy, and that’s the image I want people to have until we’re really ready to blow that out of the water or truly embrace it in some way.”‘

To prepare for @ncisverse scenes in the interrogation room, Mark Harmon worked with former special agent Leon Carroll Jr.

The two have now teamed up to write “Ghosts of Honolulu,” the non-fiction story of a naval officer whose service helped lead to the birth of the modern NCIS. pic.twitter.com/QUZjDMVnnq

— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) November 15, 2023

Related: ‘NCIS’ Fans Believe Pauley Perrette Is Lying About Mark Harmon Assault

Harmon Reveals If He’s Retired From Acting 

When asked by Parade if he is retired from acting, Harmon replied, “No, I never retired. As far as I know, if you’re talking about Gibbs, he’s living in Alaska. If you’re talking about Mark, he’s home doing what he always did, which is read things.”

“I always saw this business as if you’re fortunate enough to get work and do work, that it’s about having choices. It’s about having an opportunity sometimes even to say no,” he continued. “There was a time where I could never say no. And most actors can’t. I’m appreciative of having that choice.”

“I don’t see myself as retired,” Harmon concluded. “If the right thing comes along, I’ll probably go to work, and if it doesn’t, I have plenty of other things to do.”

Wishing a very happy birthday to the #NCIS legend himself, Mark Harmon! pic.twitter.com/2oaqJpxLn6

— jessica knight (𠍇西卡奈特) returns Feb. 12 (@jessknight_ncis) September 2, 2023

Would you like to see Harmon make a return to “NCIS?” Let us know in the comments section!