‘NCIS’ Creators Threatened to Cancel the Show Over Hiring This Star

NCIS fans can’t wait to hear more about season 21 — but we’ll be missing one of the most significant characters from the show. David McCallum played medical examiner Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard for 20 seasons, even outlasting Mark Harmon as Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Before McCallum was cast in the series, serious disagreements existed about him joining the crew. Here’s what a series director said about threatening to cancel NCIS over McCallum.

‘NCIS’ creators were ready to cancel the show if Ducky actor David McCallum wasn’t cast

NCIS fans can’t imagine the series without David McCallum playing Ducky Mallard. While it doesn’t seem like anyone else could play the medical examiner-turned-historian, there was a lot of disagreement regarding McCallum’s casting at the start of the series.

Past NCIS director James Whitmore Jr. recounted the drama to The Hollywood Reporter. “When they cast David McCallum as Ducky, the studio said, ‘No way, we’re not casting this old character actor in the role,’” he said. In response, producer and screenwriter Don Bellisario threatened to cancel NCIS. “And Don said, ‘If you don’t, we’re not doing the show.’ He was that serious about it. The studio went with it, and of course, David McCallum is gold.”

Peter Golden, the former head of CBS casting, said he believed there was disagreement over McCallum’s casting because of where McCallum was from. “I think it was because David McCallum was British,” he told the publication. “The feeling was, ‘Can you do that?’ This was such an American show.”

Along with Pauley Perrette and Michael Weatherly, Golden added that McCallum’s audition made him the “undeniable” right choice for the role. “Pauley Perrette, David McCallum, Michael Weatherly, they all came in and read, and when they read, it was undeniable,” he said.

The Ducky actor recalls how he was cast

NCIS favorite David McCallum once recalled how he got the part of Ducky. While speaking to The Television Academy Foundation, he said he received a phone call one day requesting that he head to the office of casting director and film producer Bonnie Timmermann to film a tape for a show called NCIS. After auditioning in the office with an unusual request (McCallum wanted the camera tilted toward the floor to simulate him looking at a dead body), he received a call that he would then fly to Los Angeles to try out for the role of Ducky.

After a few more auditions, McCallum met Don Bellisario. “Afterwards, Don came out and put his arm around me, because he’s a great deal bigger than I am, and said, ‘David,’ … and I realized I might have the charm,” McCallum recalled. He then got a flat tire in his rented car in LA, and as he was making a quick fix with the tire, he received a phone call. He got the job.

“And I said, well then, I’m gonna go get a car that works,” McCallum joked.

‘NCIS’ Season 21 will have to include a tribute to David McCallum

NCIS hasn’t faced cancellation despite several big names leaving the show. While fans are excited to see what’s in store for season 21, they’ll miss Ducky. David McCallum died in September 2023.

The new season won’t feature Ducky, but we’re sure the showrunners will include a tribute to the character and late actor. The new season will likely air at the beginning of 2024. And we’d love to see some vets from the show’s past seasons return for the occasion.

“For over 20 years, David McCallum endeared himself to audiences around the world playing the wise, quirky, and sometimes enigmatic, Dr. Donald ‘Ducky’ Mallard,” NCIS executive producers Steven D. Binder and David North stated in the wake of his death. “But, as much as his fans may have loved him, those who worked side by side with David loved him that much more. He was a scholar and a gentleman, always gracious, a consummate professional, and never one to pass up a joke.”