Mark Harmon reveals the truth behind his NCIS exit: ‘I was just tired’

Mark Harmon has a new book out called Ghosts of Honolulu: A Japanese spy, a Japanese American spy hunter, and the untold story of Pearl Harbor, which he co-authored with NCIS Special Agent Leon Carroll Jr.

He met Leon while he was playing SSA Leroy Jethro Gibbs on NCIS, the CBS crime drama that he led and produced from 2003-2021. He talked about his connection to the show on The Kelly Clarkson Show on November 28th.

Kelly Clarkson, the host, wanted to know how the 72-year-old actor felt about saying goodbye to the show two years ago after being part of it for almost 20 years.

“I think for the longest time, I was just tired,” he confessed, adding that the show, at least in its initial seasons, involved long hours of work and shooting.

“Part of taking the job [involved] being home, with a young family, not traveling so much doing movies. The first day, we worked 22 hours. So I thought, ‘That’s not exactly what I thought this was going to be.’ But we had a lot of days like that in the first four years.”

Mark added, however, that the joy in working on the long-running series came in remaining on his toes, keeping aware of the people coming in and out of the fray, and building relationships with them.

“That it’s been the success it’s become, that’s great. To be a part of that, that’s great. Writers change, runners change, casts change, all that. And I always tried to pay attention to that, daily.

“I tried to do what my title said, which is read ahead, note ahead, stay ahead of things. And it’s a lot. I paid attention to the writing room. That was successful, I’m proud of [it]. The people who I met through it, I’m proud of it in a different way.”

Mark met Leon when the latter was a technical advisor on NCIS, and through their relationship, they came up with the idea to explore the real histories of the forces and people who laid the groundwork for NCIS.

The Freaky Friday star further expanded upon his book and life post-NCIS in an interview with People, and confessed to them that while he wasn’t retired, his new free time did give him the opportunity to relax a bit.

Mark has been married to actress Pam Dawber since 1987 and they share sons Sean, 35, and Ty Christian, 31. He told the publication that he felt “lucky” to have a lot more time with his wife and adult sons, who maintain a low public profile.

“That it’s been the success it’s become, that’s great. To be a part of that, that’s great.”
“I’ve got time to do whatever I want to. I can plan a dinner with the boys, we can take a trip. I’m so fortunate, I don’t ever wake up not thinking that.”