A veteran actor says that he still gets recognized for his time on NCIS, even though he was only in three episodes. The stalwart CBS procedural is no stranger to bringing in familiar faces to play memorable characters. Even as recently as the NCIS season 22 premiere, GLOW and Nobody Wants This actor Jackie Tohn was brought in to play a lawyer who knew more than what she was willing to let on.

Other famous guest stars who appeared on NCIS after being well-established include the singer Mya, Halloween’s Jamie Lee Curtis, and screen icons such as Bob Newhart. There’s even a case to be made for Zac Efron, who showed up on the CBS series for a small part in 2006. It was just three days before his life-changing role as High School Musical​​​​​​’s Troy Bolton premiered on The Disney Channel. Another actor reflects that he still gets recognized for his NCIS stint, though he portrayed a much more significant character.

Scott Wolf Still Gets Recognized For His Villainous NCIS Role

Wolf Played Casey Stratton/Jonathan Cole

Scott Wolf says he still gets recognized for the three episodes of NCIS he’s appeared in. Known for playing Bailey Salinger in the family drama Party of Five, in addition to more recent projects, such as The CW’s Nancy Drew series, Wolf played the duplicitous Jonathan Cole in NCIS season 9. He first appears in the premiere episode. Though he does help the team, his character turns out to be dangerous and is ultimately killed in that season’s finale.

In an interview with TV Insider, to discuss his recurring role in the Fox medical drama Doc, Wolf reflected on his quick run with NCIS. The actor praised former NCIS lead Mark Harmon and attributed the part of Casey being memorable to the fact that the villain did, in the end, get something of a redemption arc. Read the quote below:

“I did three episodes, I don’t even know how long ago, and I might get stopped for that in airports as much as anything else. It’s a very popular show, obviously. But there was something about the fact that they made a little arc out of that character, and he wasn’t a one-off, shoot people and go away [character].”

“NCIS was great. Mark Harmon, salt of the Earth, generous, really made me feel welcome there. They told a very cool story with my character. Oftentimes when you come in and play a character like I did — he was a villain, he was like this rogue ex-Navy Seal who wanted to shoot people and harm people. But they wound up sort of redeeming him in the end.”

Cole is part of a Special Ops team known as the Phantom Force. Wolf is likely referring to the fact that, in his last appearance, Cole sacrifices himself to save Gibbs (Harmon) and others. The NCIS character believes in the righteousness of what he’s doing, even if it means killing people, but he perishes doing something that’s depicted as heroic.

Where Else Do You Know Scott Wolf From?

He’s Been On TV For Decades

Wolf’s best-known role is likely his six-season run as Bailey Salinger in the Fox series Party of Five. The actor played the second-born sibling, who is forced to grow up fast, in the Fox drama that ran from 1994 to 2000. Created by Christopher Keyser and Amy Lipman, and centering on the five Salinger siblings that make up the show’s title, Party of Five also starred future stars such as Lost’s Matthew Fox, Scream’s Neve Campbell, I Know What You Did Last Summer lead Jennifer Love Hewitt and Mean Girls actor Lacey Chabert.

Wolf’s big television role after Party of Five came in 2004 when he joined Everwood as Dr. Jake Hartman. It would prove to be a bit of a mini-trend for Wolf, who would also play a doctor on the short-lived ABC hostage drama The Nine and NBC’s The Night Shift, which aired from 2014 to 2017. He is again playing a medical professional in the new Fox series Doc.

It’s based on the Italian series Doc – Nelle tue mani, telling the story of Dr. Amy Larsen (played by Molly Brown) and what happens when she suffers a brain injury that causes her to lose eight years of memories. Wolf has the recurring role of Dr. Richard Miller in the series that airs at 9 PM ET on Fox. Developed by veteran TV writer Barbie Kligman, the cast also includes Omar Metwally, Jon Ecker, Amirah Vann, and Anya Banerjee.

Along with a key role in the cult favorite Doug Liman film Go, which released in 1999, starring the likes of Katie Holmes and Timothy Olyphant, Wolf is recognized as a main cast member for The CW’s Nancy Drew adaptation. He portrayed Carson Drew, Nancy’s widowed father, and stayed with the show until its conclusion in August 2019.

Our Take On Wolf’s NCIS Familiarity

Streaming Likely Plays A Part In It

NCIS is one of the biggest shows on streaming, with its older episodes appearing regularly on Top 10 lists. That likely accounts for why Wolf is still recognized for a meaty but minor antagonist role in the long arc of the hit franchise. Not to mention that Cole tried to kill fan-favorite Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly), so that helps him stand out a bit. It is amusing, all the same, when stars reflect on their past roles and whether audiences will be able to recognize them for even those short-term appearances.