11 Big Name Actors Were Once Considered to Play Gibbs on ‘NCIS’ (There Are 2 Oscar Winners On The List!)
It’s hard to think about anyone other than Mark Harmon playing the role of Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs on NCIS.
The 72-year-old actor played the iconic character on the JAG spinoff series for 19 seasons, becoming the second to last original series regular to depart the show.
In a new feature from The Hollywood Reporter on the long-running and hit CBS drama series, creators Donald P. Bellisario and Don McGill, as well as several executives revealed that there were other names before Mark‘s who were mentioned for the part.
CHRIS COOPER
Chris Cooper is best known for his roles in American Beauty, The Bourne Identity and October Sky.
He won an Oscar for Adaptation in 2003.
VAL KILMER
Val Kilmer is best known for Top Gun and Real Genius.
PATRICK SWAYZE
The late Patrick Swayze was also considered. He passed away in 2009.
TOM BERENGER
Tom Berenger is known for Platoon, for which he won an Oscar, and Major League.
KEVIN BACON
Kevin Bacon also could’ve been Gibbs, and is best known to fans from Footloose, Tremors and Mystic River.
CLIVE OWEN
Clive Owen was another name considered for Gibbs. Fans will know him from Close My Eyes, Children of Men and The International.
ALEC BALDWIN
Alec Baldwin was in contention for the part.
AIDAN QUINN
Aidan Quinn is best known from Desperately Seeking Susan, Benny & Joon and Practical Magic.
CHARLIE SHEEN
Charlie Sheen also could’ve been Gibbs.
ANDREW MCCARTHY
Andrew McCarthy apparently had a leg up in the casting process.
“Andrew McCarthy at one point was in the mix for Gibbs. He and Don Bellisario met and talked over the role,” Don McGill
HARRISON FORD
Harrison Ford was included on the list just because he was Harrison Ford.
“I know Harrison Ford was a name that everybody thought about for Gibbs because he was so perfect. But I don’t think it ever got further than, it was a name thrown out,” Charles Floyd Johnson, executive producer on JAG and NCIS, shared.
Peter Golden, former head of CBS casting, added that “Harrison Ford — when you sit down, and you have an initial conversation about casting, no name is off the table. Back in the early 2000s, the Harrison Fords of the world [rarely did TV]. But that didn’t mean you didn’t put them on the list.”
